Beaches in Hydra Greece, Including my favorite private cove

In continuation of my posts on Hydra, this time my post is about the Beaches in Hydra.

You can read the rest of my previous posts about this wonderful Greek Isle here.

Now, let me be really honest. I said beaches, not beautiful beaches, because really, you come here for the not quite mainstream Greek Isle vibe, not exactly to go to the beach. Hydra is definitely a hidden gem, not at all like Santorini (which I must say also didn't really have beautiful beaches).

Oh the beauty of this place... It's really perfect for summer.

The Island is pretty small, as evidenced by their no vehicles policy, so I am assuming you can reach every  place on foot, on donkey, or by ferry/water taxi. The options to get to a beach is the same, but the nicer ones are farther away.

Just a little bit past the waterfront harbor is this swimming hole. It is quite scary as the waves are strong, and there are only huge rocks not sand.

Refer to "Your Position". We stopped here for a bit on our way to Kamini
Beach, what the locals recommended as the nice beach accessible on foot.

The crazy people standing in a group on the right were actually surrounding
a hole in the rocks that they would jump into and land in the sea.
Not really my cup of tea since they all react loudly if you don't manage to
jump well. Hahaha. Bunch of hecklers, Right Clint?

After that stop, on we went on our trek to Kamini Beach. If my memory serves me right, the walk was manageable, but it was much faster on the way back, probably because the walk toward Kamini was uphill. There were several swimming spots along the way, but nothing really developed.

We stopped for lunch at Kodylenias on the way there and the view was just absolutely beautiful, but more on the food on my next post.

After several minutes of walking, a lunch break included, we finally see what we are looking for.

Welcome to Kamini Beach. Parang Batangas lang, or the beaches in Zamboanga we would visit from my childhood. Nothing to write home about, but then how can you go to a Greek Isle in summer and not go to the beach right?

Here, lounge chairs are real estate that cost €3, but I think there is no time limit, so you can keep it until you get tired of it. If I'm not mistaken, I think the place is part of Villa Castello, a resort with one of the best locations on Hydra, so the crowd is a combination of day trippers like us and resort guests.

It is quite nice to take a dip in the cool Aegean Sea, especially since it's summer, then off to nap after to make the most of my lounge chair.

We maximized our stay at Kamini and only started our trek back to the harbor at sundown.

We loved Kodylenias so much, where we stopped for lunch, that we had to stop again on our way back for dessert this time.

The next day, we attempted to go further in search for the more beautiful beaches. There are ferries that are docked right on the harbor front that will take you to Bisti Beach or San Nikolas Beach. We tried to ask the ferry guy if he could drop us off at Basti and allow us to take a later ferry to San Nikolas but it was either lost in translation, or it really wasn't allowed.

We stopped in a Magazine Store on the way and sucker for a sale that I am,
I had to buy 2 magazines because 1 came with a giant beach bag and the other
came with a beach blanket. Both of which we used immediately on the beach.

Jane and Bri opted to explore the Island instead, while Clint and I went for the beaches.

This reminds me of jumping into a ferry in Marseilles,
to take a ferry to Îles du Frioul a lifetime ago when I
lived in Paris and explored on the weekends wherever
cheap flights would take me.

It was a long enough ferry ride which allowed us to see the island from the sea.

Since we couldn't go down at Bisti, and ensure that we had a way to get to San Nikolas, we just took a quick look (and photos) from the ferry.

So now I know why these Rayban's of mine has rust spots on them,
I probably didn't rinse them off well after this beach trip!

These two boys were totally adorable, excited for their
day on the beach.

As we approached San Nikolas Beach, we already spotted this cove.

This is San Nikolas Beach where everyone was headed.

Of course we had to stop for a few day off photos.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and We—

We took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

Quoted from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Yes, we opted to climb through the big pile of rocks and make camp
here instead.

Documenting our adventure... it really was worth taking the road less traveled.

Everything I bought came in handy. Beach Bag - check!
Beach Blanket - check! Magazines to hold the corners down - check and check!

While I wasn't impressed with Hydra's beaches. This private cove was so beautiful, it felt like we were stealing a moment in paradise.

I'm just more of sit on the beach, with a magazine kind of girl.

