Will be traveling to Athens first 2 weeks of October.

Does the 1 day 3 island hopper tour from Athens allow you enough time to enjoy Hydra? It seems to be a bit rushed for all 3 islands in one day. I'm really interested in Hydra as that will rather new experiencing an island with no cars. It seems as though Hydra is a must see island, but I'm not too sure about Poros and Aegina. Don't want to feel like I'm missing something by not visiting all three, but don't want to be rushed either. Which of the three islands would you suggest I focus on and I know it's personal preference, but we are people that like to explore, walk, people watch, relax, eat and just take in our surroundings. We don't necessarily have to go swimming, but would love to just have a relaxing day.

Will it be crowded that time of year? Should we consider taking the ferry from Nafplio or from Athens and is there much difference in the price and the length of travel to the island from either port? While in Nafplio I would like to have a day trip to Spestes so I'm needing to figure out whether or not I should make the day trip to Hydra from Athens or have both from Nafplio.

Thanks in advance!

Trying to experience 3 islands in 3 days is a total waste of your time. 3 nights on one island is the absolute bare minimum I would ever recommend, and only if you're on a very tight time budget. Focus on Hydra by itself and you won't be disappointed. It will not be crowded in October.

Correction: "3 islands in one day"

I did that 3 island trip many years ago, and while Poros and Aegina were nice enough, we would have loved to have had more time on Hydra. If there is an option to go just there, I would take it.

I did that 3 island trip too, and I actually really enjoyed it. yes, it would be great to have more time on Hydra. But the temple at Aegina was the highlight for me. I could have skipped Poros, I think we didn't spend much time there.

My recollection is we had enough time in Hydra to walk through town, and then we took a swim. It was probably about 2 hours. Definitely not enough, but pleasant fi that's the time you have.

Its definitely not a waste of time.

You can do Hydra on your own. Don't need a tour.

We took the hydrofoil to Hydra, explored the island, then took another boat to Poros, stayed there a while. Then took a boat across to the Peloponnesus where we hired a taxi to be our guide. Went to Epidaurus, don't remember where else but he dropped us in Corinth where we caught a bus back to Athens. It was a long day but fun!

Peloponnesus = Peloponnese

Thanks everyone...that answers my question about which island to spend my time. Hydra is the winner!!!!

Next question....should I do the Hydra from Athens or Nafplio?
I plan to spend about 4-5 days in Nafplio while doing various day trips and about 3-4 days in Athens to visit the Plaka area and Glyfada area. It seems as though Hydra is closer Nafplio than Athens. Also I want to visit Spestes, but I don't know if there's a tour from Athens to that island or should I just go from Nafplio. Basically I want to see if I need to add more days to Nafplio and take off one in Athens.

Thanks again!

Unless you have no time, i wouldn't recommend the 3 islands cruise.
The time you will have at disposal on each island will be minimal. From all 3 islands Hydra is the nicest, followed by Poros.

You can visit Spetses from Nafplio by going to Kosta and taking the boat from there or Hydra... best with a rental car.... ( the public bus might not be very convenient)

So are there rental car companies at the port in Spetses? Or is there a car ferry that we can take from Kosta? It will be 6 adults, so are there large enough cars to rent.

Thanks again!

By the way, I'm not sure if its on Netflix, but the old Sophia Loren/Alan Ladd movie "Boy on a Dolphin" was filmed on Hydra in 1956. It might be interesting to watch it before you go. its a little slow, but the scenery is lovely.

Spetses is car free... you would drive to Kosta with your rental car, park it there and take the boat to Spetses...

Same with Hydra.. i looked at the bus timetable and it is not convenient at all...

Are you going to be in Nafplio using public transportation?

Yes we will have a car or something large enough for six people while in Nafplio.

I didn't realize Spetses is car free. So you're saying that we can drive to Kosta from Nafplio and take the boat to Spetses?

Can you forward the bus timetable? Sounds like we will need to allocate a whole day to both Hydra and Spetses.

This is the website of Ktel Argolis.
It is a bit confusing as you will see.

Having a car, you just drive to Kosta, there is a huge parking place there, where you can leave your car and take the taxi boat to Spetses ( which takes 10 min)

To visit Hydra you just drive to Metohi and take the boat from there. Timetable you can find here :
http://www.hydra.gr/en/gettinghere/

When we were in Nafplio we took a day tour from Kostas to Hydra and Spetses. We could have done without Spetses.

I find Spetses to be a very beautiful island, it is a protected town with old houses dating back to the 18th century.
It is a place where you can walk around and discover it's beauty on every step.

Here is some pics that will give you an idea of how the island looks.
Of course like with the every place one should make some homework in order to know what to expect.

http://tinyurl.com/mzhujvp

I forgot to post the website of Ktel Argolis, here it is :

http://www.ktel-argolidas.gr/?module...s_id=3&lang=en

Thin LOVES Hydra!!!!

I would stay two nights.

Notice all the kitty cats!


Thin