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Route · 14 days · one-wayYacht charter route · Dodecanese

Rhodes via 14 days.

Two weeks from Rhodes through Symi, Nisyros, Kos and Patmos to the quiet far islands of the Dodecanese, then back via Astypalaia, Tilos and Lindos.

The route

Day-by-day route

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Symi
Day 1

Rhodes → Symi

A short 24-mile hop northwest to Symi, whose stacked neoclassical houses make the most photographed harbour front in the Dodecanese.

Distance

21 NM

Sailing

~4.2h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – mid-October (peak Jun – Sep)

Duration

14 days

Departure

Rhodes

Sailing area

Dodecanese

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 14
Symi
1
Day 1

Rhodes → Symi

We usually leave Mandraki by mid-morning and point the bow north-northwest, a gentle 24 miles to open the trip. Symi comes into view all at once: tiers of ochre and pale-blue mansions climbing the hillsides above Gialos, the working harbour. The stern-to berths on the inner quay are the prize, and they go early, so aim to be tied up by four in the afternoon in high season. If the quay is full, Pedi Bay sits two miles east with room to anchor. Ashore, the sponge stalls still trade along the front, a leftover from the island's old diving trade. Order the small sweet Symi shrimp at a quayside table, eaten shell and all. A taxi boat runs out to Nanou, a shingle cove you can only reach from the water.

Things to do

Visit Panormitis Monastery, Symi's south tip

Buy natural sponges on the Gialos front

Try sweet Symi shrimp at a quay taverna

Swim at boat-only Nanou cove

Mooring tip

Stern-to on the inner Gialos quay runs roughly €30-50 a night and fills by late afternoon in July and August. If you miss it, drop the hook on sand at 5-7 m in Pedi Bay, two miles east.

Nisyros
2
Day 2

Symi → Nisyros (Pali)

A longer leg today, thirty-two miles west across open water, so an early start pays off before the afternoon breeze builds. Nisyros is still an active volcano, and the real payoff is inland. From Pali on the north coast you can arrange a lift up to the caldera, then walk down onto the flat floor of the Stefanos crater, where the ground hisses and smells of sulphur underfoot. Back at sea level, the old harbour town of Mandraki rewards a slow wander through its cobbled lanes. The thermal baths at Loutra sit on the road between the two. Local capers grow in the volcanic soil and turn up in most kitchens here. Pali itself is small and quiet, well sheltered from the north, which makes for an easy night after the crossing.

Things to do

Walk the Stefanos crater floor

Wander Mandraki's cobbled back lanes

Soak at the Loutra thermal baths

Buy volcanic-soil capers from a shop

Mooring tip

Tie up stern-to in Pali on the north coast, about €25-35 a night and sheltered from the prevailing north wind. Mandraki on the west side is smaller and less protected.

Kos
3
Day 3

Nisyros → Kos

Only fifteen miles today, a straightforward run north, which leaves the afternoon free for town. Kos Marina is the largest base in the Dodecanese and has everything you might need to restock or fix a fault. Refuel at the fuel berth by the entrance on the way in. In town, the Asklepion spreads across a hillside just outside the walls, a fourth-century BC healing sanctuary tied to Hippocrates. Down in the old centre, a vast plane tree shades Platia Platanou, said to be well over two thousand years old. If time allows, the shallow hot springs at Therma warm a corner of the sea a short ride down the coast. Order kleftiko, lamb slow-cooked until it falls off the bone, at a taverna in the old quarter and watch the evening fill the square.

Things to do

Explore the Asklepion healing sanctuary

Sit under the ancient Platanou tree

Bathe in the Therma sea hot springs

Eat kleftiko lamb in the old town

Mooring tip

Kos Marina berths you stern-to on lazy lines for around €60-90 a night with full services. Take on fuel at the entrance berth before you moor up.

Leros
4
Day 4

Kos → Leros

Leros sits twenty miles up the chain, and the approach into Lakki is unlike anywhere else in the Aegean. The bay is enormous and almost landlocked, one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, and its quay is lined with curved Art Deco buildings the Italians put up in the 1930s. It reads as a film set more than a Greek port. The marina stays calm even when it blows hard outside. If the Meltemi is up, avoid the town quay at Agia Marina on the north side, which catches the wind badly above about twenty knots. Climb to Panteli Castle for the long view over both coasts, then swim off Xerokambos on the quieter south shore. Ask for pitaroudia, the island's chickpea fritters, at a quay taverna before you turn in.

Things to do

Walk the 1930s Art Deco quay

Climb up to Panteli Castle

Swim at Xerokambos on the south coast

Try pitaroudia chickpea fritters quayside

Mooring tip

Lakki Marina takes you stern-to on lazy lines at €40-60 a night, fully protected in any wind. The pretty town quay at Agia Marina is cheaper but exposed once the north Meltemi passes twenty knots.

