Glide beneath the walls of a thousand-year-old monastic republic that women and casual visitors can never set foot in. Seeing its twenty monasteries from the water at golden hour is the closest anyone outside the brotherhood gets.
What to expect
You board a small vessel from Ouranoupoli's harbour and sail along the peninsula's coast, passing Docheiariou, Xenophontos, Panteleimonos and Simonopetra clinging to cliffs above the sea. A guide explains the 1,000-year monastic tradition and the Byzantine architecture as you pass. The boat comes within a few hundred metres of shore, close enough to see monks tending gardens. It's contemplative, slow, and unlike anything else in Greece.
Good to know
Cruises run roughly 3 hours; book the earliest sailing to return with time to spare before all-aboard. Boats leave directly from Ouranoupoli's pier, a 5-minute walk from the tender drop point.
Sail there
Luxury cruises that call at Ouranoupoli — book through us, the fare is identical and your concierge stays on your side.