Can anyone tell me to which islands we can do day trips from Athens, either by ferry or air?

Thanks

Mykonos is only about a 20 minute flight from Athens. Santorini is a little longer. But it would be a shame to only spend a day on each of these islands, unless that's really all you have. A more viable option might be a hydrofoil to either Hydra or Aegina from the port( Piraeus) in Athens. Hydra is about 1.5 hours each way, and well-worth the trip!

Thanks Weadles - I'll look up your suggestion on Hydra - I think it will be fun for my son (15) to ride the Hydrofoil. Sounds like we may need to stay the night in Santorini - I don't see early morning flights (except a 6 AM - too early for us!) that will let us enjoy most of the day there.

You will WANT to stay in Santorini overnight so that you can catch the amazing sunset over the caldera!

The only islands practical for a day trip from Athens are in the Saronic Gulf (Aegina, Hydra, etc). Don't even think about a day trip to Mykonos or Santorini! #-o

Hydra, Poros, Agistri, Me8ana, Aegina and Spetses are the islands closer to Athens, only a few hours by ferry and ideal for day trips. Take the morning ferry from the port of Piraeus and visit more than one. Hydra is my onw favourite. Here is a website with information on all the Greek islands.

http://www.greek-islands.us/

Thanks much Sigmoundd and others - it's wonderful when you get great suggestions and corrections to your assumption, without the heavy-handed put-downs that some folks tend to use in their otherwise helpful comments. I was off the planning for a while because of other preoccupations which almost canceled the trip but I am now back on it - We are now going to stay in Santorini for three nights and may try to take a day trip to a nearby island from Athens - we have two extra days, beyond the day we spend to see Athens itself, and I am trying to choose two out of the three options: Day trip to Sounio, day trip to Peloponnese, and day trip to Hydra. Any suggestions are welcome!