Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
It is also a working island rather than a resort. People live here year-round and commute to Athens, which is why the harbour town has fishmongers and hardware shops as well as cafes.
Getting there
Ferries leave from Piraeus, the port Athens uses for everything, reachable by metro from the centre. Two kinds of boat run the route: conventional ferries, slower and cheaper, and fast boats that cut the crossing. Departures are frequent in summer and thinner out of season.
Confirm the day’s schedule before you travel and check the last boat back before you commit to an afternoon on the far side of the island. Getting around Greece covers how the ferry system works in general, and Greek island ferries covers booking.
The Temple of Aphaia is the reason to leave the harbour
The island’s headline sight is a Doric temple on a pine-covered hill in the north-east, one of the better-preserved temples in Greece and old enough to sit alongside the more famous ones. Its columns are largely standing rather than reconstructed, and the setting - high, wooded, with the sea on two sides - does most of the work.
It is a bus ride or a taxi from the harbour rather than a walk. Buses meet the boats and run to the temple and the beach resort at Agia Marina on the same road, which is the standard way visitors combine the two.
The harbour town, and the pistachios
Aegina town is a low waterfront of neoclassical facades, fishing boats and a long quay you can walk end to end in twenty minutes. There is a small church at the harbour mouth, cafes along the front and a market street a block behind.
The island is also genuinely known for pistachios, grown here in quantity and sold along the harbour front in every possible form. It is one of the few island souvenirs that is actually local rather than shipped in. Souvenirs from Greece has the wider version of that argument.
What a day looks like
The shape that works for most people:
- Morning boat from Piraeus.
- Bus or taxi to the Temple of Aphaia, an hour there.
- Down to Agia Marina for lunch and a swim, or back to town if you would rather eat on the harbour.
- Afternoon on the waterfront, pistachios bought, evening boat back.
If you only want a swim and a long lunch, skip the temple and stay in town: the beaches near the harbour are modest, but the walking and eating are pleasant and the day is unhurried.
How it compares with the other Saronic options
Hydra is the more beautiful island and a longer crossing, car-free and all stone; it has its own guide. Poros and Agistri are also close. Aegina wins on frequency and speed, and on having a real sight to reach when you get there.
Last checked August 2026. Ferry times and operators change every season - see our editorial policy.
Common questions
How long does it take to get to Aegina from Athens?
Roughly thirty minutes to an hour from Piraeus, depending on whether you take a fast boat or a conventional ferry.
Is Aegina worth a day trip from Athens?
Yes, particularly if you want an island day that does not consume the whole day. It has a working harbour town and a well-preserved Doric temple, and the crossing is short enough to leave real time on the island.
What is Aegina known for?
Pistachios, which grow across the island and are sold along the harbour, and the Temple of Aphaia, a hilltop Doric temple in the north-east.
Do you need to book the Aegina ferry in advance?
In high summer and at weekends it is sensible, and worth doing either way for a specific return sailing. Confirm the day’s schedule before travelling.
Can you get around Aegina without a car?
Yes. Buses meet the boats and run to the temple and to Agia Marina, and taxis wait at the harbour.
Next
Read day trips from Athens, Cape Sounion, or the Saronic islands.