Greek Islands: Rhodes, Symi, Kos and Patmos

1. Day 1: Arrive in Rhodes

   Rhodes airport (RHO) to your hotel by the medieval city

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Rhodes
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Rhodes airport (RHO), on the west coast about 14 km from the town, where a driver meets you in arrivals for the short drive to your hotel, inside or just outside the walls of the medieval city. Most guests connect through Athens; to join the evening walk and dinner, plan to land by about 4 pm, and the exact meeting time comes with your final itinerary. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the week: how the ferries and luggage work, why Lindos starts at opening time, and what we do if the wind moves a sailing. Then we walk in through one of the gates into the old town as the stone turns gold, past the arches of the ruined Church of the Virgin of the Burgh, lit up at night, to a welcome dinner at a taverna in the lanes: mezze, grilled fish or meat, and a first glass of Rhodian wine.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Rhodes airport (RHO)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Evening walk into the medieval city
   • Welcome dinner in the old town

   Free time: Free until the evening briefing

   

2. Day 2: The medieval city of Rhodes

   Rhodes old town: the Street of the Knights, the Palace of the Grand Master, the walls and Mandraki harbour

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Rhodes
   Day 2 details

   Rhodes old town is the walled city the Knights of St John built after they took the island in 1309, and people still live and shop inside it; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. We start in the morning, before the cruise passengers come in, with a licensed local guide. We walk up the cobbled Street of the Knights, lined with the inns where knights from each language of the order lodged, to the Palace of the Grand Master, rebuilt by the Italians in the 1930s and full of mosaics brought from Kos. Then down through the old Jewish quarter, past the Kahal Shalom synagogue, to a sit-down lunch on a quiet square. The afternoon is free for a rest, the Archaeological Museum in the old hospital of the knights, or a swim at Elli beach. Late in the day your guide walks the group along the outside of the walls and round to Mandraki harbour, where the deer statues stand on the columns at the harbour mouth, a likely site for the Colossus.

   Included

   • Guided walk of the medieval city with a licensed guide
   • The Street of the Knights
   • The Palace of the Grand Master, entry included
   • The Jewish quarter and the Kahal Shalom synagogue (outside)
   • Sit-down lunch in the old town
   • Late-afternoon walk round the walls to Mandraki harbour

   Easier option: Skip the late walk and meet the group at Mandraki by taxi.

   More active option: Walk the top of the walls where the section is open, or swim at Elli beach in the free afternoon.

   Free time: Afternoon and evening free

   Activity: About 5 km on foot over the day, on polished cobbles; wear shoes with grip.

   

3. Day 3: Lindos at opening, lunch in the hills

   Rhodes town to Lindos, then the hill village of Asklipieio, and back

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Rhodes
   Day 3 details

   We leave Rhodes town after an early breakfast and drive about an hour down the east coast to Lindos, to be at the acropolis when it opens. The climb from the village is about 15 to 20 minutes on steps, and early morning is the only cool and quiet time up there: by late morning the coaches arrive and the rock has no shade. A licensed guide shows us the Temple of Athena Lindia, 116 m above the sea, the stoa, the knights' castle walls around it, and the ship carved in the rock at the foot of the stairs. Below are St Paul's Bay and the white village. We walk down through Lindos's lanes and its captains' houses, with time for a coffee, then drive about 15 minutes inland to Asklipieio, a village in the hills with a Byzantine church covered in painted frescoes and a ruined castle above. Lunch is long and local, at a village taverna. We are back in Rhodes town by mid-afternoon, with the rest of the day free.

   Included

   • The Lindos acropolis at opening, with a licensed guide and entry included
   • Walk through Lindos village
   • Asklipieio village and its frescoed Byzantine church
   • Lunch at a village taverna

   Easier option: Stay in the village at the foot of the rock with a coffee while the group climbs; donkeys up the lower path are not something we book.

   More active option: Walk down from the acropolis to St Paul's Bay for a swim before we leave Lindos.

   Free time: Late afternoon and evening free

   Activity: The acropolis climb is steep, polished steps with no shade; bring water and a hat.

