If you are looking for a locals island in Greece then Agistri is good choice. It doesn't have the crowds of Santorini and is just off the coast of Athens. You can get there on a 45 min fast cat ferry or a 1.5 hour regular pace ferry. The people were super friendly and the food was great!
It was SO HOT on Agistri! Wowsa. Don't forget your sunscreen. I also got my addiction to Coca-Cola going again which is a nice way to combat the heat. It also gives you that kick start if your coffee isn't doing it. Iced coffee was pretty good in Greece so that's a bonus. Overall Greece was pretty affordable compared to the rest of Europe but it's way more expensive than Macedonia. I assume it has something to do with their currency being the Euro.
As all island life is.....Agistri had a slow pace happening..... No need to rush.... there were few cars on Agistri. If there were, they were extra small to fit on the roads. Check out the images to see both my bike to get around and the streets.
We stayed in an airbnb and then a hotel in Skala. We road bikes to get groceries and ice cream and trekked to a place where backpackers or people that camp as they travel had set up shop. I wish I was daring enough to camp as I traveled- I'd save a lot of money! Unfortunately when we were looking for the site we came across the bathroom area first - YUK. There was at least 15 - 20 tents arranged down the hillside under the trees. They had a kitchen area (with a fire) and hammocks/relaxing areas. Pretty cool if it's your thing. They enjoyed the beach during the day and relaxed in the evenings.
I highly recommend choosing airbnb when you are checking out a new area. We got lost getting to the Pireus Port to take the ferry to the island so our airbnb host offered to pick us up from the airport. He drove us right to the apartment, gave us a tour and told us where his family had a restaurant. The place was perfect! It had a cute iron gate out front and a small patio in the back. Of course it was SUPER hot outside so we didn't really use the patio but we still imagined what it would be like < 3 We ate at the family restaurant 1 - 2 times a day. We were treated super well and got to know some friendly faces. When I decided to stay longer in Agistri it wasn't available so we had to switch to a hotel!
Here is the train map from the airport which is why we got lost!
Here are pictures of the hotel I stayed in. It was definitely no Hilton; in fact, when I sent the image of myself to my sister she asked me if I had ended up in a foreign jail. The room in the photo is the second room I was in at that hotel. When I extended my stay they needed to move me and the second room wasn't as nice but it was still safe so I was happy. I always travel with a door stop that I place on the inside of the door if there is no dead bolt. With both rooms in this hotel there was about a half inch gap under the door and no dead bolt so I used my stopper for extra safety.
Swimming on Agistri was one of my favourite past times. There was open water everywhere and you could jump in wherever and whenever you wanted. You had to be careful of sea urchins though! Sea urchins attach to rock surfaces so if you look at the image below with the rocks in the water you can image the rocks to be sea urchins! You had to be super careful when you were swimming that you don't kick a rock surface or try to walk on one.
There must have been some token things to do on Agistri but mostly I just read and relaxed. Looking at the brochures they showed hiking trails and such but exploring where the back packers lived was enough adventure for me. I'm not much of a hiker unless it involves a fresh water lake. It was sad leaving Agistri but I'll be back one day!
