One Day Cruise to Hydra, Poros and Aegina from Athens

Posted By : philg792
Unfortunately, not as described and not for the faint hearted. We weren't advised that the hotel pick up was actually 1 hour earlier than advised on the booking confirmation (8am actually turned out to be 7am). We felt pressured into gathering our things together for the day and weren't able to grab any breakfast before leaving. At the port, it busy and boarding the cruise ship was a little chaotic. The ship was delayed leaving Athens, which made the early morning rush, completely unnecessary. On board, the facilities were good and the staff friendly and attentive, but it was only halfway to our first port of call - Hydra that we realised that the tour price was just the tip of the iceberg. In order to get the most out of the 3 island visits, you needed to spend another 80-odd Euros to take part in a very short walking tour and a twilight coach trip from Aegina in a bus with tinted windows - passengers got to see next to nothing! We were taken to a lovely Cathedral which was undergoing extensive building work (again, rather pointless). There was also a significant delay entering the final port of Aegina with no explanation, which meant the sun was already going down. The buffet lunch was sub-standard, the drinks were extra and the trip was unecessarily long (over 13 hours). A further delay returning to Athens seemed to be more about selling food and drinks rather than giving passengers the choice of getting back to port after a very long day. Not recommended for families with small children (they won't last the course); some adults will struggle.
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Posted On : 2023-12-31 15:59:15

Posted By : Ashley_S
Pros:
- convenient way to explore some of the islands
- excellent on-board entertainment and food (I had VIP tickets)
- friendly staff
- options to do this without spending a lot of money (VIP includes one on shore excursion) especially if you decide to explore the islands on your own
- hotel pick up and drop off

Cons:
- if you use an assistive device (i.e., wheelchair), the cobblestones on the islands are difficult to maneuver
- if you use an assistive device (i.e., wheelchair), consider skipping the walking tour of Hydra. The guide said she'd go slow so that my group (one person in a wheelchair) could keep up; but we ended up losing the group after the second stop.
- Walking tour of Hydra and panoramic tour of Aegina had heavy religious overtones and discussion of the famous people who visited the islands.
- only 40 mins - 1 hours on shore for each island; if you do a tour, it will take almost all of this time
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Posted On : 2023-12-27 11:21:38

Posted By : Carolyn_M
It was amazing visiting all three islands! The Athens Day Cruise was a great way to do this! The staff were super helpful and attentive! Even though I wished we had more time on the islands it was a great way to know which one I would visit again! Aegina was the largest, and I loved the Aphaia Ruins and visiting the monastery, one of the most beautiful churches! Hydra was probably my favorite! No cars, everyone walks or rides miles, lovely port! It was a long day, but well worth it!
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Posted On : 2023-12-26 03:17:38

Posted By : Venture17437385852
In 12 hours, you’ll get to see three islands which is great. 1-1.30 hours per island, which is enough if you just want to walk around and visit the cafés and markets. If you want to spend time in the churches and museums the time might not be enough. The cruise offers tours on the islands - only Aegina is worth it for the view and one church. The other two are unnecessary.

Cruise is clean and convenient. The port is most easily accessed by cab from the closest metro or from your stay. Food on board is tasty and appropriately priced. The crew will keep trying to sell you stuff - photographs that they’ll take of you, VIP lounge, stuff from their store and different tours. VIP lounge is not worth it and you can get the stuff from the store on the islands at a cheaper price.

Overall good experience. Worth the money.
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Posted On : 2023-12-20 16:27:26

Posted By : John_S
Lack luster rush job of putting you in islands for too short of time. This really was a bad version of the bare minimum. I felt cheated.
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Posted On : 2023-11-25 15:29:28

Posted By : whateverFlorida
It was a beautiful day with cool air in the morning and evening but perfect as you hopped between the islands. Everyone was very kind, happy and accommodating.
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Posted On : 2023-11-25 03:27:59

Posted By : Joe_S
Aside from the lunch this was a good trip. The excursions that are on the islands were an annoying surprise, they talk over a terrible microphone trying to sell you these extras so that was not a great thing. Hand out a flyer, don’t broadcast commercials while we are trying to enjoy the cruise. Other than that, good staff, amazing views, islands
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Posted On : 2023-11-22 12:41:37

Posted By : Nlsgreek
Had a beautiful day to take an excursion to the Greek islands near Athens. We were picked up at our hotel, Athens Gate, promptly at 7:45 and driven to the port where we boarded ferry. Ferry ride to Hydra was a was comfortable. Though we have been to Greece and islands,we had never been to Hydra. Neat little island with lots of history and quaint shops.
After Hydra we stopped at Regina and Pros that were mostly closed for the season....but neat and picturesque.
During the return trip to Athens we were treated to some entertainment and Greek food....good!
At our return, we were shuttled back to our hotel.
A long day excursion was well done.
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Posted On : 2023-11-21 13:08:12

Posted By : JohnK61555
During my trip to Greece I was not visiting Santorini or Mykonos. Therefore, to get a taste of the islands I booked this one-day cruise. Since it was late in the season the smaller (the Platytera) of the two boats was used. The scenery and islands were lovely. I paid for the VIP section but given the cost this may not have been worth it. Once onboard, optional island excursions were offered - one walking and one bus tour - for 28 euros. I enjoyed the day but it is very long. The cruise is 10+ hours of which less than 5 is on shore.
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Posted On : 2023-11-20 10:18:34

Posted By : 316josephineh
It was awful from start to finish... DO NOT BOOK THIS TOUR IF YOU DONT WANT A HUGE RIP OFF. To start nothing is really included aside from the boat journey itself... the islands were all under the time frame they allocated for.. even with the times all you have time for is to stroll the port harbour side which is just a tourist trap area... nothing to majorly see aside from the views which could be done cheaper on a private boat. Less than 4 hours total exploration with an 8 hour boat ride..

The upselling on this was atrocious... for an actual tour you'd be looking at alot extra to pay. Nothing included other than the sub par buffet... which was bland beyond belief.. a previous bad review mentioned this and they claimed catering to multiple groups around the world meant they needed to accommodate... I doubt the global food perspective is blandness at the expense of any actual taste.

We were offered no trip back to our accommodation so endured an additional expense and were treated rudely when asking about the return back.

If you want to waste a whole day and lose out on sightseeing which would be cheaper and more exhilarating then you should pick this trip. They try and palm off issues on the boat company which is also just milking a long petrol trip to anyone who books this.

We tried to get a small refund for the inconvenience from no lift back and they refused.

If I could ensure one thing from this it is that anyone who reads this I emplore you not to book with this trip as its clearly been overly reviewed to make it look better. I can only assume it would apply to people who just want to go to a few shops along a harbour side.

AGAIN DO NOT BOOK THIS AS ITS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY AND A SCAM.
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Posted On : 2023-11-15 13:11:24