GREECE TRAVEL GUIDES

"HYDRA is small but somehow endless, pared back yet intensely alive." We caught up with DESCOVERARTISTS founder Christina to discuss slowing down on her beloved island, HYDRA.

HYDRA island guide

by CHRISTINA / 
DESCOVERARTISTS

Late last year, we spoke with Christina, the founder of Descoverartists — an artist community that organises residency and retreat programs for artists. Christina has always been drawn to places that hold both stillness and conversation, quiet and community — like the Greek island of HYDRA. A quick one hour ferry ride from ATHENS, HYDRA offers the perfect place to stop, and slow down.

How many years have you been visiting HYDRA?

I first came to HYDRA when I was seven, and something about it stayed with me. Since 2013, I’ve returned every year, and in 2020, I began hosting artist retreats there, often spending whole summers on the island. HYDRA gets under your skin, you leave, but it never really lets you go.

"Allow yourself to get lost. HYDRA opens itself to you in the moments when you wander without a plan."

HYDRA doesn’t have cars and it seems less spread out than other islands; can you explain the layout of the island and how do you get around? Is all of the accommodation in the port, and you mainly stay around there?


Yes, that’s true, there are no cars on HYDRA, only donkeys, water taxis, and your own two feet. Life revolves around the port, which rises like a natural amphitheatre. From there, stone paths weave into the village and climb the hills, where most of the old houses and guest rooms are hidden. You walk everywhere, and walking becomes part of the island’s rhythm. It slows you down, invites you to notice the details: the sea at the corner of your eye, the bougainvillaea spilling over walls, the sound of footsteps on stone.

"HYDRA is small but somehow endless, pared back yet intensely alive."

We meet a lot of people who continue to go back to HYDRA year after year and it seems to have a dedicated, cult-like fan base. What is it about HYDRA that makes people fall in love?


HYDRA has a magnetism. It’s small but somehow endless, pared back yet intensely alive. Without cars, the island holds a particular silence; you hear footsteps on stone, the sea breathing, voices carried on the wind. There’s a raw romance to it, and at the same time, an intimacy: you’re always crossing paths, swept into conversations, dinners, swims. It feels both private and communal, which is a rare quality. If you want to taste something of HYDRA’s spell, I’d recommend Sleepwalker by Margarita Karapanou; it captures the island’s haunting magic better than almost anything else.

Brigitte Bardot owned land on HYDRA as did Leonard Cohen. It was frequented by Sophia Loren and Jackie O, and more contemporary artists like Jeff Koons still love the island. What is it about HYDRA that draws in artists and creatives?


It’s the light, the stillness, the way time bends there. HYDRA is visually striking, the stone houses against the sea and hills, the play of shadow and brightness,  it’s cinematic by nature. And then there’s this undercurrent of bohemian history, a quiet knowledge that artists have been here before you, that you’re stepping into a lineage. It inspires, but it also grounds. And of course, it’s the people the conversations that spill late into the night, the sense of community that makes the island feel alive in every season.

"HYDRA is visually striking, the stone houses against the sea and hills, the play of shadow and brightness, it’s cinematic by nature."

Are there any walkable beaches from the town or is it better to go to the water taxi beaches?


From the port, you can wander to the rocks of SPILIA or HYDRONETTA, where you slip straight into crystalline water beside the bar. You can also walk further along the coast to KAMINI and VLYCHOS — small beaches with tavernas, reached in 15 to 40 minutes on foot. If you want to go farther, the water taxis are a joy in themselves. They wait in the port, and within minutes you’re gliding toward hidden coves and pebbled bays, to places like AGIOS NIKOLAOS — a small paradise on earth. It’s simple, effortless, and part of HYDRA’s rhythm.

What are your favourite beaches and do any have good tavernas on them or is it best to bring food?


I love AGIOS NIKOLAOS for its simplicity and quiet magic. There’s a little kiosk there with fruit salads, coffee, and sandwiches, just enough to keep you content between swims. PLAKES VLUCHOU has that same understated charm, with a beautiful restaurant at the hotel where you can linger over lunch by the sea. Most of the further beaches don’t have tavernas, so it’s best to bring something with you, but the closer ones

Are there any other activities or galleries you suggest visiting on HYDRA?


My favourite place to return to, whenever it’s open, is The Hydra Book Club. Josh has curated not just a thoughtful selection of books but also a community, I can spend hours there, talking, browsing, touching the covers. The DESTE Foundation Project Space in the old slaughterhouse is unmissable for contemporary art. Around the port you’ll also find smaller galleries worth wandering into. Beyond art, HYDRA itself is an activity: walking the cobbled streets, climbing up to the monastery, following the island’s trails. It’s a place that rewards moving slowly.

Any final advice for someone visiting HYDRA?



Have lunch at PIRATE BAR and return there in the afternoon for a coffee — or better yet, their chocolate milkshake, which I truly believe is the best thing on the planet. For dinner, go to TASSOULA'S OSTRIA, the island’s most beloved taverna, and later wander to L’AMERICANO BAR for a perfect cocktail. Swim at HYDRONETTA at sunset, climb to the top of MOUNT EROS, and you’ll understand why people speak of the divine here. And most importantly — allow yourself to get lost. HYDRA opens itself to you in the moments when you wander without a plan.

"HYDRA is a place that rewards moving slowly."

Photographs by DION SERRAS and MARIA FARRO.