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A blue-and-white boat on clear water beside the green shore of Symi

Sample journey · 9–11 days

Island by island through the Dodecanese, from the Knights' Rhodes to Patmos

Rhodes, Lindos, Symi, Tilos & Patmos

Photo: Dimitris Kiriakakis / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The Dodecanese string along the Turkish coast, and their history comes in layers: the ancient temple stairs of Lindos, the walls of the Knights of St John on Rhodes, Ottoman mosques, buildings from the Italian years and Greek harbours where fishermen mend nets in the evening. This route chooses four very different islands. Rhodes is a medieval city that is still lived in; Symi is a tiered amphitheatre of captains' houses above its harbour; Tilos is a quiet island that banned hunting decades ago and now belongs to birds and walkers; and Patmos is held sacred across the Orthodox world for its Cave of the Apocalypse.

It's a journey for couples and curious travellers who enjoy a slower rhythm. Every transfer is by ferry, and in the Dodecanese ferries don't run every day or always to the minute, so we'd build the route around the timetables in force and leave some slack. The stays are small houses with a courtyard or terrace, often in old captains' mansions or Knights-era buildings, from which the harbour is a short walk in the morning. Little else is needed: fish by the water in the evening, a ferry to the next island in the morning.

The route

The journey

  1. Rhodes old town
  2. Lindos
  3. Symi: Gialos & Chorio
  4. Panormitis monastery
  5. Tilos: Livadia & Megalo Chorio
  6. Patmos: Skala & Chora
  7. Kos, Leros or Athens
  1. A stone fortification with twin towers and a gateway in the old town of Rhodes

    01Days 1–3 · Rhodes old town

    The Knights' city, still lived in

    Two nights inside the walls of Rhodes old town, in one of the small houses with a stone courtyard. The Knights of St John ruled here for more than two centuries, until the Ottoman siege of 1522, and the city they built survives remarkably whole: the Street of the Knights with the inns of the Order's 'tongues', the Palace of the Grand Master and the defensive walls, parts of which can be walked. On the first morning it pays to go out early, while the lanes are still empty, then turn into the quieter former Jewish quarter and the Kahal Shalom synagogue. The afternoon might be the Archaeological Museum in the Knights' hospital, or a swim from the town beach close by. In the evening, Ottoman minarets above the roofs and dinner in a small square where the old town's residents meet after work.

  2. The rocky hill of the acropolis with its fortress walls above Lindos

    02Days 3–4 · Lindos

    An acropolis above two bays

    On day three it's about an hour down the east coast to Lindos and one night in the white village beneath the acropolis. Many visitors come for the day, which is why it's worth staying the night: in the evening the lanes go quiet, and early the next morning you can climb to the acropolis in the cool, before the first boats arrive. At the top are the columns of the Temple of Athena Lindia, the walls of the Knights' castle and a view over St Paul's Bay, where tradition says the apostle came ashore. Below, captains' houses with pebble-mosaic courtyards, a few of which open their doors to visitors. After lunch, a swim in the bay and an easy return to Rhodes town for the ferry to Symi, timed to the sailing that suits best.

  3. Coloured neoclassical houses rising up the hillside above Symi harbour

    03Days 4–6 · Symi

    Captains' houses and five hundred steps

    From Rhodes it's an hour or an hour and a half by ferry, and the boat glides into Gialos harbour, ringed by ochre, rose and yellow neoclassical houses. Symi grew rich in the nineteenth century on sponge diving and shipbuilding, then emptied, which is why so many houses look as though time stopped inside them. Two nights here. In the morning, the Kali Strata, broad stone steps climbing from the harbour to the village of Chorio; at the top, windmills, small museums and a view across to the Turkish coast. The next day, a small boat to coves that can only be reached by water, or a trip to the south of the island and the monastery of Panormitis, dedicated to the Archangel Michael and visited by pilgrims from all over Greece. In the evening, the little shrimps Symi is known for, and the harbour lights on the water.

  4. 04Days 6–8 · Tilos

    An island given back to the birds

    Tilos is small, mountainous and very quiet. Hunting has been banned here for several decades, and the island has become a refuge for migrating and nesting birds: in spring and autumn many species stop over, and raptors are often seen along the cliffs, among them Eleonora's falcons in late summer. Two nights in Livadia, by a calm bay. Paths, many of them old mule tracks, link coves, chapels and the abandoned village of Mikro Chorio, its stone houses standing empty. The next day, Megalo Chorio beneath its Venetian castle and, if you like, a small museum on the Charkadio cave, where the bones of dwarf elephants were found. The paths open up best with a local guide, who knows where orchids flower in spring and which cove is calmest in the evening.

  5. The Monastery of St John the Theologian rising above the white houses of Chora on Patmos

    05Days 8–11 · Patmos

    A cave, a monastery and a quiet morning

    The longest crossing runs north from Tilos past Nisyros, Kos and Leros to Patmos, usually several hours on a ferry that doesn't sail every day. Three nights in Skala or Chora. On the first morning, the Cave of the Apocalypse, where tradition holds that St John received the Revelation, then the old path up to Chora and the Monastery of St John the Theologian, founded in the late eleventh century. The fortified monastery and the white maze of Chora below it are on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Shoulders and knees are covered in both the monastery and the cave, and opening hours follow the services, so we check them in advance. The remaining days are quiet bays, sunset in Chora and time simply to be. You leave by ferry to Kos or Leros for a flight, or on the long ferry to Piraeus.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Rhodes old town at first light

    The Street of the Knights, the Palace of the Grand Master and the walls, while the lanes are still empty.

  2. 02

    The Kali Strata on Symi

    Stone steps from the painted harbour to the village of Chorio, with a view to the Turkish coast.

  3. 03

    The paths of Tilos

    Mule tracks between coves and an abandoned village, with raptors often overhead.

  4. 04

    Patmos: the monastery and the Cave of the Apocalypse

    One of the great places of Orthodox pilgrimage, and white Chora beneath it.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • Slower, with fewer islands

    Tilos can be dropped in favour of longer stays on Symi and Patmos: fewer ferries and more quiet mornings.

  • For a honeymoon

    Stays in restored captains' houses on Symi and in Chora, a private boat to the coves and dinners overlooking the harbour.

  • In spring, for birds and flowers

    In April and May the islands are at their greenest, the paths are in flower and migration on Tilos is often at its best. Orthodox Easter on Patmos is a special time, though stays must be booked very early.

  • With the Turkish coast

    Seasonal ferries run from Rhodes and Kos to Marmaris and Bodrum in Turkey, so the journey can continue along the Aegean or Lycian coast.

Practical considerations

  • The best time is roughly late April to June and September to mid-October. July and August are hot and busy; in winter there are fewer ferries and some stays close.
  • Ferries between the Dodecanese don't run daily, timetables are published season by season and can change with the wind, so we'd fit the route to the timetables in force and leave spare time before the flight home.
  • Monasteries and churches have a dress code: shoulders and knees covered; opening hours depend on the services.
  • Good shoes are needed: there are many stone steps and paths, and on Tilos and Symi it's best to walk early in summer.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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