“A stern line to the rocks in Mouza Bay, the toys in the water by lunch, Aponissos by tender at six: Agistri is water toys galore.”
Agistri is the small pine island next to Aegina, about 20 nautical miles from Athens, and the stop a Saronic charter keeps for water toys galore rather than a town. It is four miles long, covered in pines to the shore, and its west and south coasts are a run of coves with water clear enough to see the chain on the bottom.
The villages, Skala and Megalochori, are on the north-east corner where the ferries land. The coves a yacht wants, Aponisos and Dragonera, are on the far side, with a beach bar or two and nothing else; Chalikiada on the south coast is the wild beach under the cliffs. There is no harbour to speak of for a charter yacht, so the day is spent at anchor with a stern line ashore.
On our Saronic loop from Athens it is the last night of the week, a stern line on the south coast before the morning run back to Piraeus; on our own three-day charter from Nafplion it was the last full day, and the best one for the water toys.
Must-dos on Agistri
- Tie stern-to the rocks in a pine cove and launch every toy the yacht carries
- Aponissos beach bar by tender, cold beer, Aperol Spritz and dolmades on the sand
- A Greek meze lunch on the aft deck with the pines on both sides
- Waterskiing or wakeboarding behind the tender in flat, clear water
- Chalikiada, the beach under the cliffs, for the group that wants scenery over facilities
From our visits to Agistri
May 2025, aboard the motor yacht ANKA with my team mates John Boullin and Peter Domschke, the last full day of a three-day charter from Nafplion.
We left the dock at Spetses at nine and went up to the bow to feel the wind; it is just over 40 nautical miles to Agistri, about three hours at cruising speed, enough for breakfast and a call home. At one the anchor went down in Mouza Bay, the deckhand swam the stern line ashore to the rocks, and it all ran like clockwork. The only difference from the day before was the vegetation, and that we all knew the toys by now. The water skis came out.
Lunch at three was the traditional Greek meze we had asked the chef for the day before: fresh bread and olive oil, chicken skewers, grilled vegetables, fava with caramelised onions, tomatoes with balsamic, mushrooms wrapped in zucchini, feta, and the biggest green olives I have ever seen. Then Texas hold ’em on the flybridge and a round of margaritas.
At six we went ashore to Aponissos, the beach bar John had found around the corner on his jet ski run. Two tender trips to land us all, and of course they had cold beers, Aperol Spritz and even dolmades. Dinner was back on board, and that night we gave the chef a round of applause.
Klara Jakobsen, Yacht Reviewer at DMA Yachting, May 2025
The west coast: Mouza Bay, Aponisos and Dragonera
The west coast is where the yacht goes. Mouza Bay is the pine cove where we anchored with a stern line to the rocks; Aponisos, round the corner on the south-west tip, is the cove with the islet in front of it and the Aponissos beach bar on the sand; Dragonera, north of both, is the longer pine-backed beach with the clearest water on the island. All three are sheltered from the afternoon northerly, all have rock to run a stern line to, and the bar and the taverna are a tender ride away.
This is how we spent our day here in May 2025: anchor down in Mouza Bay at one, stern line swum ashore, seabobs, jet ski, e-foil and water skis off the beach deck by half past, lunch on the aft deck at three, and the tender round to Aponissos at six. A crewed yacht does all of it without the guests touching a line.
The water is the point. It is shallow and clear over sand and weed, calm enough for water skis behind the tender, and the pines come down to the rocks on three sides.
Last night, full day or lunch stop
- Last night of the loop: as our seven-day Saronic itinerary runs it, up from Dokos, a stern line in a south-coast cove, and 21 nautical miles to Piraeus the next morning.
- Full day on the way back: as we did it from Spetses, three hours up the gulf, a whole afternoon in the cove, Athens the next morning.
- Lunch stop only: two hours in the water between Aegina and Poros when the week is full.
Skala, Megalochori and Chalikiada: the rest of the island
Skala, on the north-east corner, is where the ferries from Piraeus and Aegina land: a beach with a row of tavernas, a few hotels, and the island’s only real village life. Megalochori, the old main village, is a ten-minute walk west along the coast road. Neither is a reason to bring a yacht round; the tender lands guests at Skala if someone wants a walk and a coffee, and that is the extent of it.
Chalikiada, on the south coast, is the other Agistri: a pebble beach under pine cliffs reached by a path or by tender, with no facilities and a reputation as the island’s free beach. For a group that wants scenery over a beach bar, the captain anchors off it in settled weather. The Saronic Gulf page puts Agistri in the context of the whole week.
Fitting Agistri into the week
Agistri is the water-toy day, not a town stop, so it goes where the week needs one: the last night before Athens on our Saronic loop, the last full day on our three-day charter from Nafplion. It pairs with Aegina, half an hour away, for the town evening, and with Poros or Methana as the next stop down the gulf.
Passage times as our boats run them:
- Athens (Alimos or Flisvos) to Aponisos: about 20 nautical miles, an hour and a half on a motor yacht, three hours under sail.
- Aegina town to Agistri: 30 minutes; Agistri to Poros: an hour and a half; to Epidaurus: an hour.
- Spetses to Agistri: just over 40 nautical miles, three hours at cruising speed, as we ran it.
- Agistri to Athens on the last morning: about 21 nautical miles, an hour and a half on a motor yacht, which is why our loop ends the week here.
People also ask about Agistri
Is Agistri worth visiting on a Greek yacht charter?
Yes, as the water-toy day. It has pine coves, clear water and rock to tie a stern line to, so it is where the toys go in, usually on the last night before Athens. It is not a town stop; Aegina next door does that.
Where do yachts anchor at Agistri?
Mouza Bay, Aponisos and Dragonera on the west coast, at anchor with a stern line to the rocks, sheltered from the afternoon wind. Chalikiada on the south coast in settled weather. There is no yacht harbour; Skala is a ferry quay and a beach.
Can you eat ashore on Agistri?
Yes, simply. Aponisos has the Aponissos beach bar on the sand, Dragonera a taverna, and Skala a row of tavernas on the ferry beach. On our charter the crew ran us round from Mouza Bay to Aponissos by tender for drinks at six, and dinner was back on board.
How far is Agistri from Athens by yacht?
About 20 nautical miles from Alimos: an hour and a half on a motor yacht, three hours under sail. Close enough to be the last night before the drop-off, which is where our Saronic loop puts it.
Agistri or Aegina?
Both, on the same day. Aegina has the town, the pistachios and the temple; Agistri has the water. A common shape is an afternoon at anchor off Agistri for the swim, then either the night in the cove or a move to Aegina for dinner ashore.
Is Agistri good for water toys?
Yes. Mouza Bay gave us flat, clear, sheltered water over sand, room to run a jet ski and water skis behind the tender, and a stern line ashore so the yacht sat still; on our charter it was the day the water skis came out.
Greek routes that include Agistri.
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
Our 3-Day Greek Yacht Charter Aboard M/Y ANKA – A True Greek Odyssey
Our broker's first-hand 3-day charter aboard M/Y Anka: Nafplion to Athens via Spetses and Agistri, exactly as it happened.
See full itinerary
Can You Charter a Yacht in Greece for Less Than a Week?
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