4. Day 4: Ferry to Symi

   Rhodes to Symi by ferry, then Gialos harbour and the Kali Strata

   • By ferry
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Symi
   Day 4 details

   A mid-morning ferry takes us north-west from Rhodes to Symi, about an hour to an hour and a half depending on the boat; we book the seats and handle the luggage. The arrival is the reason to come: the boat turns into a narrow bay ringed by tall neoclassical houses painted ochre, cream and rose, built when Symi was rich from sponge diving and boatbuilding in the 19th century. We stay one night in Gialos, the harbour. Day boats from Rhodes fill the quay from late morning to mid-afternoon, so after lunch on your own we keep things easy, and your guide leads the walk in the late afternoon, when the light is warm and the visitors have sailed. The Kali Strata, a broad stone stairway of about 500 steps, climbs to Ano Symi, the old upper town, with its windmills and a view straight down into the harbour. The evening is free for dinner on the quay: Symi shrimp, small, fried and eaten whole, is the dish to try.

   Included

   • Ferry tickets from Rhodes to Symi, with luggage handled
   • Guided late-afternoon walk up the Kali Strata to Ano Symi
   • Sunset over the harbour

   Easier option: Ride up to Ano Symi by taxi and walk only the way down, or stay on the harbour.

   More active option: Walk on from Ano Symi to the windmills and the ruined castle above the town.

   Free time: Early afternoon and evening free

   Activity: The Kali Strata is about 500 steps; the harbour itself is flat.

   

5. Day 5: Ferry to Kos and the Asklepion

   Symi to Kos by ferry, then Kos town and the Asklepion

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Kos
   Day 5 details

   The morning on Symi is free and quiet before the day boats arrive: a swim off the rocks at Nos beach, a short walk from the harbour, or coffee on the quay. Around midday we take the ferry north-west to Kos, about two to three hours, often calling at Tilos and Nisyros on the way; this route does not run every day, so our dates are set around it. We land in Kos town, our base for two nights, and walk past the plane tree of Hippocrates, the old tree where the father of medicine is said to have taught; Hippocrates was born on Kos around 460 BC. In the late afternoon, when it is cooler, we drive about ten minutes to the Asklepion, the sanctuary of the healing god Asklepios, laid out on three terraces on a hillside of pines. A licensed guide explains how patients came here to sleep, bathe and be treated, and from the top terrace you look across the strait to Turkey. The evening is free in Kos town.

   Included

   • Ferry tickets from Symi to Kos, with luggage handled
   • The plane tree of Hippocrates and the ancient agora in Kos town
   • The Asklepion with a licensed guide, entry included

   Easier option: See the lower terraces of the Asklepion and rest in the shade while the group climbs to the top.

   More active option: A morning swim at Nos beach on Symi before the ferry.

   Free time: Morning on Symi and evening in Kos free

   Activity: Lunch is your own today, on Symi or on board, because ferry times vary. The Asklepion terraces are linked by broad stone stairs.

   

6. Day 6: Nisyros: into the volcano

   Kos town to Kardamena, day boat to Nisyros, the Stefanos crater, Nikia and Mandraki

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kos
   Day 6 details

   Today is a day boat to Nisyros, the round volcanic island on the horizon south of Kos. We drive about 30 minutes to Kardamena on the south coast for a morning boat, about an hour across, landing at Mandraki. A van takes us up into the old caldera, a flat green floor inside a ring of hills, to the Stefanos crater, which we aim to reach before midday, when it is cooler and before most of the day groups. A path leads down into the crater: the ground is warm, yellow with sulphur, and small vents hiss and smell of eggs. The volcano last erupted in the 19th century and is watched by scientists today. Then we drive up to Nikia, a village on the crater rim with a pebbled square and a view straight down into the caldera. Lunch is in Mandraki, at a taverna below the monastery in the castle cliff, before the boat back to Kos in the late afternoon. The evening is free.

   Included

   • Day boat from Kardamena to Nisyros and back
   • The Stefanos crater with your guide, entry included
   • Nikia, the village on the crater rim
   • Lunch in Mandraki

   Easier option: Look into the crater from the rim instead of walking down; the path is loose and the floor is hot.

   More active option: Climb the steps in Mandraki to the monastery of Panagia Spiliani in the castle cliff before lunch.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Wear closed shoes with grip for the crater floor; sandals are a bad idea on hot, loose ground. The boat can be choppy if the wind is up.

