Atokos Swimming Pigs: Is the Piggy Cruise from Nydri Worth It?
Updated October 22, 2026 · 5 min read
The standard Piggy Cruise from Nydri is a good day if you want a lively boat day with an animal stop in the middle; the VIP version is worth it mainly for the comfort. The Piggy Cruise to the Atokos swimming pigs costs from €40, takes 8 hours and has 4.3 stars from 74 reviews. The VIP All-Inclusive Piggy Cruise from the same operator, Nidri Star, costs from €95 and has 4.7 stars from 206 reviews.
| Cruise | Duration | From | Rating | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piggy Cruise | 8 hours | €40 | 4.3 (74) | cruise, Atokos, Kastos and Kalamos; lunch when pre-booked |
| VIP All-Inclusive Piggy Cruise | 8 hours | €95 | 4.7 (206) | reserved daybed, unlimited beer, wine, soft drinks and water, Greek lunch, priority to the pig beach, waiter service |
The day
The standard cruise lists a 9:15 am departure from Nydri port and a return at 5:15 pm. The route takes in the Papanikolis cave, swimming at Atokos, a visit to Kastos and Kalamos with swims, and a swim near Skorpios. Atokos is one stop in an eight-hour day, and the booking pages do not say how long you spend on the beach. Ask before you book if that is what you are paying for.
Atokos is an uninhabited private island; Wikipedia names the shipping magnate Panayiotis Tsakos as its owner and says visitors are allowed to land, but only by private boat, with safe mooring in calm weather at two anchorages. That matters for planning: a rough day can change what the boat does. Check the cancellation terms on the booking page.
What the VIP upgrade buys
The VIP cruise adds a guaranteed daybed, a lounge area, unlimited drinks, lunch and waiter service, plus priority transfer to the pig beach. A reviewer on the VIP page praised the staff and the food and added that the pigs were “not chubby farmyard animals” but athletes, a little scary at first. On the standard cruise you add lunch at booking and pay at the bar for drinks, and the page tells you to bring money for the bar.
The difference is €55. Set that against what you would spend on lunch and drinks anyway. If you drink little, the extra pays mainly for the daybed and the priority access.
Check dates and the upgrade on the standard Piggy Cruise
The animals: the rules and the doubts
The pigs and boars wander the shore and go into the sea to cool down. Press reports in September 2026 describe visitors swimming with them and feeding them, and say that in some cases organisers use fruit to lure them near the boats. The operator’s own page takes the opposite line: no touching, no feeding, no food and no bags on the beach, no crowding or chasing, no smoking. Follow those rules even if someone else on the beach does not.
If you are uneasy about wild animals as a tourist attraction, this is the honest trade-off. With the operator’s rules you keep your distance and look rather than touch, so decide whether that is enough for you.
Children and babies
The booking pages say infants travel free, but infants do not get a sunbed, lunch or the drink package, which are paid extras on board. They do not state a minimum age. Ask the operator about the age of your child before you pay, and bring sun protection and shade of your own.
Other cruises from Nydri
The Forgotten Islands cruise visits those two islands for €95 and 4.9 stars from 376 reviews, but the pages do not list Atokos in its programme. For the long Kefalonia day, see Nydri to Kefalonia, Ithaka and Porto Katsiki by boat. Boat options are gathered under island cruises from Nydri.
Our recommendation
For most people the standard Piggy Cruise at €40 is enough: add lunch when you book and bring cash for drinks. Choose the VIP version if you want a reserved bed and everything paid up front, and note that its better rating comes from a larger number of reviews.
