Notes on Hydra, Greece

I absolutely loved Hydra! Unfortunately we only spent one full day here, I wish we’d had longer. Beautiful beaches, lovely shops, gorgeous white alleyways with pink petals floating through for you to get lost in – wonderful!

We were in Hydra towards the end of September 2022 as part of a 3 week trip, so all my notes are based around my experiences at that time. Please do check any dates/opening times/locations etc. if you’re planning your own trip – things change! Links are to websites if I can find useful ones, or Google Maps locations if not, so you can see where they are. Please also note this post contains some affiliate links, indicated with a ‘*’ – if you click them and decide to buy something I may receive a small cut of the payment, but it won’t cost you more. Thank you!

Instax photograph of Hydra, Greece. Photograph of an Instax print on a dark grey background, showing the island of Hydra with blue and lightly cloudy sky above and sea below.

You can read my notes on what we got up to below, but if you are short on time here are my top recommendations on what to do in Hydra, plus you can take a look at my more general notes on travelling in Greece: Athens, the Peloponnese and a few islands, too:

Travel:

Ferryhopper: Pre-book a ferry from Piraeus to Hydra (get the metro there if you’re coming from central Athens). We got the app so we could check in online in advance (48 – 2 hours before departure)

We were coming from Delphi so we used KTEL N. Fokidas to get a bus from Delphi to Athens, which leaves from Delphi Bus Station and comes in to KTEL Liosion (Bus Terminal B) in Athens (so we got the metro from Attika to Piraeus)

Do/see/visit:

Use Rick Steves’ ‘Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese*’: for a self-guided walk around the port area and other useful information.

Vlychos beach: Lovely beach with parasols and sun loungers available for €15 for a set (2 loungers and a parasol) and gorgeous sea.

DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art: For a changing program of contemporary art.

Drink:

Spilia Beach Bar: For a view of the changing light on the buildings in the port while the sun sets.

Eat:

Plakostroto Hydra: Lovely outdoor dining with delicious food.

Stay:

Hydras Chromata*: We stayed in a standard room which was a gorgeous self-contained room (more of a mini apartment really) with a super fancy shower and great balcony in a perfect location. It isn’t obviously a hotel, by which I mean there isn’t a reception or sign, so you need to get in touch with the owner to get the keys. We hadn’t realised this, got a bit lost and then somehow he found us (turns out he had been waiting at the port with a sign at every boat arrival but we hadn’t realised) – amazing service!

Read:

Peel Me a Lotus* by Charmian Clift: I occasionally try to read a book set in places we visit and I enjoyed reading this book based on Charmian Clift’s experiences when living in Hydra in the 1950s.

Photograph of a boat sailing away from the camera in Hydra, Greece, leaving a wake behind. Part of the island is visible to the left, land visible in the distance across the sea and hazy blue sky above.

Travelling to Hydra from Delphi via Athens…

… takes an entire day and might not be the most efficient way to spend a day, but it’s what we did. We got the bus from Delphi to Athens (11:00 – 14:00), then the metro to Piraeus, followed by a ferry from Piraeus to Hydra (18:30 – 20:30). Each trip was quite straightforward, it’s just that the connections don’t meet up in a convenient way, so there’s quite a bit of waiting.

Piraeus feels a bit intimidating at first, but if you go away from the main road that leads from the Metro to the port it’s a bit calmer, and there’s a nice supermarket nearby (I can’t find it on Google Maps but it was close to this Gregory’s coffee shop where we had a nice cool drink), or a reasonably sized Lidl a bit more of a walk away. I was glad that we weren’t in a mad rush to catch the ferry because it’s not hugely obvious where to go when you’re at the port – the numbers didn’t quite line up for us, so we did quite a bit of walking around and eventually asked where to stand, which it turns out is actually quite clearly marked on Google Maps, when I look now.

The ferry was a pleasant trip staring out of the window, watching the sea and seeing the light fade and we arrived to a lovely festoon light-lit port around 20:30.

Once we’d checked in to our lovely room at Hydras Chromata* (see above for notes on that), we headed straight out for dinner, enticed by the music and lovely garden at Plakostroto Hydra where we had a delicious dinner of marinated sardines followed by chicken with potato gnocchi, truffles, and parmesan cheese. I wish we ate more dinners in daylight so I could do them justice in photographs.

How we spent a full day in Hydra

Exploring the town, relaxing at the beach, more wandering, looking at art

We woke to the sound of donkeys clip-clopping past our room – cars aren’t allowed on Hydra (except the odd bin van), so donkeys do a lot of the work and these donkeys were helping to move terracotta tiles for the building work nearby. It wasn’t early, just a different sound to wake up to!

Photograph of a donkey looking down an alleyway in Hydra, Greece, with a wall to the left and right and a wooden door on a building behind the donkey.

Not only had our fantastic hotel owner left a great selection of food for breakfast (plus sweets!) but he delivered fresh bread to our door in the morning, which was amazing! We had breakfast of juice, Greek yogurt with muesli and honey, little cinnamon biscuits and Nutella on the delicious soft fresh bread. There was ham and cheese in the fridge too so we made sandwiches to take for our lunch – perfect!

We set out for a walk around the town, using the self-guided walk in Rick Steves’ ‘Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese*’, looking at the assortment of boats, lush plants everywhere, watching donkeys with men riding sideways transporting loads around, stylish shops selling designer clothes and high end jewellery. We saw the windmills across the port, peeked in to the monastery with a stunning silver chandelier and skull and cross bones above the altar and watched artists painting outside.

