TRAVEL GUIDE | CABANA TRAVEL | CABANA MAGAZINE

Renowned photographer and author of Haute Bohemians Greece, Miguel Flores-Vianna, has been travelling to Hydra for many years. He shares an insider's guide to his favorite places, spaces and pastimes on the magical Greek island. 

BY MIGUEL FLORES-VIANNA | CABANA TRAVEL | 25 JULY 2024

My Favorite Restaurant: To Pefkaki

To Pefkaki ('The Little Pine Tree'), is owned by Ana Petroleka, the best Greek cook I have come across, and her husband, Stefano, the Maître d’. The menu is not large and all the recipes come from Ana’s family. We often eat delicious grilled fish, which Stefano has caught on the day. The restaurant is small and overlooks the water and the mainland across. It is the best Greek food I have ever tasted. To Pefkaki is on the path way, Epar.Od. Mandrakiou-Molou, which follows the coastline from Hydra Town harbour towards the village of Kamini. I could not recommend it enough.

My Favorite Place to Stay: The Four Seasons Hydra

Nothing to do with the chain of hotels, this is a small compound-style hotel with a few suites and small villas right on the Vlychos Plakesl beach. Four Seasons Hydra is about seven minutes by boat from Hydra Town harbor - the hotel runs a boat service every 15 minutes between their jetty and Hydra Town harbor. The hotel's terrace style restaurant right on the water is one of the best on the island.

My Favorite Places of Architectural Interest

My first is the former residence of local hero, Lazaro Koundouriotis, in Hydra Old Town. The Mansion, built in the 18th century, was home to Mr. Koundouriotis, a hero of the Greek Independence and one of the founders of the country’s navy. The facade is entirely painted in a striking saffron hue, with its original furnishings in the ground floor and the first floor housing a collection of costumes and artefacts from his life.

My second favorite place is the Prophet Ilias Monastery. Visiting it is not for the faint hearted as it sits atop Hydra’s highest peak, a good 45 to 60 minute steep hike from the harbor. The monastery was founded in the 10th century and has a tiny shop where I buy preserves and honey, all made and collected by the monks, which I take home to Northern Europe to help me get through the winter.

My Favourite Coffee Shop: Roloi

There are lots of coffee shops, all equally good, lining the harbor. Although there are other establishments that may be considered much cooler or trendier, I tend to frequent Roloi, a family-owned, family-filled cafe - a spot for locals and tourists to stop for a quick drink between errands and swims.

There is a bakery on the harbor front and I often buy a slice of spanakopita (a cheese and spinach pie) and take it to Roloi to eat with whatever I choose to drink. If you want to recreate my delicious habit you must make sure to get to the bakery before 10am as the spanakopita is finished by mid-morning and they only bake it once a day.

My Favorite Things to Do

There are so many, but here are my personal musts when I am on the island.

Long distance swimming: I swim to To Pefkaki restaurant to have lunch every day. I jump in the sea at the end of the harbour, by the old Yatch Club, and swim along the coast for about 45 minutes to Kamini where I get out of the water and walk to the restaurant for lunch. I love long distance swimming and knowing that Mrs. Anna’s delicious food awaits me makes the whole thing even more thrilling.

Open-air cinema: I love to attend the 11pm show at Hydra’s open-air cinema. Just a few steps from the waterfront the cinema always shows old classics which one can watch under the stars savoring a glass of wine. The walk home after the show - in the early hours of the new morning, the air still warm and the streets deserted, reminds me of my adolescent years in Argentina coming home after teenage parties during the summer vacations. In Hydra I feel at home.

Greek watermelons: Karpoussia (watermelon) is, since childhood, by far my favorite fruit. Half the thrill of being in Greece is their watermelons, which are some of the best in the world. There is not a day I am in Greece that I do not have a few slices of karpoussia. To me, just the pleasure of enjoying the fruit on a daily basis is worth the flight to that wonderful country.