Agia Marina Beach

Agia Marina, the “all inclusive” beach of Aegina

If your priority is not to complicate your life and to step off the bus straight onto a towel with a beach bar three paces away, Agia Marina is the best option on the island. It is the longest beach on Aegina (almost 500 metres), with fine sand, water that stays shallow for the first 30 metres, a Blue Flag and services designed so that a family with children does not have to think about anything.

It sits on the east coast, in a bay well protected from the meltemi (the northerly wind that blows across the Cyclades in summer), so the sea is nearly always calm. This really shows with small children: if you have ever had to pick up the towels mid-morning on another island because the waves were carrying off the buckets, Agia Marina is exactly the cure.

The full package: the good and the bad

The good: sunloungers and parasols for hire (8-15€ per set per day), fresh water showers at several points, lifeguards in high season, a seafront promenade with 20 to 30 businesses between restaurants, bars, ice cream shops, inflatable stalls and a couple of hotels right on the beach. Wifi in almost every beach bar. There is pushchair access (the boardwalk helps) and ramps down to the water.

The bad: it is by far the busiest beach on the island. In July and August, especially at weekends, it fills up with day trippers from Athens. If you turn up at 12 without a sunlounger booked, forget about finding a spot in the front row. Beach bar prices are a notch above the Aegina average (beer 4€, Greek salad 9-12€). And there is no natural shade: if you do not hire a parasol, bring your own or find yourself a table in a taverna.

Real pain points

• Shade: practically none without hiring. If you are with a baby or you burn easily, this matters.
• Crowds: at their worst in August (from 11 a.m. onwards), far more manageable in early June and September.
• Sand: clean and fine, it does not work its way into your hair like the dark sand of the Aegean. Some seaweed after storms, cleared away quickly.
• Seabed: slightly muddy for the first few metres (not rock, no danger), clear from 50 metres out.
• Lifeguards and toilets: yes, both are there; do watch out for the pedalos crossing the swimming area at weekends.
• Dogs: not allowed on the main beach in high season. Allowed at either end.
• Nudism: no.

Getting there (in order of cost)

• Bus: the Aegina to Agia Marina line leaves the port every 1 to 2 hours in summer. A 30 minute ride, 2-3€. Last one back at around 20:30. It is the favourite option for people arriving by ferry without a car.
• Taxi: 15-18€ from the port.
• Car or scooter: 14 km of well surfaced road, with a compulsory stop at Agios Nektarios and the option of carrying on to the Temple of Aphaia, 4 km further. Free car parks 5 minutes’ walk from the promenade.

The plan we recommend most

Do a full day combining beach and heritage: leave Aegina town early by bus, stop for an hour at the Temple of Aphaia (8:30 to 10), drop down to Agia Marina for a swim and lunch in a taverna (10:30 to 15), a nap on the sunlounger and back to the port by bus in the middle of the afternoon. It comes to less than 30€ per person, includes one of the best preserved temples in Greece and a beach with every service going. It is probably the best value move Aegina has.

If what you want is fewer people and more of a cove, better to head for Marathonas or Portes. But if you are travelling with small children and/or you only have one day, do not overthink it: Agia Marina.