Getting from Spetses to Kythira

If you are heading to Kythira from Spetses you are making your way from a car-free island in the Saronic Gulf to an island at the southern tip of the Peloponnese, between the Aegean and the Ionian seas. It has stone villages, deep gorges, a Venetian castle above Chora and a coastline of turquoise coves.

Take the ferry

There is no direct ferry from Spetses to Kythira. Getting there means either taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and then boarding the Piraeus to Kythira ferry, which runs several times a week and takes around 6 to 6.5 hours to the port of Diakofti, or taking the short ferry from Spetses to the mainland port of Kosta and driving south through the Peloponnese to Neapoli for the short ferry across to Kythira, which takes around 1 hour and runs daily in summer. The drive from Kosta to Neapoli takes around 2.5 to 3 hours.

Getting there by air

Kythira has its own small airport with daily connections from Athens. Spetses has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Taking the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and flying from Athens to Kythira takes under 1 hour on the second leg. Total journey time is around 4 to 5 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the Saronic ferry from Spetses to Piraeus and fly from Athens to Kythira. It is the fastest and most practical approach for foot passengers. Note that Spetses is car-free so if you are traveling with a car it would be at the mainland port of Kosta, from where you can drive south through the Peloponnese to Neapoli for the short ferry across to Kythira, which avoids Piraeus entirely and is the most natural approach with a car.