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Poros town rising from the water, tiled roofs packed up the hill above the waterfront

Poros: an island you can almost step across to

A pine-covered Saronic island separated from the Peloponnese by a channel a few hundred metres across, with a clocktower town and a ruined temple in the woods.

An at a glance card for Poros. The channel: A few hundred metres wide. Which makes it: The easiest island near Athens. The emblem: A blue-domed clocktower. Behind the town: Pine, and a ruined temple. Across the water: A forest of lemon trees. One row is marked out as the thing that decides the visit. The conclusion reads: An island you look across at the mainland from. No prices appear.
An island you look across at the mainland from.

Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.

That closeness is the character of the place. Poros is an island, but a domesticated one, and it is among the easiest to reach from Athens.

The town

Poros Town rises in tiers of neoclassical and pastel houses on a small conical hill, topped by a blue-domed clocktower that is the island’s emblem. The waterfront runs along the channel and is busy with the traffic of the crossing.

It is a pleasant hour of lanes and steps up to the clock, and the view from the top takes in the channel, the mainland and the pine ridge behind.

The two halves

Poros is really two islands joined: Sferia, the small rocky one carrying the town, and Kalavria, the larger wooded one behind it.

Kalavria is where the space is: pine forest, quiet bays at Askeli and Neorio, the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi in the trees, and the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon on the high ground, where the orator Demosthenes took poison rather than be captured. Little of the temple stands, but the site and the walk to it are good.

The lemon forest

Across the channel on the mainland is the Lemonodasos, a hillside planted with thousands of lemon trees, with a stream and a watermill. Boats cross to it from the town; the walk up through the grove is the classic Poros half day, and in blossom it is the reason people write about the place.

Getting there and how long

Ferries and fast boats from Piraeus, or a very short crossing from Galatas on the Peloponnese, which makes Poros easy to combine with a mainland drive.

Two nights, and it works well as a first stop in a Saronic chain with Hydra and Spetses.

Last checked August 2026. Ferry schedules change - see our editorial policy.

Common questions

How far is Poros from the mainland?

A few hundred metres. The channel between Poros and Galatas on the Peloponnese is crossed constantly by small boats.

What is the clocktower on Poros?

The blue-domed clocktower above Poros Town, the island’s emblem, reached by a short climb through the lanes.

What is the Lemonodasos?

A hillside of thousands of lemon trees on the mainland opposite Poros, with a stream and an old watermill, reached by boat across the channel.

What is the Temple of Poseidon on Poros?

A ruined sanctuary on the high ground of Kalavria, where Demosthenes is said to have taken poison. Little stands, but the site and the walk are worth it.

How do you get to Poros from Athens?

By ferry or fast boat from Piraeus, or by road to Galatas on the Peloponnese and the short crossing from there.

Plan by category

The Poros guides

2 guides, each scoped to a decision you actually have to make.

  • Ancient marble temple columns against a blue Greek skyAttractions

    Things to do

    What is worth your time here, and what to skip.

    See the attractions →
  • A turquoise Greek bay with a beach below dry hillsBeaches

    The beaches

    Which shore, which sand, and how you actually get there.

    See the beaches →

Next

Read Hydra, Spetses, or the Saronic islands.