Card image
Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Dodecanese

Rhodes round-trip.

Round trip from Rhodes: sail to Symi, Nisyros, Kos, Tilos and Chalki in a week — volcanic craters, Knights-era harbours and quiet snorkel coves.

The route

Day-by-day route

Click any pin on the map or any day in the route summary below to see that day's stop, story and photos.

Symi
Day 1

Rhodes → Symi

A gentle 24-mile run north to Symi, where tiers of pastel merchant houses climb straight up from the fishing quay.

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

7 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.

Plan this route

See boats from Rhodes

Live availability & prices, bookable online

All Dodecanese routes

Compare other route variations

Search the whole fleet

Every destination, date and boat type

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 / 7
Symi
1
Day 1

Rhodes → Symi

We usually treat the first leg as a shake-down, and this one obliges: 24 miles NNW out of Mandraki, sails eventually filling once you clear the Rhodes headland. Symi's Gialos harbour comes into view like a painted amphitheatre, ochre and faded rose façades stacked up the hillside behind the quay. Get stern-to on the inner wall by mid-afternoon; the good slots go early in July and August. If the quay is packed, motor two miles round to Pedi Bay and drop the hook on sand. The town rewards a wander uphill once the day-trippers' boats leave — the light on those houses at seven in the evening is the reason people photograph this place. Eat the tiny Symi shrimp shell and all, and buy a natural sponge from the stalls before you cast off.

Things to do

Hike to Panormitis Monastery at the south end

Swim at boat-only Nanou Beach

Buy natural sponges from the Gialos stalls

Try Symi shrimp at a quayside taverna

Mooring tip

Aim for the inner quay before four in the afternoon; stern-to costs about €30-50 and berths vanish fast in peak season. Pedi Bay, two miles east, gives good sand-holding in 5-7 m if you'd rather anchor.

Nisyros
2
Day 2

Symi → Nisyros (Pali)

The longest hop of the week, so we like to leave by nine and get the westerly behind us. Nisyros is one of the few Aegean islands where you can walk down into an active caldera; the Stefanos crater floor hisses with sulphur and the ground is warm through your soles. Pali, on the north coast, is the sensible overnight — a small, tidy harbour tucked in behind a mole and sheltered from the prevailing northerlies. Hire a scooter or catch the island bus up to Mandraki, the whitewashed capital, and lose an hour in its cobbled lanes above the sea. The volcanic soil grows famously intense capers, sold by the jar. Time your return for a soak at the Loutra thermal baths if the day runs long.

Things to do

Walk down into the Stefanos crater

Wander Mandraki's cobbled clifftop lanes

Soak at the Loutra thermal baths

Buy volcanic-soil capers by the jar

Mooring tip

Pali is the reliable overnight: stern-to behind the mole at €25-35, well covered from the north. Mandraki on the west coast is smaller and turns uncomfortable in any northwesterly, so treat it as a fallback.

Kos
3
Day 3

Nisyros → Kos

An easy morning's sail sets up a comfortable stop, and Kos Marina takes the strain off — proper lazy lines, a fuel berth at the entrance, showers that work, and shelter whatever the wind does. Top up diesel before you swing into your berth. The town is walkable and layered with history: the Asklepion, the healing sanctuary where Hippocrates is said to have taught, sits on a terraced hillside a couple of miles out. In the old town, a plane tree reckoned to be over two millennia old shades the square by the castle. If the crew wants a beach with a twist, Therma lies a few miles south, where a hot spring bubbles straight into a walled pool at the shoreline. Order kleftiko, lamb slow-baked until it falls off the bone.

Things to do

Tour the hillside Asklepion of Hippocrates

Sit under the ancient plane tree by the castle

Bathe in the Therma shoreline hot spring

Order slow-baked kleftiko lamb in town

Mooring tip

Kos Marina moors stern-to on lazy lines at €60-90 a night and is the best-protected berth on the route. Take on fuel at the entrance berth before you turn in. Lambi, on the north coast, is a lower-key alternative.

