Most visitors to Aegina spend their time in the port town, but those who make the short trip south to Perdika often find it the highlight of their stay. The village is small — a single harbour road lined with fish tavernas, a few cafés, and a handful of shops — but the atmosphere is unhurried in a way that the main port, with its ferry traffic and tourist shops, rarely manages to be.
The draw is simple: exceptionally clear water, fresh fish caught the same morning, and the view across a narrow channel to the island of Moni, which sits close enough to feel like you could swim to it (you can, though most people take the small boat that crosses in the summer months). Moni is uninhabited except for deer, peacocks, and seabirds, and has some of the clearest water in the Saronic Gulf.
For lunch or dinner, the tavernas along the harbour all serve broadly the same menu — grilled fish priced by weight, octopus, prawns, Greek salad — but the quality of the catch varies. Arriving early (before 1pm for lunch, before 8pm for dinner) gets you a table at the waterfront. Most places are open from spring through early October.
Perdika is about 9 kilometres from Aegina town along the west coast road. Taxis make the run quickly; a bicycle is perfectly manageable on the flat coastal road, and the ride back along the water at sunset is one of the better things you can do on the island.
Photo: Shadowgate / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)