An Epidaurus sea kayak tour takes you over the drowned ruins in the bay of Archaia Epidavros, on the Saronic coast of the Peloponnese. For more ways to explore the country, visit Greece Tours.
Below are the tours you can book, the sunken city and the little theatre, the start point, the season, the booking steps and the questions paddlers ask.
What is an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
An Epidaurus sea kayak tour is a guided paddle in the bay of Archaia Epidavros, also called Palaia Epidavros. Guests paddle over the submerged remains of an ancient settlement. They look down through clear water at the ruins.
The focus of an Epidaurus sea kayak outing is the seabed below the kayak. One booking card lists what guests see there. It names house foundations, pottery, types of structural support and floor sections, among other remains. The card says the water at the sunken city is clear enough to show all of them.
Two actions make up the tour: paddling and looking down. Guests paddle across the bay to reach the remains. Once above them, they study the seabed through the water. The kayak puts them directly over the site rather than on the shore. This view from above defines an Epidaurus sea kayak trip.
The kayak card calls the site the Sunken City of Epidaurus. That name ties the trip to the wider Epidaurus area. The word sunken means the remains lie under the sea, not on land.
Listings spell the place two ways, Epidaurus and Epidavros. Both spellings describe the same Epidaurus sea kayak activity. Guests who see either name are looking at the same bay and the same remains.
Which Epidaurus sea kayak tours can you book?
Four listings include the sunken city. Two cards start in Athens. One is an Epidaurus sea kayak day, and the other adds snorkelling to Ancient Corinth and Mycenae. Two further titles describe tours of the sunken city itself.
- Sea kayak day from Athens: a 12-hour, small-group Epidaurus sea kayak trip to the sunken city. Pickup is available, and the card lists English as the tour language.
- Sites and snorkel day from Athens: an 11-hour, small-group day. It pairs Ancient Corinth and Mycenae with snorkelling in the sunken city. Pickup is available, and a private option is offered. Its card also mentions farms of lemon, orange and pomegranate trees.
- Sunken city kayak tour: a sea kayak tour at Epidavros centred on the ancient sunken city, as its title states.
- Sunken city and theatre tour: a tour that explores the sunken city and the small ancient theatre, per its title.
The two Athens departures differ from the other listings in three ways. Their cards give a full day, 12 hours for the kayak trip and 11 for the sightseeing day. Both cards start in Athens and list pickup, while the other two titles name no Athens start. The sightseeing day also swaps the kayak for a snorkel.
For a paddle with the ruins as the main event, an Epidaurus sea kayak tour of the sunken city fits. For ancient sites on land plus a snorkel, the sightseeing day fits. The 12-hour kayak day suits guests who want the paddle and a ride from Athens.
What is the sunken city of Epidaurus?
The sunken city lies off Archaia Epidavros, the site of ancient Epidaurus, a small polis on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. The modern village stands on and around a small peninsula between two bays.
Ancient Epidaurus was independent of Argos. It joined Argolis only in Roman times. With its surrounding land, the city formed a small territory called Epidauria. Tradition held that the hero Epidaurus founded the city or gave it his name. Tradition also named the city as the birthplace of Asklepios, the healer son of Apollo.
The modern village stands in the same place as the old city. Its houses sit on top of the small peninsula and spread around it. Both bays lie on the coast of the Saronic Gulf. For an Epidaurus sea kayak paddler, the shore of each bay is the shore of the ancient polis.
A sea kayak is built for open water, such as lakes, bays and oceans. It has a covered deck and runs on human power alone. An Epidaurus sea kayak paddle on these bays passes along the edge of that ancient site. Each look down into the bay is a look at the sea floor off the old city.
What does an Epidaurus sea kayak day add at the little theatre and the village?
An Epidaurus sea kayak day adds the Little Theatre of ancient Epidaurus, right in the village. The theatre was built in the middle of the fourth century BC. It has about two thousand seats and stands at the foot of the ancient acropolis.
The theatre was rediscovered and excavated in the twentieth century. It has since been renovated and opened to the public. That work forms part of a scheme to conserve and enhance ancient theatres. The same scheme has recorded 140 ancient arenas around Greece.
Every summer, the theatre hosts cultural events under the title Musical July. These events belong to the larger Athens-Epidauros Festival. A summer Epidaurus sea kayak day can therefore close with a cultural event in the old theatre.
The village of Archaia Epidavros sits in the Argolis regional unit of the Peloponnese. As a coastal town, it has beaches such as Kalamaki, Polemarcha and Gialasi. These beaches face the same water as an Epidaurus sea kayak paddle.
That water is the Saronic Gulf, which forms part of the Aegean Sea. The gulf lies between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis. Its islands include Aegina, Salamis and Poros. Along its shore, beaches run from Poros down to Epidaurus.
