Hydra hotels, and how many steps you climb to reach yours
No cars, no scooters: on Hydra your hotel is a number of minutes and a number of steps from the ferry. Every area and hotel, with both.
Hydra has no cars and no scooters. Your bags go up from the port on a mule or in your own hands, and so do you, several times a day, because the town climbs the sides of a bowl in stone steps. So when you compare hotels on Hydra island, the real question is how many steps separate each one from the quay. Here is the answer, hotel by hotel.
The short answer: from the ferry quay to your door
| Hotel | Area | On foot from the port | What you climb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydra's Pearl | Harbour | 2 min, 120 m | None |
| Hotel Mistral | Harbour | 2 to 3 min | None |
| Ippokampos | Harbour | 3 min, 150 m | None, flat paving |
| Orloff | Harbour | 2 to 3 min | A gentle slope |
| Miranda | Harbour | 3 min, 100 m | A few steps |
| Leto | Harbour | 5 min, 200 m | None |
| Cotommatae 1810 | Harbour | 5 min, 200 m | None |
| Hydroussa | Harbour | Under 5 min | Little |
| Angelica | The hill | 8 min | Uphill the whole way |
| Douskos Port House | The hill | 5 min | Several flights of stairs |
| Hydrea | The hill | 5 min, 400 m | About 35 steep stone steps |
| Hydra Hotel | Top of town | 7 min | About 140 steps |
| Four Seasons Hydra | Plakes, Vlychos | 45 to 50 min, or 10 min by water taxi | None, on the beach |
Walking times and steps as given by the hotels, or by guests where the hotel gives no figure, checked in September 2026. Every hotel in the table is walking distance except the last, and none can be reached by car.
Hydra hotels by area, and the climb to each
Nearly every hotel on the island is in Hydra town, the harbour where the boats arrive. The difference between them is height: the flat strip behind the waterfront, the steep hillsides above it, and a handful of places out along the coast that you reach by water taxi. Our guide to the Saronic islands shows how Hydra compares with Aegina, Poros and Spetses if you have not settled on it yet.
For heavy bags, short stays and bad knees
The harbour and the flat streets behind it
2 to 5 min from the quay · no steps, or a handful
Hydra town is a bowl, and the harbour is the bottom of it. The waterfront and the two or three streets directly behind it are the only part of town that is more or less flat, and that is where this group sits: two to five minutes from where the boat drops you, with nothing to climb or only a few steps at the door. You can wheel a suitcase here, just about, over the polished stone. The trade-off is the harbour itself. The cafés run from breakfast until well after midnight, the day boats unload crowds from late morning to late afternoon, and rooms on the front hear all of it. The hotels a street or two back keep the convenience and lose most of the noise.
Mid-rangeHotel Mistral
Behind the harbourA traditional stone hotel two or three minutes from the quay with no stairs to reach it. The easiest arrival in town if you are carrying your own bags.
- 2 to 3 min on foot
- No steps
Check live prices and availability
See availability
ValueIppokampos Hotel
Tombazi street, behind the harbourAbout 150 metres from the port along a flat paved street. One of the cheapest proper hotels in town, and one of the few you reach without climbing at all.
- 3 min on foot
- No steps
- Budget
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeOrloff Boutique Hotel
Rafalia street, behind the harbourAn eighteenth-century captain's house turned boutique hotel, two or three minutes up a gentle slope from the port. Quiet at night, close to everything.
- 2 to 3 min on foot
- Gentle slope
Check live prices and availability
See availability
LuxuryLeto Hotel
Rafalia street, behind the harbourAround 200 metres from the quay with no stairs on the way, which is rare at this level. It also has a small gym, rarer still on Hydra.
- 5 min on foot
- No steps
- Gym
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeMiranda Hotel
Andrea Miaouli streetA captain's mansion from 1810, about 100 metres from the harbour on the main street inland. A few steps at the entrance and that is all.
- 3 min on foot
- A few steps
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeCotommatae Hydra 1810
Near the waterfrontA restored mansion about 200 metres from the quay, reached along the flat without stairs. Five minutes at a stroll, less with a mule doing the carrying.
- 5 min on foot
- No steps
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeHydroussa Hotel
Votsi squareOn a small square just back from the port, under five minutes on foot. A good middle choice: close to the harbour, away from its terraces.
- Under 5 min on foot
- Little climbing
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeHydra's Pearl, Blue Pearl
Sachtouri street, by the harbourApartments with a kitchen, around 120 metres from the port and at street level. Useful for a longer stay or a family, since you can cook.
- 2 min on foot
- No steps
- Kitchen
Check live prices and availability
See availability
For the view over the harbour, if you are fine with stairs
Up the hill: the view, paid for in steps
5 to 8 min from the quay · 35 to 140 steps
Above the harbour the town turns into stairs. The lanes are stepped, whitewashed at the edges and too steep for anything with wheels, which is why the mules still do the work. The hotels up here are only five to eight minutes from the quay on the map, but that is five to eight minutes of climbing, and the figure that matters is the number of steps: about 35 to Hydrea, about 140 to Hydra Hotel near the top. What you get for it is the view that made Hydra famous, the whole horseshoe of the harbour below your terrace, and much quieter nights. Plan on doing the climb two or three times a day, and send the bags up by mule.
