Rafina Port Layover: Take a birding break before your Andros, Tinos or Mykonos holiday!
Are you going to be waiting at Rafina port for your ferry to Andros, Tinos or Mykonos? Here's is a great opportunity to discover Athens wildlife and birdfauna, only a few minutes drive from your ship dock!
Birders on the bridge or Rafina's Stream
Rafina Port is ideally sited in the eastern part of Attica, an area known as Attica Riviera. The eastern side of Mesogea plains is rich in avifauna as well as reptiles, wild orchids, and beautiful landscapes. Even during a 1 or 2 hour port layover, a visitor could take advantage of our private, tailored made trips and enjoy birdwatching and bird photography, while visiting some of the most spectacular archeological sites of Attica.
Kingfisher (Αλκυόνη) is perched on concrete
This colorful bird is resident at Rafina's stream
A panoramic view of the Rafina's stream rivermouth,
at Karamanlis Park
Resident birds of the nearby stream include Shag, Moorhen, Water Rail, Kingfisher, Little Egret, Cetti's Warbler, Goldfinch. In winter, several species of gulls visit the port of Rafina, such as Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, even the more rare Slender-billed Gull.
A great location to compare plumage of different ages
in Black-headed Gulls (Καστανοκέφαλοι Γλάροι)
Slender-billed Gulls are among the winter visitotr a
at Rafina Port
Apart from the birdwatching part, the area's beaches are worth visiting during the summer. Small fish taverna's, caffeterias and bars are found around the port. If you have some more time to spend waiting for your Andros or Mykonos ferry, we could take a 20 min drive to the Temple of Artemis in Vravrona, together with the Archeological Museum of Vravrona.
Temple of Artemis in Vravrona
If you are lucky enough, you might be able to enjoy unobtructed views of Little Owls that are living in the area and often use the Temple of Artemis as their residence! This species was the sacred bird of goddess Athena, thus its scientific/latin name (Athenae noctua) derives from the greek goddess of wisdom.
A pair of Little Owls (Κουκουβάγιες) on the
Temple of Artemis, at Vravrona
