Greek trip to Aegina September 2004

 
SM & I took a trip to Greece with various family members to go to a wedding on Syros.  We decided to stay in Aghia Marina on Aegina as we know its a great place for relaxing.  Its small, everything is within easy walking distance, it has a lovely little beach which is clean, the sea is sparkling & of course it has loads of tavernas!  

Had a great flight over but then BA lost all our cases!  Trying to sort this out meant that we missed the last ferry from Piraeus to Aegina so we stayed at Hotel Acropole very useful as it is very near to the entrance to the part of the docks where all the ferries to the various islands leave.  We can recommend it.  Thank God we got our cases back the next morning!

There is a slow ferry to Aghia Marina (takes about 1hour) or a fast one to Aegina Town but then it takes 30mins to get to Aghia Marina by cab or bus.  The fast ferries which we used to get to Syros are amazing, more like jumbo jets!  

We stayed at Hotel Katerina, the stone coloured building in the center of this picture & only a 5mins walk to the beach.  It has the added bonus of a pool, quite unusual for this area.  Rooms are a good size with balconies, air conditioning & facilities for self catering.  Continental breakfast included but it's not very good.  Most of the friendly staff speak English Tel:22970 32075, our rooms were €55 a night.
A pic of the beach showing Oasis Hotel Tel:22970 32682, haven't stayed here but looks as if it has been done up.  Our favourite beach taverna is underneath it.  In the middle is The Ammoudia Hotel where we did stay many years ago, wonderful sea views & lots of the rooms have been up graded.  Worth visiting their site to see a panoramic view of the beach!  On the right is our favourite taverna, Restaurant Morfonios, more about that below.

Sunbeds & umbrellas cost €2 each per day.  Water very clean, safe & shallow.  Pedlos for hire further up the beach.

Everywhere in the resort was very quiet on this trip, not good for the businesses but great for us, never any shortage of sunbeds or tables at the taverna, all very peaceful!

 
 

 

One of the bars we used was CostAntonia.  I only mention it because they have apartments to let.  We think we may rent one on our next visit.  Its also worth visiting their site to read the history of both Aghia Marina & Aegina.
 

 

  Tel:2297 326829/10

 We went to many tavernas but this was our favourite, the best food & the cheapest prices, a perfect combination!  (Like every country that starts using the Euro the prices have shot up.)  Here they still sell their house wine in metal jugs €2.50 for half a litre.  An average meal here, we always order lots of dishes to share, €15 a head including wine.  Some of the places we tried were twice as expensive but they are in the main street, in the evening this one is often ignored as its near the beach. 
Calamari & Greek salad.

Haricot Beans in Tomato Sauce & Dolmades.  Look how much Feta you get on the Greek Salad.  Yummy!
 

 

 

We spent loads of time at the beach taverna, make sure you use the one on the right looking from the sea, we promised Pavlos the owner we'd say that as there are 2 next to each other.  They do wonderful Frappe iced coffees, that was usually what we ordered on our first call of the day.  Then of course it was our first drink of the day & then lunch!  Every day they did a special dish which was always worth having.  Very reasonable prices, approx €10 a head with wine for lunch.  Below are a small selection of the many wonderful dishes we ate here.

9/10
 

 

Syros seemed to be a lovely island, it was our first visit, but we didn't get to see much more than the port area & the hotel we stayed in which was near the brides house. Here's a pic of the bride arriving & of the ceremony.  It was all a memorable experience.

This is the port of Aghia Marina & the time to leave came far too quickly.  Thoroughly recommended for a very lazy holiday!

We organized our own flights etc. & suggest you do as a few tour companies go there but they all use night flights & arrive before the ferries start so loads of hanging about, far too tiring!

And finally a pic of the gorgeous & very talented bouzouki player at the wedding!  What a memory & I am talking about the music!

 

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