Marina di Alimos

A crucial hub of marine traffic for centuries (and centuries), Athens and its ports are still a beaten destination even for many yachtsmen who cruise along the coast of Greece during the warm season. Whether by necessity or by specific desire, the choice to stop near Athens must be made wisely.

First of all, because any maneuvering in the sea space in front of Athens requires great care and caution. There is a lot of traffic, really a lot, in any season, and it is regulated by a TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme). There are large ships, maneuvering to and from Piraeus, there are yachtsmen and also numerous tourist boats and vessels, including hydrofoils whizzing by at up to 30 knots of speed.

Alimos Marina is one of the marinas in the Athens area, not the only one, and is located southeast of the city, at the suburb of Alimos, precisely. Near here was once the old Athens airport, and the port was the preferred base for most of the charter companies in the area; now that the airport has been moved, the companies have largely followed, leaving more berths free for boaters. The other bonus is, of course, that there are far fewer planes passing over the heads of those who moor here.

Approaching Alimos Marina therefore requires some care. for the reasons mentioned above, not so much because of special difficulties or dangers; however, the advice is to contact the port in good time via VHF and be guided. The entrance to the ports is marked by lights. Winds here generally blow from the north and can also be relatively strong (6 beaufort scale).
Access is possible 24 hours a day.

Inland, a thousand berths are available, all equipped with mooring lines (no anchor, then) and piuttoato well sheltered. Berths at the concrete docks are almost all well accessible from land by car, convenient for any loading and unloading.
The maximum depth in ports is 6.5 meters and boats up to 40 meters in length can be moored.

On the services front, it can be said that the Alimos marina suffers somewhat from the recent abandonment by many charter companies. The services offered are just the essentials: electricity (not at all berths), water, toilets and showers, and a fueling station. But there is a but: the service block is only one and serves the entire harbor and beyond, as it is also accessible from the outside; the hot water in the showers seems to run out in no time, and taking a hot shower is a bit of a mirage.

Added to this is the “problem” of stray dogs: there are many of them, some permanent as they are fed by port staff, and moving around on foot can sometimes create some problems. There have been reported cases of attacks in recent years, so even though they usually ignore people, it is best to be careful.

On the dining side, the port has two restaurant-bars, reported, however, as very expensive by those who have visited the port recently. For good alternatives, one has to leave the port and browse the surrounding suburbs, which, however, being residential areas, are not very well equipped for dining. At any rate, a few taverns within a kilometer or two can be found, and the beach north of the ports offers many inexpensive fast-food restaurants and bars with great sea views.

For provisions, however, there is a supermarket not far from the main port exit; for major purchases you can arrange for uina delivery directly to the dock where you are berthed.
At the north end of the port is the fueling station.

In terms of connections to and from the ports, Alimos Marina is fairly well connected. The center of Athens is 15 km away and can be reached by bus; bus stops are located near the entrance to the port. The new airport (30 km away) is also excellently connected, provided you don’t have large luggage (and, better yet, it’s trolleys): the line to the ports is number X96; the ticket price should be about 5 euros. There is no shortage of cabs, of course, but be prepared to spend as much as ten times as much for the same journey.

Last precautions: be careful at night. When the ports offices close, the situation changes; moped and car traffic near the port becomes heavy, especially in summer, and as already mentioned, more attention should be paid to stray dogs. Also watch out for children, if you have any with you, because the driving of many Athenians is “lively,” to say the least.

The Alimos marina has a website with also a berth reservation service and prices, too bad the last update was ten years ago. So take it only as an informational cue and contact the ports offices for any other imformation (they are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily).