Hydra from Athens Port?

[maggie3]

We will be in port in Athens for eight hours. Is that enough time to comfortably take the hydrofoil to the island of Hydra for a few hours? Is there a chance the return hydrofoils do not make frequent enough trips to guarantee an on-time return for getting back to our ship? We have pretty much explored Athens on previous trips. Thanks for all advice.

[demmi72]

Hope we get info soon... as i would like to book... are you interested in joining my daughter and me????

Roseemarie and Jumoke:)

[Hlitner]

IMHO (having used many ferries/hydrofoils in Greece) you would be running a great risk with not much reward. The fastest ferries take about 1 1/2 hours (each way) to get between Hydra and Pireaus which means you need to factor 3 hours (round trip) plus the time to get from your ship to the ferry pier (this would take no more then 15 min) plus the schedules (the ferrys only run a few times per day). Although the ferries usually run on time, there is always a risk they can be delayed or even cancelled due to high seas or winds (or both). As an example, our daughter was in Crete for the recent labor day week (in the US) and booked the fast ferry to Santorini. They left Crete on time, cruised for about 45 min, hit high seas, and then returned to Crete (this actually happened for 2 days in a row). They did manage to get to Santorini (they were not on a cruise vacation) but did this by booking last minute air from Crete - Athens- Santorini.

 

I should add that we would personally have no problem using the Hydra ferry, but would only do it on a cruise if our ship overnighted in Pireaus (and we would take the ferry trip the first day).

 

Hank

P.S. If you decide to undertake such a journey make sure you have a "Plan B" on how to catch-up to your ship at the next port

[demmi72]

many thanks Hank, I just wwrote to the Viator Travelnand sked IF it was possible to do the "island hopping" will see what they say..and THANK YOU for the advise to have planB in situ..... go on to izmir????:confused:

[Hlitner]

We do highly recommend island hopping among many of the Greek Islands and Hydra is certainly worth visiting. You really got us curious about a "Plan B" since we often do things on our own and accept some risk. In the case of Greece to Izmir it appears the best way would be air via Istanbul which takes at least 4 hours. So if we were planning a day trip to Hydra we would certainly take our normal precautions and carry our passports (we hate doing this), major credit cards, info on the port agents in both Pireaus and Izmir, and possibly a phone number to directly reach the ship (some lines refuse to give a phone number so you must call the agent).

 

Hank

[zqvol]

We will be in port in Athens for eight hours. Is that enough time to comfortably take the hydrofoil to the island of Hydra for a few hours? Is there a chance the return hydrofoils do not make frequent enough trips to guarantee an on-time return for getting back to our ship? We have pretty much explored Athens on previous trips. Thanks for all advice.

 

 

Short answer is no. It is simply too far. If you have enough time to get there and back (and you probably won't) you would have to turn around and come back immediately. While Hydra is nice, it is not worth the risk of missing the ship to attempt this side trip.

[nick_arch]

Problem is not only the distance but the frequency of the sailings.

 

Aegina and Hydra are the two islands most people visit from Athens as a day trip.

 

Aegina is 30 - 90 minutes depending the vessel, and even right now, it's 17 - 20 sailings per day, nearly one every 30 minutes.

 

Hydra on the other hand is minimum 90 minutes and it's only three sailings per day, one at early morning, one at early afternoon and one at late afternoon.

 

Even if you manage to get the morning one, you will have to be absolutely sure the early afternoon ferry gets you back to Piraeus, since the last one is too late. Is this second ferry reliable? Definitely. But if it has a problem ( and as far as i know it never had ), if it's this one in a million case, you don't have an alternative.

 

This is not a problem for someone based in Athens, but for a cruise ship visitor it is.

 

I 'd explore some new parts or sites of Athens, or do something different if i did not want to visit some ancient site. I 'd visit some other museum, like the brilliant Benaki Museum or the Byzantine - Christian Museum, or perhaps join a food / market's tour or visit the Hills on a hills tour, or go to Sounion Temple, or perhaps do a day trip to Aegina island which is so nearer to Athens ( still an island, but easier logistics than Aegina and more frequent sailings; in general though do prefer tours that are on the same piece of mainland, to keep it simple :) )