“Stern-to on the promenade, a taverna table with your yacht behind you, the clock tower above the roofs: Poros is the harbour our team comes back to every spring.”
Poros is the harbour in the middle of the Saronic Gulf. The town sits on a small island a stone’s throw from the Peloponnese, with a strait so narrow the ferries to Galatas cross it in five minutes, and the whole waterfront is one long quay where yachts go stern-to and step off into the tavernas. The clock tower of 1927 stands on the hill above the roofs.
The town is on the small island, Sphairia; the big island behind it, Kalavria, holds the beaches and the pines. Love Bay and Russian Bay are the coves to the west of town, Askeli is the long beach to the east, and Neorio, between them, is where the yacht club and the water-sports centres sit. Across the strait at Galatas is the lemon forest.
On our Saronic loop from Athens Poros is day two, and our captains rate it third of the five Saronic stops in their own ranking. It is also where the Greek charter fleet gathers for the yacht show every spring, which is why we know its quay boat by boat.
Must-dos on Poros
- Stern-to on the promenade and dinner at a waterfront taverna with the yacht in view
- The walk up to the clock tower at sunset, through the lanes of the old town
- A swim at Love Bay, the pine-shaded cove west of town, before the day boats
- Russian Bay, the old naval station ruins on a quiet anchorage
- The strait and Galatas, five minutes across by water taxi, with the lemon forest behind
From our visits to Poros
Every spring since 2023, the East Med Yacht Show on the Poros quay, with the whole DMA Yachting and Amwax team.
The Greek catamaran fleet ties up stern-to along the Poros promenade for four days each spring for the EMMYS, and our team is there every year: Daniel, Kerry, William, Alex, Louis, Chris and me, walking every boat on the quay, meeting the crews, tasting the chefs’ food, and then talking it over at the waterfront tables in the evening. I came in on the ferry in April 2024 and posted to the team from the quay before I had found my hotel.
It means we know this harbour the way a guest will meet it: which end of the quay the big catamarans take, how the town lanes climb to the clock tower, which tavernas fill first, and what it is like to sleep on a boat with the promenade a gangway’s length away. Our fam trips after the show start from here too, and several of the fleets we book are based on this quay.
Klara Jakobsen, Yacht Reviewer at DMA Yachting
Poros Town: the promenade, the clock tower and the strait
Poros Town is the quay. The promenade runs the length of the waterfront on the strait, and yachts go stern-to along it, from the small caiques at the ferry end to the charter catamarans and motor yachts further along; in show week the whole line is the Greek charter fleet, and on a normal night in summer it is full by late afternoon. The tavernas and cafés are across the road from your stern, so dinner ashore is a walk of ten metres.
Behind the promenade the lanes climb the hill between neoclassical houses to the clock tower, the island’s landmark since 1927, and the view from it takes in the whole strait, Galatas and the mountains of the Peloponnese. Our Saronic loop sends guests up at sunset and to Oasis on the waterfront for dinner, the reliable choice rather than the flashiest.
The strait is why Poros is such a good harbour: the Peloponnese shore is a few hundred metres away, so the water is flat in any wind, and the constant traffic of ferries, water taxis and yachts through the channel is the evening entertainment from the aft deck.
Quay, cove or beach: which Poros night for which group
- Stern-to on the promenade: the town night, restaurants at the stern. Arrive by mid-afternoon in July and August; the captain calls the port ahead.
- Anchor in Love Bay or Russian Bay: the quiet version, a pine cove ten minutes west, with the tender into town for dinner and back to a silent anchorage.
- Neorio and Askeli: the beach-day option east and west of town, with water sports at Neorio and sunbeds at Askeli.
Love Bay, Russian Bay and Askeli: the coves and beaches
West of the town the coast of Kalavria folds into two coves. Love Bay, Limanaki tis Agapis, is the small pine-shaded beach with turquoise water and a rock islet off it; it is popular enough that our loop says anchor early or come in the late afternoon. Russian Bay, the next one along, is bigger and quieter, with the ruins of the nineteenth-century Russian naval station on its shore, and it is the anchorage the captains use when they want the night away from the quay.
