Look past the superyachts moored in the harbour and the formula on Poros is simple: sunbathe, swim, snorkel, repeat
Superyachts are moored fender to fender along the waterfront. All high-shine hulls and walnut interiors, their combined value is billions. As I wander further along the seaside promenade that leads out of the centre of Poros Town, on the island of Poros, the yachts give way to a chain of chevron-sailed catamarans, 30ft cruisers and gulets – traditional wooden sailing vessels, their masts sending wind chime tones out over the water.
Chartering a boat has long been the preferred way of visiting this Greek island, 31 miles south-west of Athens, in the Saronic Gulf. Yet, this summer, it became a little more accessible, as Jet2 launched a range of package holidays that include flights to Athens, transfers to Piraeus port and return ferry tickets to Poros.
Just 12 square miles in size, Poros’s interior is furred with pine forests that rise into knuckle-rimmed hills, while its 27-mile coastline is scalloped with cuticle coves and unpeopled pebble beaches.
“Poros is our small green island,” says Yiota, the room division manager at Sirene Blue Luxury Beach Resort, Poros’s only five-star hotel. “It’s not too famous, like, say, Mykonos, and with the combination of all the green and the clear seas, it’s the perfect place to just relax.”
Relaxation is certainly easy to come by at Sirene Blue itself. Every room has a sea-view balcony, from where you can watch the sailing boats come and go. There is a private beach and slick seaside decking area, where the parasols shade buzzers to press for drink and food service. The rooftop cocktail bar looks out over the multi-blue-hued Saronic Gulf.
Elsewhere, Poros is an undemanding island. The typical schedule here is sunbathe, swim, snorkel, repeat. You just have to choose whether to hire a quad and seek out the castaway coves on the north coast or lay your towel over a lounger at one of the more organised beaches – Askeli, a 10-minute walk from Poros Town, has sunbeds, thatched parasols, and a small watersports centre.
While Poros is a magnet for magnates, prices across the island don’t reflect this. The pastel-painted, balconied Venetian buildings of Poros Town are filled with affordable cafés, bars and tavernas. At The Old Platanos, a short walk uphill from the waterfront, I find a table in the shade of a 100-year-old plane tree and savour homemade moussaka for €9.50 (£8.25).
In Ampelos wine bar, where the tables have been fashioned from disused wine barrels, a glass of plummy agiorgitiko red wine costs €5 (£4.30).
And at Cielo Sea Lounge on the waterfront, between 4pm and 7pm every day, prices plummet further, to €3.50 (£3) for a beer and €3 (£2.60) for a glass of wine – and bar staff are heavy-handed with the pours.
It also costs nothing to get around Poros Town and the catapult-shaped promontory it is placed on, thanks to a free municipal minibus service.
One thing that is worth spending a little bit of money on is a cookery class at family-run Odyssey Bistro, near Askeli. Taking place in an open kitchen behind the restaurant, where upside-down enamel mixing bowls are used as lampshades and vases are filled with freshly cut wildflowers, the sessions are run by mother and daughter Katerina and Dora, using produce from the family farm and olive groves. “We’re very proud of our olive oil,” Dora tells me. “It’s liquid gold from our own trees.”
During the class, I learn to make an aubergine dip, as well as tzatziki, spanakopita spinach pie (including the filo pastry) and an unctuous moussaka – which on Poros is made with beef rather than lamb. Towards the end, I try a cocktail that was invented by Dora’s husband to use up the cucumber water left over from making tzatziki. Topped up with ouzo, mastika (mastic liqueur), lemonade and tonic, it is aromatic, zesty and heady.
I spend one day of my escape taking a trip to the car-free island of Hydra, a 30-minute ferry ride away. To the east of the port, where the harbour is lined with tavernas, and boutiques selling art, linen and jewellery, the road leads uphill to a series of cliff-edge bars. Places such as Hydronetta have DJs playing Ibiza chill-out music on the decks from brunchtime, and customers cliff-jump in between drinks.
On my final night on Poros, I pick up a homemade Greek yoghurt-flavoured ice cream from Gelato di Poros and find a bench on Poros Town’s waterfront to watch the cinematic sunset. As the diminishing light begins to silhouette the masts of the yachts, I realise that although I’m not one of its multi-millionaire visitors, I have had more than a taste of Poros’s good life.
How to do it
Jet2holidays offers seven nights’ B&B at the Sirene Blue Luxury Beach Resort from £1,132pp including flights from Manchester with 22kg baggage allowance, ferry crossings and transfers (Jet2holidays.com)
