Spetses: Bouboulina, belle époque and pine-scented bays

About Spetses: Bouboulina, belle époque and pine-scented bays

By the ULTIMATE Greek Islands Editorial Team

Spetses is the most stylish of the Saronic islands: grand mansions and a belle-époque hotel, boatyards in the Old Harbour, pine-fringed bays and the memory of Laskarina Bouboulina, heroine of the 1821 revolution.

Spetses is the farthest of the Saronic islands from Athens, and the most polished. Its town spreads along the shore from the main port of Dapia to the Old Harbour, a long, gentle line of captains’ mansions, pebble-mosaic courtyards and gardens heavy with bougainvillea. Private cars are restricted in town, so people get around on scooters, bicycles, by water taxi or in horse-drawn carriages.

The island’s great figure is Laskarina Bouboulina, a ship-owner who commanded her own vessels in the War of Independence of 1821 and became a national heroine. Her family mansion is now a museum, and her statue stands on the waterfront. Every September the island celebrates the Armata, recalling the naval battle of 1822 with a re-enactment and the burning of a mock ship in the harbour.

On Spetses, wooden caiques are still built by hand in the Old Harbour.

In the early 20th century Spetses became a fashionable resort, and the Poseidonion Grand Hotel, a landmark since 1914, still sets the tone on the seafront. The island also has a literary connection: John Fowles taught at the Anargyrios and Korgialenios School here, and the island inspired his novel The Magus.

The Old Harbour is the island’s most atmospheric corner, with traditional boatyards where wooden caiques are still built and repaired, and restaurants and bars along the water for evenings. Dapia is livelier, with cafés, shops and the boats to Piraeus and the Peloponnese.

Beyond town, a coastal road circles the island through pine woods to beaches such as Agia Marina, Zogeria, Agia Paraskevi and Agioi Anargyroi, where you can swim into the Bekiris cave. Water taxis and summer beach boats make it easy to reach them without a car.

Spetses attracts Athenian families who have summered here for generations, so it is busiest in July and August and at weekends. Fast boats from Piraeus take roughly two to two and a half hours; times are approximate and seasonal. Prices are on the higher side, but the island repays a stay of a few nights.

Our advice: stay near the Old Harbour or Dapia, hire a bicycle or scooter for the coast road, swim at Agia Paraskevi and Agioi Anargyroi, have a sunset dinner by the boatyards, and if you can, time your trip for the Armata weekend in September.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Spetses: Bouboulina, belle époque and pine-scented bays before you go.