Since we opted to take the Road Less Traveled, it's a good thing, we came equipped with a picnic lunch made of bread, butter and jam (leftovers from our breakfast) and cold cuts, chips and chocolate that we really bought to snack on.

Picnic Lunch

We decided to head back when people started invading our private beach, because the tide was starting to come in as well so our slice our camp kept getting smaller and smaller.

Rest time/ Photo opp on our trek back to civilization.

Since we are not really sure how the ferry system works here, we also wanted
to look for the ferry we came on so we could guarantee a seat back to town.

There were still a few minutes to spare before departure, so we were able to meet up with Jane and Bri (and squat on their €3 lounge chairs).

I will choose our private cover over this busy beach any day.

Heading back was uneventful, but if you look closely along the beach areas - especially the more deserted ones, you may find some private shows that you can just guess at.

This is the first swimming spot I wrote about, from the other side.

Hello again, Hydra Harbor.

So while you really don't go to Hydra for the beaches, especially if you live in the Philippines, you go for the total experience, but the beaches are a good icing on the cake. Especially if you get a chance to enjoy your own private cove like we did. just saying.

Jewellery Shopping on Hydra Island, Greece

My favorite souvenir to buy from a trip I want to remember is always jewelry. I tried fridge magnets in the past, but it frustrated me how diverse the quality is (and to think they are all made in China) as some don't stick as well as others, which cause them to fall and break if they are fragile, not to mention I no longer have my own fridge since we moved back to the Philippines. Hahaha.

But jewelry, especially if you buy gold, lasts forever, and you can enjoy it and remember the memories from your trip/s when you wear it.

While I have a planned post on Shopping in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul that I have yet to write, let me continue my series of posts on Hydra, picking up where I left off last week which you can read here, zooming into this topic.

My Favorite Jewelry Shops in Hydra

As with all tourist destinations, it's always a negotiation game when you attempt to buy something of value, because stores normally start with an astronomical figure, then it becomes your job to ascertain the real value of what your buying, what you are willing to pay for it, and what the seller is willing to sell it for. In other words, you need to define the negotiating arena.

You need to check out the competitive landscape as well, so you can figure out who is selling what, what is the going rate of things, and shortlist which store (or stores) have what you want, at a selling price that is a good starting place to start bargaining with.

I got thrown off my game a bit, because the gold rings (which I was interested in) were much more expensive in Hydra vs the Grand Bazaar in Turkey, but given that it is a purely tourist destination, it's a given that I just needed to adjust the negotiating scale in to a slightly more expensive level.

I was already eyeing an Infinity Ring (they have it everywhere, but the one I kept coming back to look at was the one in 21st Century - right in front of the harbor - photo above) that I wanted to wear stacked with my evil eye rings from Istanbul, but since it was more expensive, I took time to sleep on it.

However, on one of our dinners in the island, we stumbled on this jewelry store in one of the side streets that caught our attention because her designs were slightly different, and when we inquired about the price of something, Eleni gave us a price closer to what we are willing to pay (I should know, I probably stepped into all the jewelry stores in Hydra that we saw). So she doesn't do the whole song an dance of giving everyone an astronomical price to see if she can get away with it.

The Infinity Symbol is found in a lot of the Greek Jewelry, so it's the perfect
thing to remind you of the place.

Eleni explained that she designs and her husband makes the jewelry.
I couldn't leave without buying anything, so I left this pendant which I
converted into a charm together with the Evil Eye Charms I bought in Turkey.
Note to self: I totally forgot about that bracelet, I should look for it.

It was so nice to meet you Eleni. I remember I promised to come back,
and bring my daughter... and I will.

So if my memory serves me right, we had a cup of coffee
by the harbor front, from the winner €2 Souvlaki place
that you can read about here, I decided I wanted the ring too.

Jane and I are very happy 21st Century customers.
This nice mister is the owner so look at him if you want to seal the deal.

Exactly how I envisioned it to be...
Perfect Souvenir from Hydra and Istanbul.

Now, if I can only remember where my charm bracelet went... or I can always buy again when I go with Sofia, since I apparently promised a lot of people on Hydra that I would come back. just saying.

21st Century
Hydra Harbor

Right next to Alpha Bank

Kariatides

Hydra - Paralia, 18040, ATTICA

2298053963