Day Trip by Boat to Symi Island (Gialos Harbour) and Panormitis Monastery

Twenty-five miles north-west of Rhodes Town (tucked inside a bay surrounded on three sides by the Turkish Bozburun and Datça peninsulas) lies Symi, universally celebrated as holding the most picturesque neoclassical harbour in all of Greece. Thanks to its 18th- and 19th-century wealth from deep-sea sponge diving and wooden shipbuilding, Symi Town (divided into the harbour of Gialos and the upper hillside village of Chorio, linked by the 500 wide marble steps of the Kali Strata) is an unbroken amphitheatre of two- and three-storey pedimented mansions painted in apricot, mustard ochre, indigo, terracotta and pastel pink.

How to Visit Symi from Rhodes: Fast 50-Minute Catamaran vs 2-Stop Excursion Boat

Boats depart daily from morning until afternoon from Mandraki Harbour and the adjacent Kolona / Tourist Port right outside Rhodes Old Town:

• Option 1, The Full-Day Excursion Cruise (Includes 1 Hour at Panormitis Monastery + 3.5 Hours in Symi Town): large cruisers (such as Sebeco or Dodekanisos Seaways excursion boats) depart around early in the morning to early in the morning and sail first to the sheltered southern fjord of Symi to visit the 18th-century Monastery of Archangel Michael at Panormitis (famous for its tall Venetian-Baroque bell tower, pebble-mosaic courtyard and silver-plated icon of the patron saint of Dodecanese sailors), before sailing around the island to Gialos Harbour for 3.5 hours (or adding a swim stop in the neon-blue cliff bay of St George Dysalonas).
• Option 2, Direct High-Speed Catamaran (50 to 60 Minutes Straight to Symi Harbour): if you want maximum time (5 to 6 hours) in Symi Town to climb the Kali Strata and swim at Pedi or Nos Beach, book the morning high-speed catamaran (Dodekanisos Express/Pride or Sebeco fast boat) from Kolona Port.

What Not to Miss in Symi Harbour: "Garides Symiakes" & Natural Sea Sponges

Sit down at a waterside taverna along the quieter eastern curve of the harbour (toward Harani, the historic wooden boatyard) to order a platter of Garides Symiakes (Symi Shrimp): tiny, sweet deep-water red shrimp caught only in the waters around Symi, pan-fried whole in olive oil with garlic and sea salt so you eat them whole, shells, tails and all, like crispy popcorn. Before boarding your afternoon boat back to Rhodes, buy a genuine, sustainably harvested brown unbleached Mediterranean Honeycomb Sea Sponge from one of the family sponge-divers' shops on the quay.