The first time I visited the island of Poros was actually on a class trip in the eighth grade, in May 1999. So I already had wonderful memories of the island that I first visited as a 14-year-old with my friends and a couple of very young teachers. It was my first trip without parents, where I got to experience my first real flirt and fun parties until the late hours with my classmates in the hotel we stayed at. That time we stayed in a quiet family hotel in Neorion, right next to the beach, but as teenagers we thought that the hotel pool was a better and more fun alternative (something I do not agree with at all today) and therefore spent most of our days around it. We also took many walks down to Poros town to stroll around among shops and cafes. After that trip, Poros has always followed me in my thoughts, but it actually took me many years until to visit the island again.
The second time I visited Poros was actually in January 2017 over a weekend and that was then I again fell head over heels for this island, but in a completely different way then last time. Even though you could not enjoy the beautiful beaches and sunshine in the middle of winter, there was something incredibly cozy and inviting about Poros town that made me curious and made me swear to soon travel to this island again. Therefore, it was no wonder that I happily visited the island this summer, especially as my best friend also got linked to Poros through her boyfriend who lives and works there for the greater part of the year.
Poros town 
Neorion 
How to reach Poros?
We chose to go to Poros by taking the “slow”, larger ferry from the port of Piraeus as we wanted to bring a car with us. This ferry takes about 2.5 hours as it also stops on the island of Aegina and Methana on its way, and if you ask me, this is the absolute best option to choose as I always think that the trip is a big part of the full experience. Taking a boat through this part of the Saronic Sea, where the islands are close to eachother and you almost always see land from the boat is something special.
The price for a ticket with this ferry is about 15-20 euros per person and a little over 30 euros for a car.
However, if you are in a bit of a hurry, you can also take a “Flying dolphin” or “Flying Cat” to Poros (a kind of fast catamaran boat) which arrives on the island in just over 1 hour.
Another way to the island is to actually drive 162 km down to the small Peloponnesian town of Galatas from Athens (or from wherever you are) and then take a ferry across the small strait to Poros, which takes only about 5 minutes. This is also a good alternative if you want to see beautiful nature along the way and maybe even stop at ancient Mycenae or Epidavros with its huge ancient theater with as many as 14,000 seats for spectators and where many performances are still held during the summer months.
Reaching our destination – the island of Poros
After a nice boat trip under the sun and in those very unique blue waters that are only found in Greece, we arrived at Poros. The image that meets you when you reach the island is magical! As it is situated so close to the mainland and Peloponnesos with its high mountains, it almost feels like you are in a kind of Greek “fjord landscape”. Poros town, densely built on hills and the famous clock tower at the top, welcomed us with happy colors.
We took the car and drove up to my best friend’s boyfriend’s apartment, where we were lucky enough to stay over this week, and unpacked. Shortly after that it was time for a first excursion! To finally see Poros in its “summer outfit” was a joy for the eye. Many beautiful sailboats were laying along the town’s board walk and a wonderful mix of visitors on the island gave the liveliness that we had missed so much during these recent years with the whole covid outbreak. We drove around the island for a while and I was more and more amazed at how many beautiful areas this island had to offer. I had not reached this far during my walks as a 14-year-old!
Poros is an incredibly green and leafy island with at least a dozen beautiful beaches, but it is also an island with beautiful buildings and a spirit of grandeur. It felt both familiar and new at the same time. This was going to be an amazing week, I could feel it already!
Beautiful beaches
If you are like me, you are always looking to find that “perfect” beach, which is both calm and beautiful and where you can see yourself lying for days and days, just relaxing. If this is the case then I have good news for you! Poros has many such beaches and I will share my three absolute favorites right here.
Monastiri beach
After the area “Askeli” just at the end of the road you will find Monastiri beach, in the shadow of the “Zoodochos Pigi” monastery. The road down to the beach goes through olive groves and is incredibly cozy. The beach has both an organized and a free part and also has a small restaurant with toilets.
The colorful sun umbrellas are mixed with large old olive trees that provide a shade when lying by the shore overlooking the Peloponnese and beautiful crystal blue waters. Here you can easily spend a whole day, and if you want you can also take the opportunity to visit the monastery on the hill above, but then you should make sure to bring the correct clothes for such a visit.
Love Bay beach, or “To Limanaki Tis Agapis”
My absolute favorite beach on the island is “Love Bay”. The feeling you get here is that you are far from civilization (even though the town of Poros is only about a 5 minutes drive away). The emerald green waters and the lush pine trees that cover the beach create such a peaceful aura that I could easily imagine settling down under one of the green parasols on offer here.
Love Bay Beach is said to have gotten its name around the 1950s. At that time, the trees were even denser than they are today and only a gravel road took you down to the beach so any visitor was not easily visible from above. It is said that “Love Bay” was the perfect place for “forbidden couples” during times when many young people did not marry out of love, but because of arranged marriages in Greece.
Today, Love Bay beach is a well-known beach with a number of sun loungers (you can also lie freely on the beach here) belonging to a cozy beach bar with very friendly staff. It offers a light menu with good simple dishes, drinks and fantastic juices made from honeydew melon, watermelon and other tasty summer fruits. The trees provide good protection from the sun during the summer and create a real paradise that you can only fall in love with.
However, you should keep in mind that it is smart to come here early in the morning so that you can find a vacant place, especially during the high season, as I am not the only one liking this beach!
