Alimos Marina

Alimos Marina lies in Alimos, a coastal suburb on the Saronic Gulf about eight kilometres south of central Athens, in an area long known by its older name, Kalamaki. It is the largest marina in Greece and in the Balkans, and for most visitors chartering a yacht out of the Greek capital it is where the holiday actually begins. Behind the pontoons, though, is a stretch of coast inhabited since Neolithic times, one that gave the ancient world a fishing town, a famous women's festival and one of its greatest historians.

From Halimous to Alimos

In classical antiquity this shoreline was the site of Halimous, a small fishing deme of Attica set on the coast between Phalerum and Aexone, some 35 stadia from the city of Athens. It was the home deme of the historian Thucydides, author of the History of the Peloponnesian War, who is regularly identified in ancient sources as “Thucydides the Halimousian”. Halimous also hosted a well-known celebration of the Thesmophoria, the women's festival of Demeter and Kore; excavators on the hill of Agia Anna have identified traces of a building interpreted as the Thesmophorion, alongside the remains of an Early Christian three-aisled basilica of the 5th to 6th century. Earlier still, the oldest settlement remains found in the area date to the Neolithic period.

The modern municipality is far younger. Alimos was created only in 1968, when the seaside settlement of Kalamaki was merged with the inland village of Trachones. Today it covers 5.9 square kilometres and recorded a population of 43,174 at the 2021 census, a comfortable, largely residential suburb served by a tram line and its own metro station, wedged between the Athenian coastal highway and the sea.

The Largest Marina in Greece

The marina that carries the district's name is a genuinely large piece of infrastructure, one of the biggest yacht harbours in the eastern Mediterranean. It occupies 210,000 square metres of land and 428,000 square metres of water, with quays running to about 1,170 metres and a maximum depth of roughly 6.5 metres. There are 1,100 permanent berths, of which around 50 are dimensioned for yachts over 25 metres, enough to take sizeable motor yachts and gulets as well as the fleets of sailing catamarans and monohulls that fill most of the basin. A hard-standing area handles winter storage for several hundred boats, so vessels ranging from small sailboats upward can be laid up on site.

The services are what a working charter base needs rather than what a superyacht marina advertises: shore power from 16 to 32 amps, fresh water, fuel, lifting and launching, round-the-clock security with CCTV, free Wi-Fi, a first aid point and a permanent Port Police presence. The marina works on VHF channel 71 and has held the international Blue Flag eco-label since 2018.

Why Charters Start Here

Location is Alimos's real advantage. It sits close to both the Athens metro and tram network and, a short drive away, to Piraeus port and Athens International Airport, so crews and guests can join a charter with minimal transfer time. That matters more than it sounds: guests who land in the morning can realistically be at sea the same afternoon. From the marina entrance the Saronic Gulf opens immediately, with Aegina, Poros, Hydra and Spetses all within comfortable day hops and the Cyclades lying beyond Cape Sounion.

The scale of the operation reflects the market it serves. Greece became the world's largest yacht charter market in 2025, with more than 3,000 charter vessels in operation, and Alimos is the single most important base within that fleet. On a Saturday changeover day in high summer, hundreds of boats turn around in the same basin, which is either impressive or chaotic depending on how early you arrive.

A Marina Being Rebuilt

Alimos is now in the middle of the biggest change in its history. The Greek state awarded a 40-year concession for the marina at a price of €57.5 million, with the developer REDS, part of the ELLAKTOR group, taking on the redevelopment. Works are scheduled to begin in 2026 with a completion horizon of roughly twenty months, and the total investment has been reported at around €100 million. The plan is to turn what has functioned largely as a technical maritime terminal into a mixed marina-and-waterfront destination, in step with the vast Hellinikon development immediately to the south. Anyone chartering during the transition years should expect construction activity around the land side of the basin.

Around the Marina and When to Sail

Beyond the pontoons, the marina area has grown into its own small hub, with cafes and restaurants along the waterfront and Kalamaki beach just to the south; Edem beach lies a short distance north, a mix of sand and pebble with a handful of tavernas and good sunset views over the gulf. Central Athens and the Acropolis are about twenty minutes away by tram or taxi, which makes it easy to bolt a day of sightseeing onto either end of a cruise.

The Greek season runs from April to the end of October, with the strongest conditions in midsummer, when the meltemi blows hardest through the Aegean; the Saronic Gulf is comparatively sheltered and stays sailable throughout. For yacht holidaymakers setting off from the Greek capital, Alimos is often one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet charter from Athens, and on many itineraries it is both the first and the last berth of the trip. May, June and September give the best balance of warm water, moderate wind and berth availability, while August books out months in advance.