The large theatre and the Sanctuary of Asklepios lie away from the Epidaurus sea kayak bays. They stand at a separate site, about 10 km to the south-west. Visits to that site use Epidaurus tickets for entry. The large theatre is still in use today.
Where does an Epidaurus sea kayak tour start, and how do you get there?
An Epidaurus sea kayak tour paddles the waters off Palaia Epidavros, also called Archaia Epidavros. This small town lies in Argolis, on the Saronic Gulf coast of the Peloponnese. The bookable trip starts from Athens, runs for 12 hours and offers pick-up.
Nafplio lies 34 km to the west of Palaia Epidavros, and Corinth 60 km to the north. Lygourio, the seat of the Epidaurus municipality, stands at 370 m at the foot of Arachnaion Mountain.
The EO70 national road leads to the Epidaurus sea kayak waters. It runs between Argos in the west and Palaia Epidavros in the east. In Argos it meets the EO7, and to the east it joins the EO10. At Lygourio, a branch leaves it for the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus.
Nafplio is the capital of the Argolis regional unit. Daily public buses link it with Athens by way of Corinth and Argos. That bus journey takes two hours to two hours and 20 minutes. Travellers staying in the town can also plan an Epidaurus day trip from Nafplio.
The Saronic Gulf is formed between the peninsulas of Attica and Argolis. The Athens urban area lies on its north coast. The card lists the Epidaurus sea kayak trip as a small-group tour from Athens, offered in English. For the sanctuary on land, there is also an Epidaurus day trip from Athens.
When is the season for an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
The booking calendar for the Epidaurus sea kayak tour runs from 1 April into October. It lists open dates on every day from April to the end of September. From November to March, the calendar shows no dates at all.
October dates on the Epidaurus sea kayak calendar continue up to the winter break. The pause then lasts five months, from November to the end of March. Nafplio, 34 km to the west, has a mild climate that draws visitors all year round. The paddle, though, runs only in the open months.
The larger part of the Peloponnese has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, Köppen type Csa. This type covers the low-lying eastern and southern areas of the peninsula. The east is significantly drier than the west coast. Summers are mainly sunny and dry, with rain falling as showers or thunderstorms. Winters are wet, and any snow does not last long.
The Attic mainland gives the Saronic Gulf partial shelter from the summer Meltemi wind. Further east, in the Aegean islands, that wind can reach Force 7 and above. On the coast, the cooler sea and the sea breeze temper heatwaves. An Epidaurus sea kayak day in the open months pairs dry weather with this partly sheltered gulf.
How do you book an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
You book an Epidaurus sea kayak tour online, through the card on this page. Choose your day and your party size. Note the cut-off time and the cancellation policy before payment. Keep your confirmation and pick-up details to hand.
- Pick your tour, then choose a date from the calendar on its card.
- Enter your head count under the age group the card shows.
- Read how late each card still takes bookings, and what its cancellation line says.
- Pay online to hold your places. Neither card lists a reserve-now, pay-later option.
- Save the confirmation and keep the pick-up or meeting point details with it.
- Message the operator about your swimming ability and any health notes before your Epidaurus sea kayak day.
The two cards set different cut-offs. The Epidaurus sea kayak trip from Athens closes its booking 10 hours ahead of departure. The Corinth, Mycenae and snorkelling day takes bookings until 3 hours ahead. Both cards state free cancellation, but neither shows the deadline in its summary. Check the complete policy on each card before paying.
Both cards list a small group. The Corinth, Mycenae and snorkelling card adds a private option as well. For a second paddle on the next gulf along the coast, see our Nafplio sea kayak page.
What do travellers ask about an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
Do you need kayak experience for an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
The Epidaurus sea kayak card states no experience level and no fitness requirement. The snorkelling day card states none either. Neither card mentions paddling skills. Send the operator that question when you book. Mention your swimming ability too, so the guide knows your level in advance.
Can children join an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
Both cards list a single age group: Adult, covering anyone aged 99 or under. Neither card has a separate child category or child rate. Neither card lists who the tour does not suit. Families need to check with the operator first. Ask what age the operator accepts in a kayak, and whether a child paddles alone.
What do you bring on an Epidaurus sea kayak tour?
The Epidaurus sea kayak card gives no what-to-bring list, and neither does the snorkelling day card. Request the full list from the operator in writing. Ask whether the kayak, paddle and life jacket come with the trip. Ask about swimwear, towels, water shoes and, for the snorkelling day, masks.
Which languages does the Epidaurus sea kayak guide speak?
The Epidaurus sea kayak card lists one guide language: English. The snorkelling day card lists English as well, and no other language. If you need a guide in another language, raise it with the operator before you pay. State your language, group size and date in that message.