Tilos
4
Day 4

Kos → Tilos

Tilos runs itself on sun and wind and banned single-use plastic bags years before it was fashionable, and the island feels calmer for it. We drop into Livadia, the port on the east coast, which holds the northerly swell out nicely. The set-piece here is Mikro Chorio: a stone village on the hillside, emptied out generations ago, now revived after dark when a single bar reopens among the ruins and the walls are lit up. Go late. By day, the cliff path up to Agios Panteleimon monastery is a good stretch of the legs, with the whole channel laid out below. Sit in a hilltop kafeneio over mizithra cheese drizzled with thyme honey, and if there's time, taste the wine from the solar-run vineyards.

Things to do

Drink at Mikro Chorio's ruined village bar after dark

Climb the cliff path to Agios Panteleimon

Taste mizithra cheese with thyme honey

Sample wine from the solar-run vineyards

Mooring tip

Livadia takes you stern-to at €20-30 and shrugs off the northerlies. If you want a sand bottom and a swim off the boat instead, Eristos Bay on the south coast anchors well.

Chalki
5
Day 5

Tilos → Chalki

Chalki is tiny and all the better for it — no cars to speak of, one village, one quay. Emporio's waterfront is a neat row of restored houses in soft colours, and the pace drops the moment you tie up. A short walk or a very short hop east brings you to Pontamos, a shallow cove where the water glows an improbable blue and the snorkelling over the sandy bottom is easy and clear. Above the village, the ruined Knights' Castle repays the climb with a view back across to Rhodes. Book nothing fancy for dinner: order the sun-dried octopus at Taverna Giorgos, and before you leave, pick up a bottle of souma, the local fig spirit, from Yiannis' little distillery. It's a slow, restorative sort of day.

Things to do

Snorkel the electric-blue shallows of Pontamos Cove

Climb to the Knights' Castle above Emporio

Eat sun-dried octopus at Taverna Giorgos

Buy souma fig spirit from Yiannis' distillery

Mooring tip

Emporio's quay is the only game on the island, so arrive by early afternoon for a stern-to berth at €20-30, sheltered from the north. Pontamos anchors on sand in 4-6 m if you'd rather swim than tie up.

Lindos
6
Day 6

Chalki → Rhodes (Lindos)

The last full day is also the longest sail back east, so we weigh anchor early and make the most of the breeze. Lindos announces itself from miles off: a fortified acropolis on a headland, the Temple of Athena up top, and a knot of sugar-cube houses spilling down beneath it. There's no town quay here, so the drill is to anchor in St Paul's Bay, the near-enclosed lagoon just south of the village, and go ashore by tender. Swim first; the water in that rocky crescent is a proper turquoise. Then climb the donkey path to the acropolis before the afternoon heat sets in. Back down in the lanes, look for melekouni, the sesame-and-honey bars that turn up at village weddings, and take your evening drink on a rooftop as the walls go gold.

Things to do

Climb the donkey path to Lindos acropolis

Swim the turquoise lagoon at St Paul's Bay

Try melekouni sesame-honey bars in the lanes

Take sunset drinks on a village rooftop

Mooring tip

Lindos has no quay, so plan to anchor in St Paul's Bay on sand in 4-6 m, tucked in from the north. It fills up, so if you arrive late, Lardos Bay a couple of miles south is the fallback.

Rhodes
7
Day 7

Rhodes → Check-out

An easy final passage: twenty miles up the east coast to Mandraki, timed so you're back in good order. Most bases want the boat handed over by nine the next morning, so aim to berth the afternoon before, settle the log and let the crew pack at leisure. The manager will walk the deck and hull with you, and the security deposit usually clears within a week once the inspection's done. Rhodes airport is only half an hour away by road, which takes the pressure off departure day. Don't rush straight to the gate, though. The medieval Old Town is right there: pace the cobbled Street of the Knights, duck into the courtyards, and take a last Greek coffee at the Marco Polo Café before you hand back the keys.

Things to do

Walk the cobbled Street of the Knights

Take Greek coffee at the Marco Polo Café

Wander the Old Town's medieval courtyards

Run the final inspection with the base manager

Mooring tip

Berth back at Mandraki the afternoon before and hand over by nine the next morning. The deposit is typically released within seven days of a clean inspection, so photograph the boat's condition as you leave her.

Sail this route on your own charter

Check live availability from the departure marina, compare boats and secure your week online — free cancellation included.

See boats from RhodesBrowse all boats