Day Cruise

Here’s something that surprised me about Athens: you can be sitting on a Greek island, swimming in turquoise water, eating fresh seafood by a harbor — and be back in your Athens hotel by dinner. The Saronic Islands are that close. Aegina, Poros, and Hydra sit in the Saronic Gulf, between 40 minutes and two hours from Athens by ferry. They’re the easiest island escape you’ll find, and they’re completely different from each other. One has a famous temple and the best pistachios in Greece. One is covered in pine forests and smells like a candle shop. And one has banned cars entirely and replaced them with donkeys.