Angistri Island

Angistri, spelled Agistri in the transliteration used on road signs and ferry tickets, is a small island in the Saronic Gulf, just off the western coast of its much larger neighbour, Aegina. Covering only about 13.4 square kilometres, it recorded a population of 1,131 residents in the 2021 census, most of them descendants of Arvanite settlers who began arriving on the island in the late 17th century.

The island has three villages, each with a distinct character. Milos, also known as Megalochori, is the main settlement and home to most of the island's permanent Greek population; Skala, a twenty-minute walk away, holds most of the hotels, tavernas and beach bars that visitors see; and Limenaria, on the far side of the island, remains a quiet fishing hamlet largely untouched by tourism. The Greek name Angistri (Αγκίστρι) means "fishing hook", a fitting label for an island whose economy still leans on both the sea and its farmland.

Much of the interior is covered in pine forest, interspersed with wild cyclamen, thyme and caper bushes. Chukar partridges and swifts are common on the rockier eastern coast, and a population of feral peafowl, introduced at some point in the island's past, still roams parts of the island today. Along the shoreline, small beaches such as Aponissos, Dragonera, Skliri, Mariza and Halikiada offer a quieter alternative to the more crowded beaches of nearby Aegina.

Angistri's small size and position make it an easy add-on to a longer itinerary: the crossing from Aegina takes about ten minutes by ferry or water taxi, while boats from Piraeus, the main port of Athens, take roughly an hour. That short hop from Aegina, combined with its calm anchorages, has also made Angistri a classic stop on a Greece blue cruise itinerary for boats already exploring the Saronic Gulf.