6 feasts and festivals, February–September, across 5 villages. The big one: Armata (Saturday of the week of 8 September). Dates are computed for 2027.
Full Spetses guide →What would the trip cost? →| 2–3 February | Feast of the Three Spetsiot Neomartyrs, Spetses Town |
| 26–27 June | Feast of Agioi Pantes Monastery (All Saints Sunday) · Agioi Pantes (above Agia Marina) |
| 16–17 July | Feast of Agia Marina, Agia Marina beach |
| 25–26 July | Panigiri of Agia Paraskevi, Agia Paraskevi beach |
| 1–2 September | Feast of Agios Mamas and blessing of the horses, Dapia · Spetses Town (Dapia) |
Nothing matches these filters.
2–3 February
Spetses has three local saints, the neomartyrs Nikolaos, Ioannis and Stamatios, martyred in Chios in 1822, and their church in town keeps 2-3 February with vespers and an episcopal liturgy; the 2022 bicentenary brought several bishops. A winter feast for the island's own, not a tourist event, but the tavernas around the Dapia are open.
26–27 June · Agioi Pantes (above Agia Marina)
The women's monastery of Agioi Pantes, 1.5 km up a cypress avenue from Agios Eleftherios with a view over Agia Marina bay, keeps All Saints Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost) with a vigil and a liturgy, after which the nuns serve coffee and sweets in the courtyard. Early June, before the crowds; walk up in the morning.
16–17 July
The chapel above Agia Marina beach, a 20-minute walk east of the Old Harbour, keeps 17 July with vespers on the eve and a liturgy on the day, and the beach bars below take the overflow. Small and mostly for the locals; combine it with a swim.
25–26 July
The pine-fringed bay of Agia Paraskevi on the west coast has a small church of the saint, and on the night of 25-26 July the island's summer panigiri is held there with food, live music and dancing until the early hours. No cars on Spetses: go by the round-the-island boat, a rented scooter or a horse-carriage, and arrange the return in advance.
Saturday of the week of 8 September
The single most spectacular naval festival in Greece. Reenacts the 1822 Battle of Spetses — a wooden replica of the Ottoman flagship is set ablaze in the harbour, with fireworks. The burning is on the Saturday of that week; 8 September itself carries the festal liturgy of Panagia Armata, and the surrounding programme runs from late August to mid-September. Hundreds of thousands attend; book accommodation months ahead.
1–2 September · Spetses Town (Dapia)
The tiny chapel of Agios Mamas stands on the beach by the Dapia, built by a captain saved from a storm in 1850 while carrying grape must; on the evening of 1 September, after vespers, the island's horse-carriages line up and the priest blesses the horses and their drivers, and the story of the vow is retold. Ten minutes, free, and one of the most Spetsiot things you can see; it falls the week before the Armata.
Islands with a frequent ferry under an hour away — a panigiri there is a realistic night out. Always check the last boat back; it is usually before the dancing ends.
Dates are resolved for 2027: fixed saint's days as they fall, movable feasts computed from Orthodox Easter (2027: 2 May). Panigiria are usually held on the eve of the saint's day, and a village occasionally shifts one to the nearest weekend — where an entry says "confirm locally", the date comes from recent years' announcements rather than an official calendar. If you know better, the feedback button exists for exactly this.