LuxuryHydrea Exclusive Hospitality
Above the west side of the harbourSuites on the slope near the Merchant Marine Academy, with the harbour laid out below. About 35 steep stone steps from the waterfront, and the hotel has a stair lift for guests who need it.
- About 35 steps
- Harbour views
- Stair lift
Check live prices and availability
See availability
LuxuryHydra Hotel
Petrou Voulgari street, near the top of townOne of the widest views in town, and the most steps on this list: about 140 from the harbour, a seven-minute climb. The mule for your luggage is part of arriving here, not an option.
- About 140 steps
- 7 min climb
- View over the whole harbour
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeAngelica Boutique Hotel
Andrea Miaouli street, inlandUp the main street that climbs away from the harbour, about eight minutes and uphill the whole way. Less of a view than the hotels on the sides of the bowl, fewer stairs too.
- 8 min uphill
- Steady slope
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangeDouskos Port House
Above the harbourRooms looking down on the port, reached by several flights of stairs. Close to the harbour as the crow flies, a proper climb on foot.
- 5 min on foot
- Several flights of stairs
- Port views
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Mid-rangePhaedra Hotel
Old town, inlandA small hotel in the lanes of the old town, about ten minutes from the quay. The hotel calls it a short stroll and gives no step count, so expect some climbing.
- About 10 min on foot
- Some climbing
Check live prices and availability
See availability
For swimming from the door and very quiet nights
Plakes, near Vlychos: on the beach, out of town
10 min by water taxi · 45 to 50 min on foot · no steps
West of the town, a coastal path runs past Kamini to Vlychos and on to Plakes, about 3.5 km of paving and dirt with the sea on one side. This is where the beaches are, and where you stay if swimming matters more than the harbour. There are no stairs, but there is distance: 45 to 50 minutes on foot, so in practice everyone arrives and goes into town by water taxi, about 10 minutes and €25 to €27 a boat. Dinner in the harbour then means a taxi back, with a night supplement.
LuxuryFour Seasons Hydra
Plakes, VlychosA small beach hotel, no relation to the chain, set right on the bay at Plakes. The quietest address in this list and the flattest arrival, once the water taxi drops you.
- On the beach
- No steps
- 10 min by water taxi
Check live prices and availability
See availability
Photos and star ratings come from the Hotels.com catalogue, checked in September 2026, and the buttons open the property there. Rates move with the dates, so check them on the hotel page.
Kamini and Mandraki: staying outside Hydra town
Kamini is the small fishing harbour just west of town, about 15 minutes on foot along a paved coastal path with no stairs, or €19 by water taxi. It has a couple of tavernas, rocks to swim from and a slower pace than the main harbour. Beds there are mostly rooms and houses let by their owners, rather than hotels, and the walk back after dinner in town is part of the deal. Siran House, halfway between the two, is about ten minutes from the port. Captain's Lodge, 20 minutes out, is one of the few places anywhere on Hydra with no steps at all.
Mandraki is the bay to the east, 20 to 25 minutes on foot along the coast. There is essentially one hotel, the Mandraki Beach Resort, which runs its own free boat from the clock tower in the harbour every 30 minutes until 23:00. It is a beach-resort stay, sunbeds and all, more than a Hydra town one.
Luggage on Hydra: mules, porters and what they cost
The first thing you see when the boat docks is a line of mules and donkeys along the quay. They are not there for the photos: on an island where nothing with an engine goes up the lanes, they carry everything, from building materials to your suitcase.
What it costs
The muleteers charge by zone: about €10 a mule for the lower part of town and €20 for the upper town. Anything further, Kamini or beyond, you agree the price before you set off. A mule takes two suitcases and two smaller bags.
Where to find them
At the east corner of the harbour, where the fast boats come in, opposite My Crown Gallery. The price list by destination is posted on the back of the notice board next to the bins there.
Let the hotel arrange it
Most hotels send a porter or their usual muleteer to meet the boat, holding a sign with the hotel's name. Tell them which boat you are on and whether it is the fast one or the slow one. For a rented house, the owner usually books the mule.
Pack for the stairs
A soft bag or a backpack you can carry up steps beats a large hard suitcase. Even with a mule, you will walk the same stairs yourself, and on a short stay many people skip the mule for a single cabin bag.
These are the current rates on the board, which is not reprinted every year, so check it on the day.
Water taxis on Hydra: prices to Kamini, Vlychos and Mandraki
The water taxis are Hydra's taxis. They wait at the same east corner of the harbour as the mules, and the price is per boat, not per person, for up to about eight people with their luggage. Share one with others going the same way.
| From Hydra harbour to | Price per boat, one way |
|---|---|
| Kamini | €19 |
| Mandraki | €25 |
| Vlychos beach | €25 |
| Vlychos, the small port | €27 |
| Palamida | €40 |
These are the fares published in May 2025. After dark, a supplement of up to 50% applies, which is worth knowing if you are staying out at Vlychos and eating in town. If there is no boat waiting, a free phone on the quay calls one.
