Island Hydra, Greece
Cats in Hydra
An island with no cars, where the fish comes off the boat onto the quay and the cats are waiting for it. Mules for luggage, Leonard Cohen’s old house up the hill, and a colony on every set of steps.
Where to find cats in Hydra: Hydra, a small island in the Saronic Gulf, a couple of hours by fast ferry from Piraeus. The harbour town, and the coast path west to Kamini and Vlychos. When: Morning on the quay when the fishing boats come in, and evening on the steps. May, June, September, October. Why here: No cars, no scooters, a harbour of stone mansions, and cats that meet the fishing boats.
The short version
- Where
- Hydra, a small island in the Saronic Gulf, a couple of hours by fast ferry from Piraeus. The harbour town, and the coast path west to Kamini and Vlychos
- When
- Morning on the quay when the fishing boats come in, and evening on the steps. May, June, September, October
- How long
- A day trip works. Two nights is the island
- What it costs
- The ferry. The island itself is free, and the cats are fed by the tavernas
- Why here
- No cars, no scooters, a harbour of stone mansions, and cats that meet the fishing boats
What to bring
- LegsThere are no cars, no scooters and no bicycles. Everything on Hydra is walked or carried by mule, including you.
- The morning boatsThe fishermen unload on the quay and the cats know the timetable better than the ferry company.
- Nothing for the catsThey eat fish off the boats and scraps from the tavernas. Your crisps are an insult.
- Cash for the water taxiKamini and Vlychos are a walk out and, if it is hot, a boat back.
Why there are cats everywhere
Hydra banned the wheel. The cats have never had to learn what a car is.
The island is a horseshoe of stone mansions round a harbour, built by sea captains in the eighteenth century when Hydra had a fleet, and it has been protected since so completely that motor vehicles are not allowed. Luggage goes up the hill on mules. Rubbish comes down the same way. The streets are steps, the steps are stone, and the only traffic is people, mules, and cats.
The cats are on the quay every morning, because that is where the fish is. The boats come in, the catch is sorted on the harbour wall, and a dozen cats work the line with the professionalism of people who have done it every day of their lives. The rest of the day they are on the steps of the town, in the doorways, and under the tables of the tavernas along the water, where they are fed by everyone. In the evening they are on the warm stone of the harbour, and so is everyone else.
Leonard Cohen bought a house up the hill in 1960 and wrote there for years, and the island has had a colony of writers and painters since. It also has a colony of animal-welfare volunteers who neuter and feed the cats, which is why so many have the tipped ear and why the numbers are stable. Walk the coast path west to Kamini, the fishing hamlet, and on to Vlychos for a swim; there are cats in both, and no cars in either, and nobody hurries anywhere.
The walk
The harbour and the quay first, then up into the steps of the town, then the coast path west to Kamini and Vlychos and a water taxi back. A day.
- From PiraeusFast ferry, Hellenic Seaways100 minThe Flying Cat or Flying Dolphin. Several a day in summer; book ahead on weekends.
- From Metochi, on the PeloponnesePassenger boat across the strait20 minIf you are driving down the Peloponnese, park at Metochi and cross. Cheaper and faster than Piraeus.
- From Athens airportBus or metro to Piraeus, then the ferry180 minDoable in a morning. The island is worth staying the night.
The harbour quay
Where the ferry lands and the fishing boats unload. Walk the length of the quay in the morning and count the cats at the wall where the catch is sorted. The tavernas along it feed the same cats at lunch.
The fast ferry from Piraeus. It is called the Flying Cat, which is not why this page exists, but helps.sagesolar, CC BY 2.0 The steps of the town
Up any lane behind the harbour and keep climbing. The town is stone steps and whitewashed walls, with cats on the doorsteps and under the vines. Cohen’s house is up here somewhere; the cats do not care which.
A doorstep in the town. Mother in front, kittens holding the door.Rosino, CC BY-SA 2.0 Kamini
The coast path west from the harbour, twenty minutes along the water, to the fishing hamlet with a tiny harbour, a couple of tavernas and their cats. The mules pass you on the path; stand aside.
The island’s transport. It carries your bag; the cats walk.Elsie esq., CC BY 2.0 Vlychos
Further along, over the headland, the beach hamlet with an old stone bridge, a swim, and a taverna where the cats sit under the tables. Water taxi back from the jetty when your legs have had enough.
Under the vine, in the afternoon. The correct use of Hydra.byrdiegyrl, CC BY 2.0
Same numbers as the list. Worth keeping open on your phone.
The cats you will meet
Saronic island cats: short-coated, ginger, tabby, tortoiseshell and white, fed on fish and taverna scraps, neutered in good numbers by the island’s volunteers, and entirely unbothered by the mules. Sociable on the quay and under the tables, sleepy on the steps.
Quay cats
At the harbour wall when the boats unload.
The professionals. Fish off the boat, every morning.
Step cats
On doorsteps and under vines up the hill.
The residents. Somebody on that lane feeds them and knows their names.
Taverna cats
Under the tables at Kamini and Vlychos.
They will sit by your chair. Give them the fish skin, not the bread.
Everybody says It is a cat island like the Japanese ones.
Actually It is a Greek island with a normal, well-fed, neutered street population and no cars, which makes it feel like one. Nobody ferries cats here for tourists. They are here because the fish is, and because nothing has ever run them over.
How not to be the annoying one
- Stand aside for the mules. They have right of way, and they are carrying somebody’s suitcase.
- Do not feed on the quay while the fishermen are working. The cats have a system and you are not in it.
- Fish skin from your plate is fine at a taverna. Bones are not.
- Ear-tipped means neutered by the volunteers. If you want to help, they take donations, not kittens.
- It is quiet here on purpose. Keep it that way, especially on the steps at night.
