The Saronic Gulf Islands
We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Saronic Gulf Islands - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Bouboulina's Museum
In front of a small park is Bouboulina's House, now a museum, where you can take a 45-minute guided tour (available in English) and learn about this interesting heroine's life. Laskarina Bouboulina was the bravest of all Spetsiot revolutionaries, the daughter of a Hydriot sea captain, and the wife—then widow—of two more sea captains. Left with a considerable inheritance and nine children, she dedicated herself to increasing her already substantial fleet and fortune. On her flagship, the Agamemnon, the largest in the Greek fleet at the time, she sailed into war against the Ottomans at the head of the Spetsiot ships. Her fiery temper led to her death in a family feud many years later. It's worth visiting the mansion, which is run by her fourth-generation grandson, just for the architectural details, like the carved-wood Florentine ceiling in the main salon. Tour times (in groups of up to 35 visitors) are posted on the museum website, in front of the museum, and in announcement boards at the port of Dapia. The museum closes for maintenance during winter.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece22980-72077Sight Details
Rate Includes: €6, Closed Nov.–late Mar, Late Mar.–Oct., daily 9:45–2:15 and 3:45–8:15 -
2. Spetses Museum
A fine and impressive late 18th-century archontiko, owned by the locally renowned Hatziyianni-Mexi family and built in a style that might be termed Turko-Venetian, contains the town's municipal museum. It holds articles from the period of Spetses's greatness during the War of Independence, including the bones of the town's heroine, Bouboulina, and a revolutionary flag. A small collection of ancient artifacts consists mostly of ceramics and coins. Also on display are representative pieces of furniture and household items from the period of the Greek revolution.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece22980-72994Sight Details
Rate Includes: €4, Closed Tues., Tues.–Sun. 8:30–2:30 -
3. Anargyrios and Korgialenios School
Known as the inspiration for the school in John Fowles's The Magus, this institution was established in 1927 as an English-style boarding school for the children of Greece's Anglophile wealthy elite. Until 2010, tourism management students studied amid the elegant amphitheaters, black-and-white-tile floors, and huge windows. Today, the buildings are used for conferences, private seminars, and summer schools. Nevertheless, visitors can still take a peek (free) inside the school and stroll around the fabulous gardens throughout the year.
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4. Ayia Marina
Favored by fashionable Greek socialites, the mostly sandy beach at Ayia Marina is the home of the elegant Paradise Beach Bar, tavernas, and many water-sports activities. Sun beds and umbrellas are available for a fee. You can hire a horse-drawn buggy from town to arrive in style, or you can come by caïque. Warning: this beach can get pretty busy during the summer months with a younger, party-loving crowd. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; swimming; walking.
Agia Marina, Spetses, 18050, Greece22980-72195-Paradise Beach Bar -
5. Ayia Paraskevi
Pine trees, a canteen, sun beds, and umbrellas line Ayia Paraskevi, a sheltered and popular beach with a mostly sandy shore (and coarse pebbles in other parts). Look for the cubic Ayia Paraskevi chapel at the back—it has given its name to the bay. Many locals consider this beach the most beautiful on the island; it can be reached either via road or with a caïque. The beach gets fairly busy during the summer months, and if you don't manage to snag a sun bed (€10 for a pair), you can sun yourself on the red rocks bordering the sandy beach. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.
Agia Paraskevi, Spetses, 18050, Greece -
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6. Ayioi Anargyroi
A clean and cosmopolitan beach, Ayioi Anargyroi has a gently sloped seabed with deep waters suitable for snorkeling, waterskiing, and other water sports (rentals are available on-site). It is the island's best-known beach, 6 km (4 miles) away from town. You can also swim (or take a path) to beautiful Bekiris cave, a famous historical spot used by Greek revolutionaries as a hiding place during the 1821 revolution. Look for Taverna Manolis by the beach; nearby you can rent two sun beds and an umbrella for about €10 a day. There is also a pretty hotel (Acrogiali) right on the beach. Amenities: lifeguards; showers; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking; windsurfing.
Spetses, 18050, Greece -
7. Ayios Mamas
Religious Building/Site/ShrineThe town's stone promontory is the site of the little 19th-century church, Ayios Mamas—take your photos from a distance as the church is privately owned and often locked. Bring a swimsuit, as the beach here is great for a dip.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece -
8. Dapia
DapiaShips dock at the modern harbor, Dapia, in Spetses Town. This is where the island's seafaring chieftains met in the 1820s to plot their revolt against the Ottoman Turks. A protective jetty is still fortified with cannons dating from the War of Independence. Today, the town's waterfront strip is packed with cafés, and the navy-blue-and-white color scheme adopted by Dapia's merchants hints of former maritime glory. The harbormaster's offices, to the right as you face the sea, occupy a building designed in the simple two-story, center-hall architecture typical of the period and this place.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece -
9. Ekklisia Ayios Nikolaos
On the headland sits Ayios Nikolaos, the current cathedral of Spetses, and a former fortified abbey. Its lacy white-marble bell tower recalls that of Hydra's port monastery. It was here that the islanders first raised their flag of independence.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece22980-72423 -
10. Kaiki
Trendy Kaiki Beach (otherwise known as Scholes or College beach due to its proximity to the Anargyros School) is a triangular patch of sandy beach that draws a young crowd with its beach volleyball court, water-sports activities (about €40 for 20 minutes of Jet Skiing), and the Kaiki Beach bars (yes, there are two of them!) and restaurant, the hippest on the beach in Spetses. It will cost you about €10 for a huge umbrella, two bamboo sun beds, two beach towels, and a bottle of water for a relaxing day on the beach. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; walking.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece22980-74507-Kaiki Beach Bar Restaurant -
11. Palio Limani
Take a horse and carriage or stroll the seafront promenade to the old harbor, Palio Limani, from the bustling new harbor, Dapia. As you wander by the waterfront, you might imagine it as it was in its 18th- and 19th-century heyday: the walls of the mansions resounding with the noise of shipbuilding and the streets humming with discreet whisperings of revolution and piracy. Today, the wood keels in the few remaining boatyards are the backdrop for cosmopolitan bars, cafés, and restaurants; the sailing boats linger lazily in the bay. Walk up the hill to the ocher-hued chapel of Panayia Armata for unforgettable sunset views.
Spetses Town, Spetses, 18050, Greece -
12. Poseidonion Grand Hotel
This 1914 waterfront landmark, a fitting backdrop to the defiant bronze statue of Bouboulina, was the scene of glamorous Athenian society parties and balls in the era between the two world wars. It was once the largest resort in the Balkans and southeastern Europe. The hotel was the brainchild of Sotirios Anargyros, a visionary benefactor who was responsible for much of the development of Spetses. After extensive renovations were completed in 2009, it recaptured its former glory and is once again the focal point of most Spetsiot cultural and social events.
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13. Zogeria
This is, in fact, two beaches split by a verdurous little peninsula. On the right, the larger beach offers a day of relaxation away from the cosmopolitan crowds, with few amenities other than the beautiful water. You can rent sun beds and umbrellas from Taverna Loula (June–September). On a clear day you can see all the way to Nafplion. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: solitude; swimming.
Spetses, 18050, Greece69446-27851-Taverna Loula
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