Hydra hotel prices, and is Hydra expensive
Hydra is one of the dearer islands in Greece for its size, because beds are few, most of them in old stone mansions, and everything, food included, arrives by boat. Taking the starting rates in the Hotels.com catalogue as an order of magnitude, a simple room or a pension in town starts at around €70 to €100 a night (about $80 to $110) outside August. The boutique mansions sit around €150 to €250 ($170 to $280), and the top of the island, Hydrea, Leto, Hydra Hotel and the beach at Plakes, starts above €200 and climbs well past €300 in July and August.
Weekends are the other variable. Hydra is the island Athenians escape to, so Friday and Saturday nights fill first all year round. A stay from Sunday to Thursday is cheaper and much calmer. Most hotels open from spring to late October, and a few stay open in winter, when the island is at its most local.
Staying the night on Hydra, or a day trip from Athens
You can see Hydra in a day: the fast boat gives you around nine hours ashore, and the cruise from Athens stops for about an hour and a half. But the island everyone describes is the one that appears in the early evening, once the last day boats have left and the harbour empties out. The cafés are suddenly quiet, the lanes go silent, and dinner is with the people who are staying. Our guide to which Saronic islands deserve a night puts Hydra first for that reason.
Getting to Hydra: ferries from Piraeus
Hydra is served only by fast passenger boats, from Piraeus, the port of Athens, all year round. Up to a dozen sailings a day run in summer, fewer in winter, across three companies.
| Company | Crossing | One-way fare |
|---|---|---|
| Hellenic Seaways | 1 h 05 to 2 h 20, depending on stops | From about €42 |
| Alpha Lines | About 1 h 15 | About €32 to €40 |
| Magic Sea Ferries | 1 h 10 to 1 h 55 | About €32 to €42 |
Fares as shown by the booking sites in September 2026. They vary with the season and the boat. Piraeus is at the end of metro lines 1 and 3, and line 3 runs straight from the airport, as our map of Athens shows. The Saronic guide covers the gates at Piraeus and why the Friday and Sunday boats sell out, so book ahead at weekends. Whichever hotel you pick, you arrive at the same quay, which is where the steps in the table above start counting.
Questions people ask about staying on Hydra
What is the best hotel in Hydra, Greece?
It depends on how much climbing you accept. For the view, Hydrea and Hydra Hotel look down over the whole harbour, at the price of about 35 and about 140 steps. For comfort without stairs, Leto and Orloff are both a few minutes from the quay on the flat. For the beach, Four Seasons Hydra at Plakes is on the sand, ten minutes from town by water taxi.
Is Hydra an expensive island?
More than most of Greece, less than Mykonos or Santorini. Everything arrives by boat and moves by mule, and Athenians fill the island at weekends, so rooms and dinners cost more than on Aegina or Poros. Simple rooms in the town start at around €70 to €100 a night outside August (about $80 to $110), and the best boutique hotels ask €200 to €300 and more in season.
Are there cars on Hydra?
No. Private cars and scooters are banned, and the only motor vehicles are a few municipal ones such as the rubbish truck. Luggage goes up by mule or by hand, and you get around the coast on foot or by water taxi. It is the reason your choice of hotel comes down to steps.
How do you get your luggage to your hotel on Hydra?
By mule, or by the hotel's porter. Most hotels send someone to meet the boat if you tell them which one you are on. Otherwise the muleteers wait at the east corner of the harbour, where the fast boats dock, and charge by zone: about €10 a mule for the nearer part of town and €20 for the upper town. One mule carries two suitcases and two smaller bags.
Is Hydra too touristy?
In the middle of the day in summer, around the harbour, it can feel that way: the day boats and the cruise from Athens land hundreds of people between late morning and late afternoon. By early evening they have gone, and the town belongs to the people staying the night. That is the main argument for sleeping on the island rather than visiting for the day.
Is Hydra a party island?
No. There are a few bars on the harbour that stay open late, especially at weekends in summer, but no clubs and nothing like Mykonos or Ios. People come for long dinners and swimming off the rocks. If you want quiet nights, sleep a street or two back from the harbour, or up the hill.
Is Hydra good for people with limited mobility?
Only if you choose carefully. The harbour front and the streets directly behind it are almost flat, and hotels such as Mistral, Ippokampos and Leto are reached without stairs. Everything else in town involves stepped lanes. Hydrea has a stair lift. There are no taxis on land, so check the route to your hotel before booking.
Is it better to stay in Hydra town or in Kamini?
Hydra town if you want restaurants, bars and the harbour on your doorstep, or if you are only staying a night or two. Kamini, the fishing village fifteen minutes' walk west along a flat coastal path, is quieter, closer to the swimming spots, and has a few good tavernas of its own. It suits a longer stay and people who like walking into town for dinner.
How many nights should you spend on Hydra?
Two nights is the usual stay: enough for an evening after the day boats leave, a morning walk up to the monasteries above the town, and a swim at Vlychos or Kamini. One night already changes the experience compared with a day trip. Three or more suits people who came to do very little, which is what Hydra does best.
