Hellenic Seaways

Who they are

Hellenic Seaways is the Greek ferry company most closely associated with the Saronic Gulf islands, the group just south of Athens that you can reach from Piraeus in under two hours. The company was set up in 1984 as Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises, owned by the Livanos family, and ran the Flying Dolphin hydrofoils. It became Minoan Flying Dolphins in 1999, Hellas Flying Dolphins in 2001, and took the name Hellenic Seaways in 2005.

Today Hellenic Seaways is part of Attica Group, which bought Minoan Lines' controlling stake in June 2018. For Athenians and visitors based in the capital, it is often the first choice for a day trip to Aegina or a weekend on Hydra or Spetses.

Network and main routes

The Saronic Gulf is Hellenic Seaways' heartland. In the 2026 timetables:

• Piraeus–Aegina–Agistri: high speed boats several times a day, about 40 minutes to Aegina and 10 minutes more to Agistri.
• Piraeus–Poros–Hydra–Spetses: daily high speed sailings, some continuing to Ermioni and Porto Heli. The afternoon boat took about 2 hours to Hydra with a stop at Poros, and about 2 h 50 min to Spetses.

Hydra, with its car-free streets and harbour town, draws visitors on both day trips and longer stays.

Hellenic Seaways' website also sells Cyclades and North Aegean sailings, often on ships shared with other Attica Group brands such as Blue Star Ferries. Check the ship and operator on your ticket.

The company no longer sails to the Sporades. In 2024 it sold the Express Skiathos, together with its Volos–Sporades line, to Seajets. Seajets and Aegean Flying Dolphins now run the Volos–Skiathos–Skopelos–Alonissos routes; see our Skiathos to Skopelos page.

Fleet and on board

The Saronic fleet has two types of fast boat. The Flying Dolphin hydrofoils are small, fast and cramped, with assigned indoor seats and no outdoor deck while under way; the experience is closer to a bus than a traditional ferry. The newer Aero Highspeed catamarans (Aero 1, 2 and 3) run the same Saronic routes. Neither type carries cars.

If you need to take a car to Aegina or Poros, use one of the conventional car ferries run by other companies from Piraeus. On Aegina these take about 1 h 20 min.

Booking and tips

Saronic routes have several departures a day, so last-minute booking is more realistic than on the big overnight Crete or Adriatic crossings. Even so, summer weekends on the Piraeus–Hydra and Piraeus–Spetses routes fill up as Athenians head out of town. Book a day or two ahead rather than turning up at the dock.

Hellenic Seaways is part of Attica Group's Seasmiles loyalty programme, which gives discounts and points on Hellenic Seaways, Blue Star, ANEK and Superfast tickets. Children aged 5 to 10 pay half fare.

On Aegina you can also compare Hellenic Seaways with Aegean Flying Dolphins, which runs hydrofoils on the same route. See our Athens to Aegina, Athens to Hydra and Athens to Poros pages.