Athens Day Cruise: Agistri, Metopi & Aegina With Lunch On Board

Our first shore stop, and one of the greenest islands in the Saronic, with pine forest running right down to the sea. Step off at Skala and the next 90 minutes are yours. Swim at the sandy beach a few steps from the harbour, rent a bike and find a quiet cove along the coast road, or settle into a waterfront café with a freddo espresso and watch island life drift by.

This is the moment you'll be telling people about. We drop anchor off Metopi, a tiny uninhabited islet with no port and no road, just rock and water so clear you can see the seabed from the deck. Jump straight off the boat, grab a mask and snorkel the coves, or simply float while the boat rocks gently behind you. Then lunch is served on board with the islet right beside you: Mediterranean dishes cooked from ethically sourced, local ingredients, with chilled wine or cold beer. If the wind is up, the captain takes us to sheltered Moni or Aponisos instead, so you still get your swim in calm water.

Our last island, and the most characterful. Aegina was briefly the first capital of modern Greece, and it shows in the elegant neoclassical mansions along the harbour. Walk to the lone column of the Temple of Apollo at Kolona, a few minutes from the port, take a horse-drawn carriage, or taste your way along the waterfront: Aegina's pistachios are famous across Greece. Then we sail home across the Saronic Gulf as the light softens, back at Marina Zeas around 19:00.