Hotel Sirene Blue Resort Poros
The third beach I can higly recommend is the private beach that belongs to Hotel Sirene Blue Resort Poros. You do not see the beach from the road above but you have to go through the hotel reception and take a lift down to the beach to reach it. But oh what a beach! Turquoise waters, very calm and quiet and at the same time a bit exclusive.
Here you lie on sun loungers directly on the beach which is a beach with small white pebbles or on a wooden pier that the hotel has built. There is also a bar and restaurant with good food and drinks that is open all day, as well as a nice “gift shop” with beautiful products for those who are in a “shopping mood”.
As a hotel guest, you can visit the beach and the pool freely at any time, but you can also get free entry to the beach without staying at the hotel. However, only on days when it is not “fully booked” as hotel guests always have priority. So feel free to try to get here during Monday to Thursday and always ask the reception if it is possible to visit the beach! It is definitely worth a try!
Food & Drinks on Poros
I have eaten at many places on the island and must say that there is generally a high standard of food here. You can find both traditional Greek food of high class at for example “Taverna Theano” in the Neorion area a little north of Poros town but also very good Sushi in Poros town at the relatively new sushi restaurant “SAIL”.
Poros town is also a very lively town in the evenings with countless small bars that are worth a visit. The view from the promenade is pure magic during the late evenings when you can see the lights from the town of Galatas and the illuminated boats passing by opposite the strait. That view with a good drink in hand is a memory you can live on throughout the cold winter. Poros has a cosmopolitan style and attracts many young people from Athens during the weekends as it is so close to the big capital. The island therefore has a wonderful nightlife. There are many bars located by the port of Poros town but also along the beach in Askeli which are open until the early hours.
“Taverna Apagio”
For a more relaxing evening, you can instead have a nice dinner at one of the many taverns located by Poros town’s board walk.
We were lucky enough to, as I said, stay at the home of my best friend’s boyfriend during our stay on the island and he happens to be an incredibly talented chef and son of the ownesr of the “Apagio” tavern! How lucky can one get? Apagio is easily one of the best taverns I have ever visited, not only on Poros but in Greece in general. Therefore, I can do nothing but recommend you to visit this gem when you in the future take a trip to Poros.
The tavern”Apagio” was created in 2002 and is located on the promenade, overlooking the canal and the town of Galatas on Peloponnesos. The owners and creators of this tavern, the incredibly wonderful couple of Liz and Spiros, aimed to preserve traditional Greek cuisine with a lot of love for local natural ingredients such as fresh seafood and fish. In recent years, however, their children, Alex and Iakovos, have given the tavern a modern touch with new ideas and delicious dishes created with care.
The tavern is filled with Spiro’s art on the walls and it’s hard to find more genuine and nice restaurant owners than Spiros and his family. Spiros is most often seen walking around from table to table, talking to guests in excellent English or Italian! This place radiates warmth and you feel welcome and almost like part of Apagio’s wonderful family.
Apagio is actually a favorite of local and foreign visitors and the tavern has gained a lot of attention in recent years precisely because of the good food and the high level of service … and all this at a very reasonable price.
I recommend that you try the delicious “fava” served here, as well as the mussels. But believe me, everything on the menu is worth tasting! They also have a large selection of good ouzo, tsipouro and wine.
Feel free to visit their social media on facebook and instagram @apagio_taverna to see more about their amazing dishes, and make sure to book a table in advance as it is not often you can find a vacant table as a spontaneous visitor!
What to see on the island
There is a lot to discover on the island and just a walk through the town of Poros and all its alleys is a unique experience. You can spend hours getting lost in the snake-like little streets that meander up the hill over Poros harbor and discover nice old houses and small hidden squares.
Poros Clock tower: Is probably the most famous landmark on the island. This clock tower was built in 1927 and is impressive as it stands on a high cliff and looks out over the town and Galatas on the other side of the strait. It is definitely a bit of a climb from the water to get up to the tower as it stands on the highest point of the island, but when you reach it the view from there is breathtaking and certainly worth the effort.
Lemon forest – “Lemonodasos”: The famous lemon forest is located opposite the port of Poros near Galatas and is the only lemon forest in Greece. In the month of May every year, the whole city of Poros is engulfed by the heavenly scent of the lemon flowers that bloom. The lemon and orange trees give the landscape an ethereal beauty and simplicity. The lemon forest is a wonderful place to visit for those who like to hike. I visited the forest when we were on Poros on our class trip in 1999 and still remember how beautiful and idyllic it was. Nestled between the trees you will also find beautiful watermills and a small waterfall.
The temple of Poseidon: The Temple of Poseidon is located in the northern part of Poros. What remains today of this sanctuary are only ruins. In its time, the temple was a prestigious and pan-Hellenic place of worship. It once contained several statues but all have unfortunately been stolen. It is said that a statue of Poseidon of 5 meters would have adorned the temple, but all that now remains of it is a foot: a 70 centimeter long piece of it, which can be seen at the Poros Museum.
Poros – an island you always will return to
I could write for hours about Poros as it is an island that really has a lot to offer. It may not be the first island you will look up if you for instance do a search on google for an island in the Greek archipelago before a summer vacation, but in my opinion that is what makes Poros a little extra special. It is an island with quite a lot of tourism, but by the kind of tourists who return year after year, those who love this place for what it has to offer and respect the nature, culture and people that make Poros this magical little island.
Poros is both easy to reach (by boat or car) but still not overexploited by tourism. Here you will still find quiet beaches and leafy remote corners that you can make your own. It’s a perfect island for all ages and for all kinds of socializing, and it’s definitely a place I often think back to.
I hope you all want to give Poros a chance in the future. In any case, I will surely find my way back here!
