Getting from Athens to Aegina

If you are heading to Aegina from Athens you are making one of the easiest and most rewarding short trips from the capital. Aegina is the closest of the Saronic islands, a proper working island with a handsome harbour town, the remarkably preserved Temple of Aphaia on a pine-covered hill above the sea and pistachio groves that produce some of the finest pistachios in Greece. The pace is relaxed, the food is good and the island gives you a genuine sense of Greek island life without the infrastructure built around international tourism. It is close enough to Athens to visit in a day and good enough to stay longer.

Take the ferry

The Piraeus to Aegina ferry is one of the most frequent routes in Greece, with around 20 daily crossings year-round to three ports on the island. The fastest service to Aegina Town takes around 40 minutes. Conventional ferries take around 1 hour 20 minutes. The crossing is so frequent that you rarely need to book in advance and can turn up at the port and catch the next boat.

Getting there by air

Aegina has no airport. The ferry from Piraeus is the only option and at under 45 minutes on the fast boat it is one of the most effortless connections from Athens in Greece.

Your best option

Take the ferry from Piraeus. With around 20 daily crossings the connection is one of the most effortless in Greece. Turn up at the port, buy a ticket and get on the next boat. The crossing through the Saronic Gulf takes under an hour and you are on the island before you have had time to finish your coffee.