Dokos

Given the relative scarcity of private marinas and public ports in some parts of Greece, it also pays to be informed about alternative anchorages that offer good shelter, especially taking into account the fact that, despite the premise, Greece in summer is a heavily traveled area for boaters.
And especially the Saronic Gulf area, because of the beauty of its sea and coastline and its proximity to Athens.

From there, in fact, many boaters leave to spend the weekend away, heading to the most popular destinations in the neighboring Peloponnese: Port Kheli, Spetsai, the island of Hydra, all destinations with great tourist appeal but offering few (or very few) ports.

Here, then, is where the small island of Dokos can come in very handy: halfway between Hydra and the mainland, it offers-aside from a splendid sea and beautiful beaches, much beaten during the day by those who want to enjoy sun and sea-three or four anchorages that offer excellent shelter from all winds.

The island itself offers little in the way of attractions and is virtually uninhabited, except for a tavern and a few dwellings that are now practically disused.
It is famous in the news mainly because of the discovery of a very ancient shipwreck, dating from about 2000 B.C., right near one of the bays we indicate as anchorage points.

The areas to seek shelter are in the northeastern part of the island, where a large natural inlet creates an important indentation.
Here there are two options: opt for the larger inlet, Ormos Skindos, which has a north-south orientation and offers very good shelter from the sea and winds, or head to the smaller inlet on the west side of the same inlet, right at the entrance, characterized by a distinctive Y-shape

In the main bay you can head into the small indentation to the east near the entrance, where there are the remains of the wreck mentioned above; here, however, the bottom is about 15 to 20 meters and it is not easy to anchor.
Continuing southward inside the bay there are three or four other spots where anchoring is easier: the bottom ranges from 3 to 10 meters, the bottom is not very good keeper(sand and seaweed) but it is not bad.

The tavern is located on the east side of the bay, and the family that runs it keeps an eye on VHF channel 16: you can contact them if you need to.

The last option is to head into the Y-shaped inlet near the opening of the bay on the west side.
This deep inlet offers decent bottom holding (sand) and good shelter from wind and sea but beware, it is absolutely not sheltered from meltemi, in which case it is not recommended because there is a lot of dancing.
Mooring lines are present on land.

The island is rather barren and, as we said, almost uninhabited, so besides the pleasant scenery it offers nothing else.
During the day you will find some boat traffic, but it is still a good option for a quiet night (if there is no meltemi) in an always very crowded sea area