Destination:
Time of travel: July 2010
Duration: 10 days
Travel plan: 10 days with base in Athens, day trips to surrounding towns
Athens is a huge, beautiful city bathing in the mediterranean sun. It's certainly not polished and architecture is what it is but look beyond that. Look at the history, at the tasty food, the warm people, the beautiful nature and landscapes. Athens is amazing!
Aside all of the reasons to visit we've mentioned above, you can also plan other trips while in busy Athens; beaches, islands, even hikes. Athens and its surroundings have it all.
After you've seen all of the historical sights (and this is what you should do, see all of them!), it's time to hop on the train and head to Piraeus to catch a ferry to the island of Aegina.
Aegina
Being located only about an hour away from Athens, the island of Aegina is easy to reach and will offer you a completely different holiday than what you probably expected in Athens. A daytrip is completely doable, better yet, stay the night, or even two!
We recommend booking ferry tickets in advance and being in the harbour on time as it's surprisingly large and it'll take time to find the right ferry.
The island is relatively small but you'll definitely find plenty of things to do. Either you just stay at the Aegina town itself or rent a scooter or a car, you'll have a lot to see. The island has lots of beaches, some secluded, some not, but all of them are clean and the water is crystal clear. The best beaches, however, are in between the towns of Vathi and Perdika, cornering Aegina.
Try some delicious seafood while on this island. You'll have plenty of restaurants to choose from.
Vougliameni & Varkiza
For beaches reachable by bus or car, from Athens try Vougliameni and Varkiza.
What we adore about Greece is that you have beaches everywhere. You can swim and snorkle just about anywhere. Vougliameni and Varkiza actually have it all, natural beaches, public beaches and private beaches! Take some time to walk around the area as it's quite versatile. You have the usual sandy beaches with umbrellas and sun loungers, but you can also find beautiful white rock beaches as well as cliffs - whatever works for you!
Beware of the tide in the afternoon!
Sounio
We did a bus trip but not sure if that's really the best way to travel here as the road leading here is beautiful and you have many roadside towns and villages you might want to stop at. So rent a car and spend a day in this beautiful region. Other reason for us preferring car is that the bus takes almost three hours and stops frequently.
Sounio is an amazing historical site with the temple of Poseidon standing on a hill overlooking the sea.
Nearby you have a small beach and restaurants. Great daytrip destination by car!
Other great places worth mentioning in Athens and surroundings are
- Mount Lycabettus in Athens: Amazing views over the city
- Slightly off the central Athens, Piraeus is the part of the town where you'll find the sea, some say even beaches (though not recommended for a swim!) but also lots of shopping.
Time of travel: July 2010
Duration: 10 days
Travel plan: 10 days with base in Athens, day trips to surrounding towns
Athens is a huge, beautiful city bathing in the mediterranean sun. It's certainly not polished and architecture is what it is but look beyond that. Look at the history, at the tasty food, the warm people, the beautiful nature and landscapes. Athens is amazing!
Aside all of the reasons to visit we've mentioned above, you can also plan other trips while in busy Athens; beaches, islands, even hikes. Athens and its surroundings have it all.
After you've seen all of the historical sights (and this is what you should do, see all of them!), it's time to hop on the train and head to Piraeus to catch a ferry to the island of Aegina.
Aegina
Being located only about an hour away from Athens, the island of Aegina is easy to reach and will offer you a completely different holiday than what you probably expected in Athens. A daytrip is completely doable, better yet, stay the night, or even two!
We recommend booking ferry tickets in advance and being in the harbour on time as it's surprisingly large and it'll take time to find the right ferry.
The island is relatively small but you'll definitely find plenty of things to do. Either you just stay at the Aegina town itself or rent a scooter or a car, you'll have a lot to see. The island has lots of beaches, some secluded, some not, but all of them are clean and the water is crystal clear. The best beaches, however, are in between the towns of Vathi and Perdika, cornering Aegina.
Try some delicious seafood while on this island. You'll have plenty of restaurants to choose from.
Vougliameni & Varkiza
For beaches reachable by bus or car, from Athens try Vougliameni and Varkiza.
What we adore about Greece is that you have beaches everywhere. You can swim and snorkle just about anywhere. Vougliameni and Varkiza actually have it all, natural beaches, public beaches and private beaches! Take some time to walk around the area as it's quite versatile. You have the usual sandy beaches with umbrellas and sun loungers, but you can also find beautiful white rock beaches as well as cliffs - whatever works for you!
Beware of the tide in the afternoon!
Sounio
We did a bus trip but not sure if that's really the best way to travel here as the road leading here is beautiful and you have many roadside towns and villages you might want to stop at. So rent a car and spend a day in this beautiful region. Other reason for us preferring car is that the bus takes almost three hours and stops frequently.
Sounio is an amazing historical site with the temple of Poseidon standing on a hill overlooking the sea.
Nearby you have a small beach and restaurants. Great daytrip destination by car!
Other great places worth mentioning in Athens and surroundings are
- Mount Lycabettus in Athens: Amazing views over the city
- Slightly off the central Athens, Piraeus is the part of the town where you'll find the sea, some say even beaches (though not recommended for a swim!) but also lots of shopping.
