Ermioni Information

Rick just mentions Ermioni/Hermioni as a town to catch a ferry to either Spetses or Hydra island. He doesn't cover it for a visit, recommending the islands themselves or the town of Nafplio/n, which is a little closer to Epidavrous and Mycenae. But I agree that the online photos make it look like a tranquil spot. The Lonely Planet guidebook uses the term "resort" but otherwise provides no additional info beyond the ferry port.

Hi Laura:
My research has shown Ermioni to be an overlooked Greek town on a peninsula with water on three sides, lovely waterfront, nice old town, pretty pine forest nearby and many great tavernas serving authentic Greek food. You can take a ferry to Hydra or Spetses for day trips and you can rent a car and drive to various archeological sites. It sounds nice and the offseason will be even better with few tourists and there is a great Pomergrante Festival the last week of October.

I think the more you look into Ermioni the more you realize it's quite nice, still Greek but with conveniences to meet all needs without being over-the-top like a number of popular tourists destinations either on the islands or other parts of the mainland.

I have a secret strategy for finding out whether a place is a serene Gem or a "resort" attracting annoying package holiday-makers. I go on another forum (begins with T) and go to appropriate Forum Section (the island or major mainland place) and use a search term like "Ermioni Resort" ... if you find a lot of queries like "Swim-up Bar?" or "Beach Towels supplied?" or "What price for ciggies" or "What A-I (All-inclusive) places to book?" then you have your answer.

We spent a week in Ermioni a few years ago, but I doubt it's changed much. We wrote up our thoughts here

http://www.greekramblings.org.uk/Ermioni.html

Essentially it's a nice, off the track little town.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Janet:
I use that "T" forum quite a bit and I can tell you that there are very few topics, let alone posts for Ermioni which probably means most tourists have never heard of it, let alone go to it. That could mean it's not worth going to also, but my research shows that to be far from true. I've stayed in Nafplio and loved it, it was a great base for touring the area and archeological/historic sites, but Ermioni is right on a peninsula with water on three sides and at the far end of the Argolis Peninsula. More Greeks than tourists go there which must be a good thing and there are short ferry rides to Hydra, Spetses and other spots. Ermioni does look like a little known part of Greece and still retains a lot of its Greekness. In addition you can use it to explore other parts of the Argolis Peninsula and there were a number of places we never got to when we were in Nafplio. I think Ermioni could be a wonderful place for several days of exploring and seeing a Greek Town still not over run by tourists.

Hi Alan:
Nice report . . . I think it captures what Ermioni is about quite nicely . . . and from correspondence with people in that area still has not changed much over the years. Some tourism but it appears mostly Greeks and foriegners looking for a more relaxed, laid back and traditional area to visit.

Sounds good! Now let's not tell anybody else ... it can be our own little secret right??

Janet: For an experienced traveler to Greece you know how much of Greece has changed due to tourism. But if you look long enough you'll find many areas of the mainland and a number of islands still hold on to being Greek and while tourism does help the economy there are those who don't want to give up what being Greece is all about and balance the need for economic development and staying true to themselves. The more I go to Greece the more I seek out the less traveled and visited areas and if you go during the offseason you'll find even "some" of the more popular ones have slowed down and reverted to non-tourist time.

I doubt Ermioni will catch on except for experienced travelers to Greece. Most people think of "those" islands that are over developed, over touristed and over priced. Not saying they aren't worth a trip or you won't have a good time . . . you'll just have to share it with thousands of other tourists at a time!

I'll stick to islands like Amorgos, Astypalea, places on the mainland like Ermioni and so many other areas of Greece you'll never hear about unless you do your research and ask questions on forums.

Tommyk -- We really enjoyed our six days on Antiparos in late May. I think you could add that to your list of worthwhile, relatively untraveled islands, easy to reach from Athens.

Going little further afield, we loved Tilos, Nisyros and Leros, in the Dodecanese, as well as Ikaria.

Have fun planning. Ermioni looks great!

Hi Charlene:
Ikaria and Fourni were two islands I was seriously considering for this October. Both look like less traveled and touristed islands with lots to offer. Ikaria has an airport which makes it very convenient to get to then there is a small ferry boat to Fourni. However, Ermioni has really got me interested and it's just a relatively short ferry ride from Athens, about 2-1/2 hours which will be cheaper than the flight to Ikaria which for some reason is very expensive from Athens. It seems Aegean Airlines prices are very high this season especially the Flex Tickets and the departure and arrival times were not to my liking.

So it appears Ermioni will be it, unless of course another out-of-the-way part of Greece shows up . . . which I'm sure it will, but that will be for another year!