Salamis island Salamina
Salamis or Salamina is the nearest island to Athens. Located at the norther edge of the Saronic gulf jus a couple of miles from Perama in Piraues.
Salamina is a place of great intensity of the secondary and tertiary sector, something like a floating craft of multiple objects. Spatially, the intensity is limited to the urban area, a few hundred meters inside the coastline, thus leaving the hinterland almost untouched.
Thus, in the quiet and almost archetypal Mediterranean forest, two steps from the buzzing ant of the settlements, one can find an unexpected field of hiking and cycling. The first network of hiking trails in Salamis, a project in which many actors are involved, is already in progress and is coming to be added to the endless improvised mountain bike routes.
A neglected island from the international tourism and the travel brochures but popular for many Athenians is the island of Salamis or Salamina, birth place of the Greek Hero Ajax. The historic island of Salamis is worth a visit not only for its historic importance of being the place where it took place the Victorius sea battle of salamis between the Athenians and the Persians.
It was here at the straights of Salamis where the Athenians under the leadership of Themistocles destroyed the fleet of the Persian King Xerxes in 480 BC.
Today Salamis is connected by numerous ferries from Perama to Paloukia the port of Salamis, the journey cost about 5 euro for a car and 2 passengers and is less then10 minutes long, the ferry goes through the famous straight where the Greek fleet started the attack against the Persian fleet 2300 years ago between Kynosoura (today Ampelakia) and the Attica mainland.
Starting from Paloukia you can vist many sea resorts of Salamis like Selina a nice resort with neoclassical villas palm trees and a nice pebble beach facing the Athens basin, Faneromeni with the famous church of Panagia Faneromeni, the beautiful sea resort of Ble Limanaki facing the gulf of Elefsis and Megara and of course the capital Salamina or Koulouri.
If you don’t have a car you can use the local buses or take a taxi as the fares are very reasonable, a taxi ride to Selinia cost 3 euro about from Paloukia.You can get to Perama from Athens by bus or taxi.
Salamis is a destination that in order to have a good time you must know how to handle it. As a traveler, you need to take care of yourself, look for points of interest and go for them, without expecting the place to offer them generously.
Nevertheless, among the hundreds of destinations in Greece, Salamina has its own identity. She is the little sister of Athens, flesh of the flesh of Piraeus, the place where the mythical Ajax reigned Telamonius, written by Euripides, where Karaiskakis was buried, where Sikelianos retired. It is the island of warriors and poets, which carries a huge historical burden, culminating in the famous naval battle, exactly 2,500 years ago.
Inhabited since ancient times, the island gradually turned into a floating suburb of Piraeus. Its coastal zone received for a long time dense waves of settlement, but also the stream of second residences of Western Attica and the shipbuilding and repair industries and crafts of the Piraeus maritime entrepreneurship.
Salamis lost its coastal naturalness, but managed to save its mountainous physiognomy. Its hilly hinterland, passable and well-trodden by thousand-year-old activities, such as resin collection and agriculture, nevertheless preserves the authenticity of the Mediterranean landscape and offers small but precious opportunities for peace and upliftment.
A holiday resort for Athenians
Salamis today is a holiday resort for many people from Piraeus and Athens, many of them have holiday houses in several resorts of the island. Salamina it might not be the Santorini of the Saronic gulf but has many attractions and some nice beaches. It is also a nice place for those who like fishing and diving.
Historical past
Salamis is the island of the historical ancient sea battle where the Greek ships destroyed the Persian Armada of King Darius in C5th BC. It is also the hometown of the famous Greek hero Ajax and also Euripides. Salamina has many archaeological sites and monasteries .
Salamis, known from the naval battle of the same name of 480 BC. between the Greek and Persian fleets, is the largest island in the Saronic Gulf and the closest to the coast of Attica.
The island is located in the northern part of the Saronic Gulf and is separated from the coasts of Attica by the Strait of Pachi (minimum distance 500 m.) To the west and the Strait of Perama to the east (width about 1 km). These two channels delimit and at the same time isolate the bay of Elefsis, north of Salamis.
Geography
Salamis has a surface of 95 square kilometres and a coastline of 104 kilometres. Its capital city is called Salamina and there are many coastal resorts with nice beaches for swimming. These include Selinia, Peristeria, Kaki, Vigla, Blue Limanaki and Mulki.
Getting there
The quickest way to get to Salamina is by going to Perama, a suburb of Piraeus, and cross the one mile of sea by the small ferry boat service that is frequent (every 10 minutes). due to its vicinity with the capital of Greece most of its inhabitants work in Athens and Piraeus, as an example, someone that work in Piraeus needs only 20 minutes to go by car to Salamis.