May 19, 2020

Amazing Day Trip from Athens – The Temple of Poseidon in Sounio

How to get there: Sounio is about 70km from Athens and you can either take the intercity coach (KTEL) from the Victoria ISAP Station at Aigyptou Square or go by car. I was lucky enough to have a personal tour guide “my best friend” who planned the whole trip to this gorgeous location. We started off from her home in one of the suburbs of Athens and found our way through the tiniest of alleyways and loopiest of roads leaving the urban metropolis behind to find the beautiful coastline of Athens.

What our Day Trip looked like:

Pit Stop 1: Beach Number 1 – Kolpiskos Lagonisiou (Παραλια Κολπισκος Λαγονησιου) – we got there in the morning around 9-10am and spent a lovely few hours swimming, drinking frappe, enjoying the sun and chatting away – catching up on the year or more we hadnot seen each other. Kolpiskos Lagonisiou is a beautiful beach with incredibly clear water that makes you feel like you are on one of the Greek islandsfar away from the hustle and bustle of Athens, and not just 70km away. I must say I was a bit disappointed when my friend turned around to me and said that we had to leave. I mean, WHY? Why would we leave this beautiful beach? For another one of course. From there, we headed on the most beautiful and scenic drive along the coastline that overhung in and out onto the Aegean Sea, all the way to Kape Beach.

Pit Stop 2: Beach Number 2 – Kape Beach (Παραλία Κάπε) – you will need your strength to get down to this beach. While the entrance may not be for the faint hearted, the view from the top is breathtaking!! To get down, there is a steep stairway that you need to tackle. It does open up your appetite for jumping into the crystal-clear water to refresh yourself once you get down. (Top Tip: make sure you have water with you, because if you do not, it is a long climb back up to the café). If you are feeling hungry or thirsty and do not have food or drinks with you, there is a café located at the top of the stairs which does serve food and drinks and from where you can get water too.

Pit Stop 3: Temple of Poseidon – what a sight to see. After a magical day – would you think it could get any better after beach hopping, BUT WAIT FOR IT, it can! What is a magical day without an equally magical sunset? Mother Nature really outdid herself that day. Actually, all sunsets I have witnessed in Greece have had some sort of magic to them – maybe there is just something in the air there. Whatever it is, I’m all in for it. The Temple of Poseidon is located on a cliff in Sounio – it overlooks the water which of course makes sense as it is dedicated to the Greek God of the Sea, Poseidon. The view of the temple is stunning. It was picture time. My friend and I took a bunch of pictures as quick as we could and headed around to the side of the temple to watch the sunset. Once golden hour kicked it, that was it for me, I had no words left to say, I was glued to the horizon. If anyone said anything to me, I did not hear a single word. All I could hear was the beautiful crisp silence of mother nature. Amazing to look back on, when there was, without exaggerating, hundreds of people there – we all watched the glistening rays of the sun flickering at the edge of the water in the horizon, in silence, taking in and appreciating the beauty of this beautiful location.