Has anyone been on the Fantasy Travel of Greece day cruise from Athens (FULL DAY CRUISE TO POROS - HYDRA - AEGINA)? Just wondering how it was and whether 88 euros each is worth it for a mini excursion end of May? I found it on the fantasytravelofgreece.com website. Thanks!

We went on a similar cruise some years ago. I think there's a number of them. We enjoyed it; you get a sampling of the closer-in islands. Hydra/Idra is particularly colorful.

Alternatively, you could just choose one of those islands and take the ferry there yourself (the ferry to Aigina, for example, is 6 Euros), and spend the day there seeing the sites (you can easily spend a day in Aigina -- 2 archaeological sites, 2 museums, the waterfront, Agia Marina town, etc). Or Hydra, or Poros. I love Poros personally, and a full day there is great. Hydra is very atmospheric but there is admittedly less to occupy oneself with.

My worry would be that you are paying more than you need to if you were to take the ferry (trust me this is not the QEII, it's more of a ferry type boat than a cruise ship), and you won't have time at any of these islands to do ANYTHING other than say you've been there.

Personally, I'd say spend 12 Euros for two ferry tickets to Aigina, a few Euros for bus tickets, and really get to know the island. Or Hydra. Or Poros.

Aside from that, Fantasy Travel is the travel agency that Matt Barrett touts (perhaps that's how you found them?) and I have read a fair number of positive reviews and no bad ones. Personal experience is zero though because I prefer to go the budget route - being a poor person helps make these decisions ;-)

Either way, a day trip to an island / islands out of Athens is a really wonderful thing to do, so I hope you go either on the cruise or on your own. Have fun! xaroula.

Totally agree with Xaroula... Aegina has the most sublime temple in mid-island atop a hill... you can see the entire saronic gulf... breathtaking. If there are 2 of you, you can cab to Piraeus (30 mins from Syntagma) take ferry to Aegina in 45 minutes, rent an itty-bitty car (30E end of May) and drive all over, check out the "temple of Apollo" (one column left) and really see an island, and STILL spend much much less than that cattle-call "Excursion cruise." I had a spare 2 days last year and "did" Aegina -- so glad I did.

Hi HTexas

We have managed to easily do the trips ourselves and totally endorse the great information from xaroula and travelerjan.

A few years ago there was a wonderful thread by a lady who wrote about visiting Greece and Athens, Mykonos and some of the Saronic islands. It was a first time visit and she succesfully arranged it all herself and didn't use a tour company. It's a great read and if I can find it I'll bring it to the top for you.

bill