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About the town & island of Poros

The island of Póros is separated from the Peloponnese by the beautiful natural harbour of Limín Póros and a narrow channel.

The island has a long history stretching back into the times of Ancient Greece and is an ideal base from which to explore the surrounding historical sites.

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The history of the town & island of Poros

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The island of Nísos Póros is separated from the Peloponnese mainland by the beautiful natural harbour of Limín Póros and at places a narrow channel no more than 300m across. The name ‘Póros’ translates as ‘strait’ or ‘crossing’ which is very appropriate given the island’s close proximity to the mainland.

The island is really two islands separated by the narrowest of channels and crossed by a small road bridge that you barely notice when crossing. The larger of the two islands, Kalavria, is moutainous and wooded while nestled below in the shelter affording by the larger island and the Peloponnese mainland, is Sferia on which much of Poros town and the hourbour itself is based.

A long history

The history of Poros stretches back through millennia. Aethra, the mother of Theseus of Trizina, had a famous dalliance with the god Poseidon here. In the 7th century BC it was the centre of the Kalavrian Naval League and in the 4th century BC, the great orator Demosthenes lived and died here during the ascendancy of Alexander the Great.

In 480BC as Xerxes I of Persia was advancing on Athens and prior to the the Battle of Salamis the population of Athens was evacuated south to Troezen, near Galatas, opposite Póros.

In the past hundred years it has been the choice or artists and writers such as Seferis, Durrell and Miller, the home of the Greek Naval Academy and a destination for discerning travellers from around the world.

A great holiday base

The proximity of Poros to the mainland makes it an ideal starting point for visiting the famous sites of the Peloponnese. There are regular ferries to Ágina, Hydra (Ídhra), Ermioni and Spetses (Spétsai). See ‘Sail & Stay holidays’ for more information on places & sites you can visit while staying in Póros or the surrounding area.

A regular car ferry runs between the mainland and the island and numerous water taxis busy themselves transporting pedestrians from one side to the other at almost any time of day or night. The island is easily accessible from Athens both by ferry from Piraeus and by road and the short ferry hop across the narrows.

Spend some time on this paradise island, cycling or hiking through the pine-covered hills or just lazing on the many intimate beaches and you will understand why the writer and philhellene, Lawrence Durrell, described it as “the happiest place I have ever known”.

The Poros waterfront viewed from Limín Póros, described in Rod Heikell’s West Aegean pilot guide as; “one of the most attractive in Greece...”.  What better place to start and end your sailing holiday!

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Looking east from Poros along the narrows channel that sepearates the island from the Peloponnese mainland
Looking west up the narrows channel from the Greek Sails yacht base back towards the town of Poros
The ‘Lady of Poros’ reclining as the sun sets to the west after another glorious day in Poros
The ‘Lady of Poros’ reclining as the sun sets to the west after another glorious day in Poros
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