7. Day 7: Ferry to Patmos

   Kos to Patmos by ferry via Kalymnos and Leros, then Skala

   • Drive about 12 min
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Patmos (Skala)
   Day 7 details

   A free morning in Kos town: walk the harbour road under the walls of the castle of the knights, see the Roman excavations behind it, or have a last swim. Late in the morning we take the ferry north to Patmos, about two and a half to three hours, with stops at Kalymnos, the island of sponge divers, and Leros, so you watch the islands go by from the deck. We choose a sailing that does not need a pre-dawn pickup, and the time comes with your final itinerary. Patmos is small and quieter than Kos, and we stay two nights in Skala, its port. After settling in, your guide walks the group round the harbour and up the short climb to the chapel on the hill above it for the view over the bay at sunset. On the skyline is Chora, the white town with the fortified Monastery of St John at its top, where we go tomorrow. Dinner is free: the port has good tavernas and fish.

   Included

   • Ferry tickets from Kos to Patmos, with luggage handled
   • Transfer from the port in Skala
   • Sunset walk above Skala harbour with your guide

   Easier option: Stay on the harbour front for sunset instead of the climb.

   Free time: Morning in Kos and evening on Patmos free

   Activity: Lunch is your own, in Kos or on board.

   

8. Day 8: Patmos: the cave and the monastery

   Skala to the Cave of the Apocalypse, the Monastery of St John and Chora

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Patmos (Skala)
   Day 8 details

   Patmos is where, by tradition, John wrote the Book of Revelation, and the cave and the monastery are working religious sites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Chora since 1999. Both open in the morning and keep short hours, and cruise groups come up mid-morning on some days, so we go at opening. The van takes us up the hill to the Cave of the Apocalypse, a small grotto inside a chapel where the monks show the rock ledge said to have been John's pillow. Then on to Chora and the Monastery of St John, founded in 1088 and built like a castle, with battlements, frescoed chapels and a treasury of icons, vestments and old manuscripts. We walk down through Chora's lanes of white mansions built by ship-owning families, to lunch on a terrace with the view over the islands. The afternoon is free: your guide can point you to Grikos or Kambos for a swim. Tonight is the farewell dinner in Chora.

   Included

   • The Cave of the Apocalypse
   • The Monastery of St John and its treasury, entry included
   • Walk through Chora
   • Lunch in Chora
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Ride both ways between Skala, the cave and Chora.

   More active option: Walk up to Chora from Skala on the old stone path, about 3 km and 200 m of climb, meeting the group at the cave.

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: Shoulders and knees covered at the cave and the monastery; photography is not allowed inside the cave. The cave has steps down into it.

   

9. Day 9: Leros and the flight to Athens

   Patmos to Leros by fast boat, then Leros airport (LRS) to Athens (ATH)

   • Drive about 18 min
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   After breakfast we take a fast boat south to Leros, about 45 minutes, with a last look back at Chora on its hill. Patmos has no airport, and the ferry straight to Piraeus is seven hours or more, so we fly instead. A van meets us at the port for the short drive to Leros airport, where a flight of about an hour, included with a checked bag, lands at Athens International Airport (ATH) in the early afternoon. The plane is small, so keep to about 15 kg in the hold; your guide checks the group in and stays until everyone is through. If the Leros flight does not fit the day, we use the fast boat to Kos instead and fly from there, which ends an hour or two later. Plan a flight home that leaves Athens after about 6 pm, or tell us and we add a night in Athens or more time on Patmos. Your final itinerary has the boat and flight times, set when we confirm the group.

   Included

   • Fast boat from Patmos to Leros, with luggage handled
   • Transfer to Leros airport (LRS)
   • Flight from Leros to Athens (ATH) with a checked bag

   Activity: Book a flight home leaving Athens after about 6 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: May, June, September and early October are warm and the best months to walk; the sea is warm enough to swim from June to October. We leave out July and August: the old towns and Lindos are very hot, the crowds peak, and the meltemi wind blows hardest, which makes crossings rough. Even in shoulder season a windy day can move a ferry.

• Rhodes3 nights
• Symi1 night
• Kos2 nights
• Patmos (Skala)2 nights