East of town, Askeli is the long organised beach with sunbeds and water sports, and Neorio, between Askeli and the town, holds the yacht club and the ski centre. The monastery of Zoodochos Pigi sits in the pines above Askeli, and the road on from it reaches the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon in the middle of the island, half an hour by taxi from the quay.
Galatas and the strait: the other side of the harbour
Galatas is the Peloponnese town on the other side of the strait, a five-minute water taxi from the Poros quay, and the two towns work as one harbour: yachts that do not fit on the Poros promenade berth on the Galatas side, and the lemon forest, the Lemonodasos, is a walk up the hill behind it. Guests who want a taxi to Epidaurus for the ancient theatre take it from here.
From Poros the rest of the gulf is within two hours in every direction: Hydra across the water to the south, Methana and its volcano round the corner to the north, Aegina and Agistri back towards Athens. That is what makes it the middle of a Saronic week.
Fitting Poros into the week
Poros is the hinge of a Saronic week. On our seven-day loop it is day two out of Athens, after Aegina and before Hydra; on the way back it is the harbour boats pass through, and some charters board here, since several fleets are based on the quay. On a short charter our guide to charters under a week keeps Poros as the day-two stop and drops one of the far islands instead.
Passage times as our boats run them:
- Athens (Alimos or Flisvos) to Poros: about 30 nautical miles, two hours on a motor yacht, four to five under sail.
- Aegina to Poros: about 15 nautical miles, an hour on a motor yacht; Poros to Hydra: about 12 nautical miles, an hour.
- Poros to Spetses: two hours on a motor yacht; Poros to Epidaurus: an hour; Poros to Methana: 30 minutes.
- Galatas to Epidaurus by taxi for the theatre: about 45 minutes each way.
People also ask about Poros
Is Poros worth visiting on a Greek yacht charter?
Yes, and every Saronic route we publish includes it. It is the harbour where you dock stern-to on the promenade and step into a taverna, with a clock-tower walk above the town and pine coves ten minutes away. Our captains rank it third of the five Saronic stops; our team is there every spring for the yacht show.
Can yachts dock in Poros?
Yes, stern-to along the town promenade, which is the point of the stop. It fills by late afternoon in July and August, so captains call ahead or arrive early; the fallbacks are the Galatas side of the strait or an anchorage in Love Bay or Russian Bay.
Where do yachts anchor at Poros?
Love Bay and Russian Bay, the two pine coves west of town, for a quiet night or a swim stop; off Askeli beach on the east side in settled weather. The strait itself is flat in any wind, which is why the harbour is so easy.
How far is Poros from Athens by yacht?
About 30 nautical miles from Alimos: two hours on a motor yacht, four to five hours under sail. Our Saronic loop reaches it on day two after a first night at Aegina, and some charters board here: the captain of motor yacht COOKIE calls Poros his starting point.
What is Poros best known for?
The waterfront promenade where yachts tie up stern-to, the 1927 clock tower above the town, the five-minute strait to Galatas and its lemon forest, and Love Bay. Among charter people it is known as the quay where the Greek catamaran fleet lines up for the spring yacht show.
Poros or Hydra for the town night?
Poros for the quay, Hydra for the drama. In Poros you dock on the promenade with the tavernas at your stern; in Hydra you anchor or take a mooring and tender into a stone harbour with mules and no cars. Our loop does both on consecutive nights, and they are an hour apart.
Greek routes that include Poros.
The Easy Saronic Loop from Athens: 7 Days, 7 Nights
The classic Saronic week from Athens: Aegina, Agistri, Methana, Poros, Hydra, and Spetses, with short hops and long lunches.
See full itinerary
Top 5 Saronic Islands You Should Visit on Your Yacht Charter
We asked the captains at the Greek yacht shows which Saronic stops they rate highest. Spetses, Hydra, Poros, Epidaurus, and Aegina, in their order.
See full itinerary
Can You Charter a Yacht in Greece for Less Than a Week?
See full itinerary
