{"id":1100,"date":"2012-02-19T11:52:43","date_gmt":"2012-02-19T10:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.islandwalking.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=1100"},"modified":"2026-02-17T17:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:47:16","slug":"aegina","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.islandwalking.com\/wordpress\/greek-islands\/aegina\/","title":{"rendered":"Aegina"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u0391\u03af\u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1 – Argo-Saronic<\/h1>\n
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A<\/span>egina\u00a0is the home of pistachio nuts, and a good place for sightseeing. The ideal getaway from Athens and an excellent place for doing more or less nothing while you are waiting for your flight home. A fair number of hotels and rooms in town to choose from makes it stress free to stay your last night here.<\/p>\n

T<\/span>he single column left at the archaeological site of Aegina town might just as well be admired from the distance, but you should at least visit the famous Sanctuary of Aphaia, if you are not totally put off by old ruins. The temple is rather small, but well preserved. It has some architectural specialties as well, for those who are interested in that sort of thing. But do not waste your money on expensive tourist coaches to get there. The frequent and cheap local bus from Aegina town in the directions of Agia Marina is just as easy to use. It stops right outside the gates of the sanctuary. Just beware that you are in all cases expected to have a ticket before you board a bus on this island. If this is impossible the bus driver can sell a ticket also, as a last resort.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A<\/span>egina town itself is very charming. A very nice place to relax and sample some seafood. Many good tavernas here, but if I should recommend just one it would have to be the Ouzeri Psarotaverna Flisvos, which has really great seafood.<\/p>\n

A<\/span>gina Marina, on the other hand, is just another tourist resort and is not very interesting in itself. However, you can do several walks straight out of town, and it is situated near many more.<\/p>\n

Selected walks:<\/b> For walks on Aegina take a look in “A walking guide to Aegina” by Gerald Thompson (1997), referred to below as \/Thompson\/, available in bookshops on the island.\u00a0A Road Editions 1:25000 map also exists.<\/p>\n

\u20221\u00a0<\/span>MESAGR\u00d3S – PALE\u00c1 H\u00d3RA –\u00a0AGHII – SOUV\u00c1LA (my total time 3h41, includes stops for photography and drinking; +406m -468m, 1 lap): This is walk A.V<\/span> in \/Thompson\/.<\/p>\n

The ancient capital of Pal\u00e9a H\u00f3ra makes this an extremely interesting walk. The walk had a few problems with orientation, and the book is in need of an update, but I still had no huge problems finding my way.<\/p>\n

I started at Mesagr\u00f3s walking back towards the cemetery. After that the correct dirt track is the first on the right. There is no sign anymore.<\/p>\n

The track does not “end abruptly” anymore either, it continues over a field and descends on the other side. Beware that you should only descend 2-3 terraces before turning right and continue upwards again to Pal\u00e9a H\u00f3ra.<\/p>\n

After Pal\u00e9a H\u00f3ra I used the “slightly more adventurous” route. No problem to mention there. Then after the two chapels ALMOST return to the road and turn down left on an overgrown track where the entrance is hidden by some building debris. Make sure you get to the upper of two (remains of) tracks available.<\/p>\n

Back on the road it took me at least 6-7 minutes to reach the “4 or 5 minutes” point… Turn right just before the garbage heap found at some huge clearing. Turn left at the fork immediately after. This fork is not mentioned in the book. After that it is just to move ahead in the obvious direction.<\/p>\n

I found little of interest in Aghii, so strolled the road to Souv\u00e1la harbour, where my walk ended.<\/p>\n

\u20222\u00a0<\/span>AGIA MAR\u00cdNA – APHA\u00cdA –\u00a0MESAGR\u00d3S – AGIOS IOANNIS – AGIA\u00a0MAR\u00cdNA (my total time 2h57, includes stops for photography and drinking; +-419m, 2 laps): This is walk B.VI<\/span> in \/Thompson\/<\/span>. Note that my walking time does not include any time for actual sightseeing or visits to the sites and places mentioned in the text.<\/p>\n

For the most part the walk\u00a0is easy to find and follow, doing Apha\u00eda first, but after strolling up the road (initially) and track (eventually) to Mesagr\u00f3s the situation is slightly different from what is described in the book. The first pottery (right hand side) was missing, the pottery on the left side of the road is the second one mentioned in the text. You can confirm this by its sign (in Greek only). The continuing route is then a left fork from there. Entering the ravine again new building activity may obstruct the path in the near future. At least for now they had made some effort to keep it clear of the landfill.<\/p>\n

Be sure to CROSS the ravine before looking for a path on your right a minute later. It is even marked by red dots.<\/p>\n

My route then follows the “steep cart-track” before I found an interesting alternative which minimizes the use of the dusty track. Just after the track enters the forest a very nice footpath (red blobs again!) goes left, taking you the entire way up to the top of the ridge. Entering the path\/firebreak here you go right then left twice where after a few minutes you pass the signed turn-off for Agios Ioannis (sign in Greek only).<\/p>\n

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\u2022\u00a0Good starting points:\u00a0\u2022 Aegina town – good bus connections all over the island \u2022 Agina Marina – nearer most walks and also has good bus connections<\/span> \u2022 Piraeus – due to the excellent ferry connections there is no problem doing walks on Aegina with a base in Piraeus either<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0How to get there:\u00a0\u2022 Excellent ferry\/hydrofoil connections from Piraeus’ Great Harbour (expect one or two departures every hour)<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0More info:\u00a0\u2022 AEGINAGREECE<\/span><\/a> – has timetables<\/a> for the island buses \u2022 aegina island greece<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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T<\/span>his page was last modified at February 17, 2026.<\/p>\n

\u00a91997-2026