Athens to Aegina Day Trip: Ferry, Cruise or Private Boat

The cheapest Athens to Aegina day trip is the one you plan yourself: a ferry ticket at $13 per person, rated 4.7 from 851 reviews. The boats leave from Piraeus harbour, which the listing puts at a 30-minute metro ride from downtown Athens, and the crossing takes 75 minutes.

You choose a departure time and a direction. The ticket arrives by email one day before you travel, so check your spam folder too. On the day, you board by showing the electronic ticket, with no other steps. The listing sells each direction as a separate option, so for the way back, book the return crossing as well.

What the ticket does not cover is anything on Aegina itself: no guide, no lunch, no transport on the island. You plan the day and set the pace, which is exactly why many people choose it.

The ferry listing sketches the island well. Aegina was the first capital of the modern Greek state, in the 19th century, and the listing calls its main town cosmopolitan in summer and charming in winter. Walk the harbour of Aegina Town, then try the local pistachios, sold as fistiki aiginis.

Beyond the town there are organised beaches and untouched ones, mountain hikes for walkers, and villages with their own local delicacies. The big sight is the ancient Temple of Athena Aphaia. How you get around the island is up to you: the ferry ticket covers the crossing, nothing more.

On an Athens to Aegina day trip by ferry, your time ashore is the gap between the two crossings, so choose a few of these rather than all of them. The listing itself suggests giving the island a couple of days more if you can.

If you would rather not plan anything, the three-island cruise turns the Athens to Aegina day trip into 10 hours at sea for $157 per person. It has the most reviews of the three options on this page: 1,895, rated 4.7. It leaves Marina Zeas in Piraeus, and you need to be at the meeting point by 08:30, because the boat cannot wait for late arrivals.

The first stop is Agistri, with time on your own to swim, sit on the beach or explore the village, or an optional bike or walking tour. Next comes Moni islet: you do not go ashore, but you swim and snorkel off the boat. If Moni is not possible on the day, the cruise goes to Metopi instead. A Greek lunch with drinks is served on board, and multilingual hosts look after you.

Aegina is the last stop, with time on your own for the harbour, the shops, the cafés and the pistachios. Pickup is offered too; check the options for your date on the listing.

For a group, there is a private Athens to Aegina day trip among the catamarans this site lists: $2,803 per group, up to 10 people, for 11 hours. It sails from Alimos Marina, Pier 6, and asks you to arrive 30 minutes early.

On board there are several swim stops, freshly prepared Mediterranean food, wine, beer, soft drinks, water and fruit, and the plan is to sail back at sunset. Shared by ten people, the price works out at about $280 a head; with fewer, each share is larger.

It has no reviews yet, so there is no rating to go by. Read the listing closely before you book.

Book the ferry. For a first Athens to Aegina day trip, the $13 per person ticket gives you the island on your own timetable, 75 minutes each way.

Want swims and lunch with no planning? The three-island cruise at $157 per person is the one with the most reviews. A group of up to ten? Book the private catamaran.

Not set on the island? Our top pick, the luxury catamaran with a Greek meal, is $191 per person for 5 hours along the Athens Riviera, with two swim stops and a barbecue cooked on board. See it next to the other catamarans from Alimos Marina in our full list.