Hydra: the car-free island of captains and artists

About Hydra: the car-free island of captains and artists

By the ULTIMATE Greek Islands Editorial Team

Hydra has no cars or motorbikes, just a horseshoe harbour of grey-stone captains’ mansions, mules on the cobbles and swimming from the rocks. It is close enough to Athens for a short escape, and it has long drawn artists and writers.

Hydra announces itself all at once. The fast boat rounds a bare headland and there it is: a harbour shaped like a horseshoe, its quay lined with cafés, and above it an amphitheatre of grey-stone mansions and white houses climbing two steep hills. What you do not hear is traffic. There are no cars or motorbikes on Hydra, so the soundtrack is boat engines, church bells and the clatter of mules carrying luggage up the steps.

The mansions tell the island’s story. In the 18th and early 19th centuries Hydra’s ships traded across the Mediterranean, and its captains grew rich enough to build these fortress-like stone houses. When the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, the Hydriot fleet became one of its great forces, and the island still honours admirals such as Andreas Miaoulis. The Historical Archives Museum on the harbour and the Koundouriotis mansion on the hill make that history vivid.

On Hydra, the only traffic is mules, boats and the occasional bicycle.

In the 1950s and 60s a different crowd arrived: painters, writers and musicians drawn by the light, the low prices and the absence of cars. Leonard Cohen bought a house here in 1960, and the island’s reputation as a place for artists has lasted. Today the DESTE Foundation stages a contemporary art commission each summer in the old slaughterhouse by the sea, and small galleries open around the harbour.

Hydra suits people who like to walk. The town is all steps and lanes, and coastal paths lead west to the fishing hamlet of Kamini and the beaches of Vlychos, and east to Mandraki. Beaches are mostly pebbly, and the classic swim is from the rocks at Spilia or Hydronetta, with ladders into deep, clear water. For pine-backed coves such as Bisti, take a beach boat or water taxi. Fit walkers can climb to the monastery of Profitis Ilias for the view over the Saronic Gulf.

The mood changes through the day. Early mornings are serene, with fishermen on the quay and cats in the lanes. Around midday the day-trip boats arrive and the harbour fills; that is the moment to go swimming or walking. By evening the visitors have left, the cafés glow, and dinner in a leafy taverna square or above the harbour at Kamini feels like the island’s reward for staying the night.

Practicalities are simple but worth knowing. Fast boats from Piraeus take roughly an hour and a half to two hours, so Hydra works as a day trip, but it is far better with at least one night. Pack light: porters with mules can carry your bags, but every hotel involves steps. Prices in the harbour are higher than on many islands, and summer weekends are busy with Athenians.

Our advice: come for two or three nights, ideally midweek in May, June or September; book a hotel within a few minutes of the harbour; swim from the rocks in the afternoon and walk to Kamini for sunset; and leave the day-trip crowds to the middle of the day.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Hydra: the car-free island of captains and artists before you go.