Patmos
5
Day 5

Leros → Patmos

Twelve easy miles bring you into Skala, the port, where the quay is long and holds well against the north wind. Patmos carries a lot of weight for a small island. Halfway up the hill to the old capital of Chora sits the Cave of the Apocalypse, where tradition says John received his visions, and above it the fortress-like Monastery of St John, founded in the eleventh century. Both are UNESCO-listed and worth the climb. Chora itself is a maze of whitewashed lanes that stay cool once the sun drops. For a beach day, Psili Ammos on the south coast is a proper stretch of golden sand, reachable by path or dinghy. Finish the night with a mastiha cocktail somewhere up in the old town, above the harbour lights.

Things to do

Visit the Cave of the Apocalypse

Tour the hilltop Monastery of St John

Swim the golden sand at Psili Ammos

Sip mastiha cocktails in Chora's lanes

Mooring tip

Stern-to on Skala's main quay costs about €30-50 a night and stays sheltered from the north. The quay is long, so there is usually space even if you arrive later in the day.

Lipsi
6
Day 6

Patmos → Lipsi

After the crowds of Patmos, Lipsi feels like exhaling. Around seven hundred people live here, spread across one small town and a scatter of outer islets. The pace is slow and the food is honest family cooking. Tie up on the town quay, which is cheap and sheltered from the north, then take the tender two miles east to Aspronissi for the best snorkelling in the group, the water pale over white sand. A walk out to the tiny chapel of Panagia, perched on a single rock, fills a lazy hour. Try the lipsiako, a soft local cheese, drizzled with the island's thyme honey. In the morning, queue at the one village bakery for warm koulouria before you slip the lines. Nights here are quiet in the best possible way.

Things to do

Snorkel the pale water at Aspronissi

Walk to the Panagia rock chapel

Eat lipsiako cheese with thyme honey

Buy warm koulouria from the village bakery

Mooring tip

The town quay runs a bargain €15-25 a night and is well sheltered from the north. For a swim stop instead, anchor on sand at 4-6 m in Aspronissi Bay, two miles east.

Levitha
7
Day 7

Lipsi → Levitha

Today you leave the ferry map behind. Levitha lies twenty miles southwest in open water, a bare island farmed by a single family who keep goats and run the only taverna. There is no port, no shop and no cash machine, so bring what you need. Pick up a mooring or anchor on sand in Ammoudi Bay, well tucked from the north wind, and the afternoon is yours to swim off the boat in water that barely sees another hull. The family will cook if you ask ahead; astakomakaronada, lobster with pasta, is the thing to order. What people remember, though, is the sky. With no light for miles, the stars come right down to the horizon and the Milky Way throws a shadow. Sit on deck and let it get properly dark.

Things to do

Anchor and swim in Ammoudi Bay

Eat astakomakaronada at the family taverna

Lend a hand at the goat farm

Stargaze on deck with zero light

Mooring tip

Anchoring in Ammoudi Bay is free, on sand at 5-7 m and fully sheltered from the north. There are no services at all, so top up water, fuel and cash before you leave Lipsi.

Kalymnos
8
Day 8

Levitha → Kalymnos

A solid thirty-two miles east returns you to a busier island. Kalymnos made its name from sponges, and the town of Pothia still carries that history in its museum and in the grand captains' houses along the front. Overnight stern-to in the harbour there. The other Kalymnos belongs to climbers: the west coast around Massouri and Armeos is laced with world-class routes on grey and orange limestone, and the Grande Grotta cave looms straight above the road. Even non-climbers should go and watch. For a swim, Vathy on the east side is a narrow fjord-like inlet, green with citrus groves and startling blue at the head. Order mououri, squid stuffed and slow-cooked, at an ouzeri in Pothia. The town has a working, unpolished feel that some crews come to prefer.

Things to do

Watch climbers at the Grande Grotta cave

Snorkel the fjord-like inlet at Vathy

Visit Pothia's Sponge Diving Museum

Try stuffed squid mououri at an ouzeri

Mooring tip

Stern-to in Pothia harbour costs around €30-50 a night. If you would rather anchor, the sheltered inlet at Vathy on the east coast makes a fine alternative.

Palaia
9
Day 9

Kalymnos → Astypalaia

This is one of the big legs, thirty-eight miles southwest, but with the Meltemi on the beam it can be a fast and glorious sail rather than a slog. Astypalaia sits apart from the rest of the group, shaped like a butterfly with two wings pinched at a narrow waist. Pera Gialos, the port below the Chora, is the usual berth, sheltered from the north. Above it the Venetian castle of Querini caps the hill, its whitewashed chapels built right into the walls, with a line of windmills on the ridge. Walk up in the late afternoon when the light softens. Vatses, on the south coast, is a broad sand beach worth the rough track down to it. Book a table at Kaminakia and order the ladenia, a Cycladic-style tomato flatbread baked in olive oil.

Things to do

Climb to the Querini castle in Chora

Swim the sand beach at Vatses

Eat ladenia tomato pie at Kaminakia

Hunt for Roman mosaics near Mesa Nisi

Mooring tip

Berth stern-to in Pera Gialos below the Chora, about €25-40 a night and sheltered from the north. Maltezana, further along the south coast, gives a quieter anchorage if the port is full.

