Cruzeiro do Golfo Saronic: Explore Hydra, Poros e Aegina

This cruise was the highlight of our 2-week Mediterranean trip. The ship was excellent with a superb captain at the helm. The crew were beyond first-rate, they went out of their way to help us with drinks, extra ice, and even finding the best place to stand to be first off the ship. To see the three islands is to experience the beauty of Greece, all in one day. The small excursions on the islands were magnificent in terms of scenery, history, culture, people, etc. Great memories of these islands will be with me forever. The entertainment was extremely fun and contagious. Most of the passengers joined in clapping, singing and dancing up until the very end of the cruise. I highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting Athens. I didn’t want to leave.

Be prepared for a long hot day. Unfortunately we missed Hydra because of the very high winds on the day. Staff are very friendly and accommodating. Lunch on the ship was mediocre and drinks and snacks are very expensive. Best to eat on the islands you visit. Recommend trying the pistachio gelato in Aegina. It was delicious!

It was a fun trip. We did best that can be done to cover three islands in one day. A bit too crowded, may be. Other than that it was very well organized. If you cannot afford more time to spend in the islands - this becomes a must tour.

Hydra was an absolutely amazing island!! Poros was very nice!! Aegina was a big city feel. Would definitely go back to Hydra!!

Great trip to the three islands starting with Hydra then Poros followed by Aegina. Once on board you are called to an area where information is given on timings and tours available which is helpful. The company are very organised. Set off at 8am and docked at Hydra approx 11.20am. Got 1 hour and 15 mins there to look around. Beautiful place and would recommend the tour that is offered by the company that tells you about the place. Lunch was served as soon as we boarded for the next stop and it was a good buffet style help yourself lunch of fish/chicken legs and pasta , slaw and potatoes etc. Poros was the next stop and also pretty with a bell tower that you can walk up to. You don’t get long here though which is a shame so might not have enough time do do this unless you rush. We literally got an icecream then it was time to be boarding again. Last stop was Aegina where you can wander around or do either a cultural tour of a monastery and church or panoramic tour of the island. We did the latter which also takes you to the church and tells you about the island. Really enjoyed the trip. Would recommend. Only negative I would say is that there is not much time in the places and timings are strict. If you aren’t back on they go without you. 1 hr 15 in Hydra, 45 mins in Poros and 2 hours in Aegina. Aegina has little streets and pistachio stalls and cafes which you don’t really get time to see if doing either bus tour so would recommend to take this into account when planning your time there.

It was a memorable experience from beginning to end. Georgia was a wonderful guide and very charming. Very good evermore cruise. Staff very well too.

The cruise was good. It was not clear when booking regarding how long at each stop and this was only communicated once onboard. 1.5hrs at first (Hydro), 40mins at Poros and 1.5hrs at last stop (Aegina). Timing for stops was good and decent. Evening entertainment was great with the dancers but host was in and out having a smoke so not really paying full attention. The additional tour (Panaramic View) in Aegina was great but did not get to taste pistachios as advertised. Also didn't like the "attend all" compulsory "safety drill" at the start which ended up being a sales pitch. Other than this lovely and recommended.

Overall we had a fun time, but I wouldn't go again or recommend the tour. To start, we took the metro and a tram to arrive at the pier (easy). Boarding was easy, and we found a shady spot to sit. Once the trip was started we were asked to go downstairs to hear about the extra tour options. Based on the description of the tours on Viator we were interested in the prices. The prices were somewhat high for what you were receiving and the options did not match the description on Viator. They gave a significant discount to do 2 tours (almost 50% off), and we signed up for a walking your on Hydra and a visit to the Beach on Aegina Island. Neither tour were provided as explained. There wasn't anything special about the walking tour. We visited a monistary and a museum (total cost would have been less than 5€ on our own). We also had a quarter of a cookie at a local bakery. The second tour was to a beach with the promise of 30 minutes to walk around in town afterwards. We ended up with only 10 minutes to walk around. The beach was not a nice as the pictures shown by the tour guides nor what was seen on Google. We had an okay time, but were not given the time in town we wanted and were promised. Lastly, lunch was provided after the first island. The food was bland and not filling. There was rice, chicken, fish, salad, chickpeas, bread, and potatoes. There were no drinks included during the cruise, except water if you paid for an additional tour. Drink and snacks on board were over priced.

Very well organized excursion from start to finish. The extra cost for informative tours of Hydra and Poros are worth it!

Hydra and Aegina were fantastic. You do spend most of your day on the boat (like 6-7 hrs) so if youbwanted more island time, maybe just pick one island to visit.