Greece Travel Guide. Athens Guide. Greek Island Guide. Hotels of Greece. Going to a Greek Island on your own does not have to be an intimidating experience. Just follow these simple instructions and you will have an adventure which can be duplicated a few thousand times, or as many times as there are Greek islands. For the sake of convenience I will use the island of Aegina as our sample island, though of course you could substitute any island of your choice.
I chose Aegina because it is close to Athens, only an hour by ferry, half that by Flying Dolphin, and because there are boats leaving every hour so I don't have to wake up early to catch a morning boat, the majority of which leave between 7 and 9 am, and I won't need to buy an advance ticket. If this was an early boat you will have asked the concierge at your hotel to have a taxi waiting for you at least an hour and fifteen minutes before the boats scheduled departure.
If you tell the taxi the name of the boat, or which island you are going to, he will know exactly where to go. From downtown Athens to Pireaus should cost about 10 Euros. Don't count on the ferry leaving late and you making it in the nick of time. I have actually missed a ferry by a foot. I could have jumped but I did not want to risk falling into the murky waters of Pireaus, plus my girlfriend was on crutches. From Athens the goes from the bottom of Syntagma square to Pireaus and the new goes from Omonia to Pireaus.
There is also a stop near the Acropolis museum on Vas Amalias Street near Hadrian's Arch on the Plaka side of the street where you can catch the X80 express that goes from Syntagma to Pireaus. You can also take the Metro, as I do, by using the steps that follow. Because I am only doing a day trip there is no need to check out of my hotel, nor is there any need to bring my luggage, which makes traveling today a breeze.
All I have is my digital camera and what I am wearing. You may want to bring a day bag with a towel and bathing suit. Your first step is to find the train station closest to your hotel. Most likely this is Monastiraki in the flea market, easy to locate. You can walk down Metropolis or Ermou streets or follow Adrianou until you hit Hadrian's wall at Aeolou, make a right and then your next left on Pondrosou.