Tilos
10
Day 10

Astypalaia → Tilos

Back the other way now, thirty-eight miles southeast, so watch the forecast and leave early. Tilos is quietly proud of being the first island in Greece to go zero-waste, and it has a gentle, unhurried air. Livadia, the port, holds well and shelters from the north. The island's odd delight is Mikro Chorio, a mountain village abandoned decades ago and left in ruins, except for one bar that opens only at night among the empty houses. Go up after dinner. By day, hike to the monastery of Agios Panteleimon, tucked in the hills under old cypresses. At a hilltop kafeneio, order mizithra cheese with thyme honey. Tilos even grows its own wine, and a small tasting is easy to arrange. Few boats stop here, which is rather the point.

Things to do

Drink at Mikro Chorio's after-dark bar

Hike to Agios Panteleimon monastery

Eat mizithra cheese with thyme honey

Taste the island's own Tilos wine

Mooring tip

Expect roughly €20-30 a night lying stern-to inside Livadia harbour, which keeps the north off you. Want a swim instead? Eristos Bay down the south coast anchors nicely.

Chalki
11
Day 11

Tilos → Chalki

A short fifteen miles south drops you at Chalki, where the pace slows once more. The single village, Emporio, has around three hundred residents and almost no cars, its mansions painted in faded pastels around the bay. Tie up stern-to on the harbour quay, sheltered from the north. Just east lies Pontamos, a shallow cove where the water glows an improbable blue over pale sand, ideal for an afternoon in the tender. Above the village a track climbs to the old Knights' Castle on the ridge, built over an ancient acropolis, with the whole channel laid out below. Sit down at Taverna Giorgos and try the pougia, octopus dried in the sun. On the way back to the boat, pick up a bottle of souma, the local fig spirit, from the Yiannis distillery.

Things to do

Snorkel the electric-blue Pontamos cove

Hike to the ridge-top Knights' Castle

Try sun-dried octopus at Taverna Giorgos

Buy souma fig spirit from Yiannis

Mooring tip

Stern-to in Emporio harbour is about €20-30 a night and sheltered from the north. For a swim stop, anchor on sand at 4-6 m off Pontamos, one mile east.

Lindos
12
Day 12

Chalki → Lindos (Rhodes)

Thirty-two miles east brings you back to Rhodes, landing at Lindos near its southern end. There is no quay here, so plan to anchor: St Paul's Bay, just south of the village, is a near-enclosed circle of turquoise ringed by rock, with sand at four to six metres and shelter from the north. Above it all stands the acropolis, a fifth-century BC temple to Athena set on a sheer headland, reached by a stepped path through the old town. Go early or late to dodge the day-trippers and the worst of the heat. The village below is a warren of whitewashed lanes and old captains' houses. Find a rooftop taverna for melekouni, the local sesame-and-honey bar, and stay for the sunset spreading over the white cubes.

Things to do

Climb to the Lindos acropolis at dawn

Swim the rock-ringed St Paul's Bay

Eat melekouni sesame bars on a rooftop

Wander the whitewashed lanes at sunset

Mooring tip

Lindos has no town quay, so anchor on sand at 4-6 m in St Paul's Bay, sheltered from the north. Lardos Bay, two miles south, is a calmer fallback if it fills up.

Rhodes
13
Day 13

Lindos → Rhodes Town

The last real sail, twenty miles north up the east coast, returns you to where it began at Mandraki Marina in Rhodes Town. Refuel at the entrance berth before you tie up for the night. Then give the evening to the Old Town, a walled medieval city that people still live in, the largest of its kind in Europe. Walk the cobbled Street of the Knights, lined with the inns of the old crusader orders, and step into the Palace of the Grand Master at the top. If there is time before you arrive, swim in Anthony Quinn Bay south of the marina, a rocky cove named for the film shot there. For a last drink, find the leafy courtyard at Socratous Garden, tucked off one of the busier lanes.

Things to do

Walk the medieval Street of the Knights

Tour the Palace of the Grand Master

Swim at rocky Anthony Quinn Bay

Drink in the Socratous Garden courtyard

Mooring tip

Mandraki Marina berths you stern-to on lazy lines for €60-90 a night. Take on fuel at the entrance berth before mooring so you are ready for the morning handover.

Rhodes
14
Day 14

Rhodes → Check-out

Disembarkation morning. The base wants the boat back at Mandraki by nine, so pack the night before and strip the beds early. The handover is a walkthrough with the base manager to check the boat over; once that is done, the deposit is usually released within a week. Crews with a late flight can still squeeze in a last wander through the Old Town, a coffee in the sun, one more look at the harbour mouth where the Colossus is said to have stood. Marco Polo Cafe, in a quiet corner of the medieval quarter, is a fine spot for a farewell breakfast. Rhodes airport is only about thirty minutes away by road, so there is no great rush. Two weeks and a full circuit of the Dodecanese now behind you.

Things to do

Final walkthrough with the base manager

Coffee at Marco Polo Cafe

Last walk down the Street of the Knights

Thirty-minute transfer to Rhodes airport

Mooring tip

Hand the boat back at Mandraki Marina before 09:00 for the check-out inspection. The deposit is normally returned within seven days once the boat is signed off.

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