Photograph of a loaf of bread that can be torn apart into rolls, topped with sesame seeds and sitting on a paper bag. In Hydra, Greece.
Photograph of Hydra, Greece, showing a boat turning into the port in the sea in the foreground, with a hill on the island across the sea, featuring buildings including a windmill, and sky above with blue sky and wispy clouds.
Statue by the port in Hydra, Greece, showing the terracotta-coloured statue of a person with legs crossed in the centre, surrounded by plants.
Hydra, Greece.
Dormition of the Mother of Lord Hydra Orthodox Cathedral Church, Hydra, Greece. Showing a lantern hanging in an archway, with light blue painted ceiling featuring gold stars, and a cream wall below.
Limes growing on a tree in Hydra, Greece. The photograph is looking up at a branch with three limes near the lower part, and blue sky behind.

We took the low path around the coast to Vlychos beach, taking in the incredible views across the sea, red wool tied to a bush blowing in the wind and a tiny island with an even tinier church on it.

At the beach we paid €15 for two lounge chairs under a straw umbrella and spent several hours staring at the sea, painting, dipping in the water and eating our lovely packed lunch, trying to keep in the shade. A perfect way to spend the day.

Coastal path, Epar. Od. Mandrakiou-Molou, Hydra, Greece, showing the path in shade to the left, trees either side and buildings, sea and a hill visible in a gap.
View from the coastal path, Epar. Od. Mandrakiou-Molou, Hydra, Greece, showing the sea to the left with a boat in the distance, buildings on the edge of the coast, plants in the foreground and blue sky above.
Coastal path, Epar. Od. Mandrakiou-Molou, Hydra, Greece, showing the wide paved walkway on the hillside to the left, the sea to the right with a small island in the distance and blue sky above.
Close up of red threads tied to a wishing tree, on the coastal path, Epar. Od. Mandrakiou-Molou, Hydra, Greece, with blue sea visible in the background.
Vlychos beach, Hydra, Greece, with the beach visible in the centre with lines of parasols, buildings and hills towards the left and sea with a couple of boats and blue sky above to the right.

Eventually we headed back to town, desperate for drink as we hadn’t taken enough water, and drank ice tea on our terrace before going for a meander through the maze of whitewashed back streets, fallen bougainvillea petals waving us through, along to Jeff Koons’ Apollo, a huge golden sun spinning on the edge of the sea.

Kamaroti ancient stone bridge, Vlychos, Hydra, Greece, with hills behind, blue sky above and a path bottom right.
Buildings on a hillside by the sea, with a windmill visible at the far end, sea to the left and hazy blue sky above, Hydra, Greece.
Seedheads by the sea, Hydra, Greece.
Photograph of buildings and two tall palm trees with mountains behind, Hydra, Greece.
The view from our terrace
Alleyway in Hydra, Greece, lined with plants in ceramic pots.
Fallen bougainvillea petals gathered in a corner on the floor, Hydra, Greece.
Looking up and trees and a whitewashed wall with a blue gate Hydra, Greece.
An empty building in Hydra, Greece, with a staircase to the rear and a small bougainvillea tree in the foreground, with a few pink blooms.
Apollo by Jeff Koons, Hydra, Greece, a large golden sun atop a small building, with sea and blue sky behind, and a path to the right and foreground.
Apollo by Jeff Koons

We couldn’t get into the bar that apparently has the best view of the sunset so went to Spilia Beach Bar where we watched the change of light over the buildings on the side of the port entrance from a deck chair with a beer in hand.

We wandered around for a bit (probably should have booked a table somewhere) before ending up at Veranda, a restaurant not far from our hotel, where I had pork with penne and a blue cheese sauce and a glass of wine, a view of the port buildings at night and a complementary tiny bottle of something nice in a cut glass sherry glass before heading down the huge staircase to park and sleep before an early start.

Hydra, Greece, showing buildings on the hillside overlooking the sea, bathed in golden light as the sun sets.
Hydra, Greece, showing buildings on the hillside overlooking the sea, bathed in pink light as the sun sets.

Leaving Hydra

We were up at 6am(!) as we had another long journey to make but made time for breakfast on our terrace as the sun rose, before walking through the streets empty other than donkeys, locals and other travellers catching the 07:20 ferry back to Piraeus to head on to our next destination, Ancient Olympia. Sleepy but comfortable.

Hydra, Greece, showing buildings on the hillside overlooking the sea, with pink clouds above as the sun rises.
Hydra, Greece, viewed through a wet window on the ferry, with orange clouds on the horizon as the sun rises.

Hydra was one of my favourite places on our 3 week trip in Greece, my only wish is that we’d had longer there! I’d definitely recommend visiting and hope I can return one day.

Next stop: Ancient Olympia

Notes on Travel is a blog by photographer Jayne Lloyd, noting the things I found useful to know when I was visiting Hydra in September 2022 as part of a 3 week trip around Athens, the Peloponnese and a few islands. I’ve tried to be accurate but please do check for up-to-date information before going as things are always changing! I apologise for any mistakes, please do let me know if you have more recent info.

* This post contains some affiliate links, indicated with a ‘*’ – if you click them and decide to buy something I may receive a small cut of the payment, but it won’t cost you more. Thank you!

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