Vlychos is the small hamlet half an hour's walk west of Hydra town along the coast — past Kamini, around a couple of headlands, with the path narrowing to a stony track in places. It is the best swimming on the populated side of the island: a pebble beach in a sheltered curve of bay, deep blue water, and the picturesque 19th-century stone bridge that arches over the dry watercourse at the back of the cove.
Two tavernas operate at Vlychos in season, both serving the kind of long, late lunch — grilled fish, cold beer, the sea slapping at the rocks beside your table — that justifies the walk in the heat. Sun loungers are available for hire. Beyond Vlychos a rougher track continues another forty-five minutes to Bisti, a more secluded cove much loved by day-boats and snorkellers.