Travel Details
To simplify the lists below, several companies/boats have been left out. DANE provides a once-weekly link between Rhodes, Kos, Samos and Thessaloniki in each direction, while NEL also plies once weekly (north, then south) between Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Hios, Lesvos, Limnos and Alexandhroupoli. NISSOS KALYMNOS The small, slow but reliable Nissos Kalymnos (cars carried) is the most regular lifeline of the smaller islands (aside from Karpathos and Kassos) - it visits them all twice a week between mid-March and mid-Jan. This ship can be poorly publicized on islands other than its home port; if you encounter difficulties obtaining information, you should phone the central agency on Kalymnos (tel 02430/29 612). Specimen schedules, observed for some years now, are as follows: Mid-March to April and mid-Sept to mid-Jan : Mon and Fri 7am, leaves Kalymnos for Kos, Nissyros, Tilos, Symi, Rhodes; out to Kastellorizo late afternoon, turns around at midnight. Tues and Sat 9am, departs Rhodes for Symi, Tilos, Nissyros, Kos, Kalymnos, with a Tues evening return trip to Astypalea. Wed and Sun departs Kalymnos 7am for Leros, Lipsi, Patmos, Arki (Wed only), Agathonissi, Pythagorio (Samos), returning from Samos at 2.30pm bound for Kalymnos via the same islands. Thurs 7am from Kalymnos to Astypalea, returns immediately. May to mid-June : Mon and Fri 7am, leaves Kalymnos for Kos, Nissyros, Tilos, Symi, Rhodes; out to Kastellorizo late afternoon, turns around at midnight. Tues and Sat 9am, departs Rhodes for Symi, Tilos, Nissyros, Kos, Kalymnos, with an evening return trip both days to Astypalea. Wed and Sun departs Kalymnos 7am for Leros, Lipsi, Patmos, Arki (Wed only), Agathonissi, Pythagorio (Samos), returning from Samos at 2.30pm bound for Kalymnos via the same islands. Thurs, idle. Mid-June to mid-Sept : Mon and Thurs 7am, leaves Kalymnos for Kos, Nissyros, Tilos, Symi, Rhodes; out to Kastellorizo late afternoon, turns around at midnight. Tues and Fri 9am, departs Rhodes for Symi, Tilos, Nissyros, Kos, Kalymnos, with an evening return trip both days to Astypalea. Wed and Sun departs Kalymnos 7am for Leros, Lipsi, Patmos, Arki (Wed only), Agathonissi, Pythagorio (Samos), returning from Samos at 2.30pm bound for Kalymnos via the same islands. Sat, 7am from Kalymnos to Astypalea, returning immediately, LARGE FERRIES Note that the following frequencies are only valid for the period mid-June to mid-Sept; in spring or autumn some of the more esoteric links, such as Astypalea to Nissyros, or Fourni to Kos, do not operate. Agathonissi 1 weekly on Miniotis Lines to Arki, Lipsi, Patmos, Samos (Pythagorio). Astypalea 3-5 weekly to Amorgos, Naxos, Paros and Pireas, 1 weekly to Syros, on one of two companies; 1-2 weekly to Kos, Kalymnos, Rhodes and Nissyros on DANE or G&A. Halki 2 weekly to Rodhos Town, Karpathos (both ports), Kassos, Crete and Milos on LANE, all subject to cancellation in bad weather. Once-daily kaiki (6am) to Rhodes (Kamiros Skala). Kalymnos Similar ferry service to Kos, plus 3 daily ro-ro ferries, well-spaced, to Mastihari; daily morning kaiki to Pserimos; and a daily kaiki (1pm) from Myrties to Xirokambos on Leros. Karpathos (both ports) and Kassos 2-3 weekly with each other, Crete (Ayios Nikolaos and/or Sitia), Milos and Rodhos Town, on LANE; 1-2 weekly to Halki on LANE. Kastellorizo (Meyisti) 1 weekly to Rhodes, then Pireas indirectly, via select Dodecanese and Cyclades. Kos 7-14 weekly to Rhodes, Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos and Pireas on G&A or DANE; 3 weekly to Ikaria (Ayios Kirykos) on G&A; 1-2 weekly to Fourni and Lipsi on G&A; 1 weekly to Tilos, Nissyros, Astypalea and Symi on DANE and G&A; 1 weekly to Naxos, Paros, Syros on G&A; 3 daily ro-ro ferries year-round from Mastihari to Kalymnos; 4-7 weekly excursion kaikia to Nissyros; 4 weekly islanders' kaikia from Kardhamena to Nissyros. Leros 7-14 weekly to Pireas, Patmos, Kalymnos, Kos and Rhodes on G&A or DANE; 3 weekly to Ikaria (Ayios Kirykos); 2 weekly to Fourni; 1 weekly to Symi, Tilos on DANE; 1 weekly to Lipsi on G&A; seasonal daily excursion boats from Ayia Marina to Lipsi and Patmos (2pm), and from Xirokambos to Myrties on Kalymnos (7.30am). Lipsi 1 weekly to Leros, Kos, Patmos, Ikaria (Ayios Kirykos), Tilos, Nissyros on G&A; 1 weekly to Samos (Vathy) on Hellas Ferries. Nissyros and Tilos Same as for Symi, plus excursion boats between Nissyros and Kos as follows: to Kardhamena nearly daily at 3.30-4pm; 4-7 weekly to Kos town (all of these are seasonal). The islanders' somewhat less expensive "shopping" kaiki, the Chrissula , leaves 4-5 times weekly at 7am. Unless you're bound for the airport it's not really cheaper to use Kardhamena services when you consider the bus to Kos Town - ?7.50 to Kardhamena on an excursion boat, versus ?9 to Kos. Patmos Similar ferry service to Leros, with the addition of 1 weekly to Samos (Vathy) on Hellas Ferries, 1 weekly to Arki, seasonal tourist boats to Samos (Pythagorio), Lipsi, Arki and Marathi on a daily basis; Mon-Thurs only to Arki in low season. Rhodes 7-14 weekly to Kos, Kalymnos and Pireas on G&A or DANE; at least 1 daily to Leros and Patmos on G&A or DANE; 2 weekly to Karpathos, Kassos, Halki, Crete (Sitia or Ayios Nikolaos), Milos on LANE; 2 weekly to Fourni and Ikaria (Ayios Kirykos) on G&A; 1-2 weekly to Symi, Lipsi, Tilos, Nissyros, Astypalea on G&A or DANE; 1 weekly to Naxos, Paros, Syros. Symi 1-2 weekly to Rhodes, Tilos, Nissyros, Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos and Pireas on G&A Ferries or DANE; at least daily catamaran or hydrofoil run by ANES to Rhodes. CATAMARANS Two high-speed catamarans ply the Dodecanese: The Dodecanese Express , also known as O Spanos after the supermarket chain which owns it, and the Sea Star . The Dodecanese Express , based on Rhodes, can carry 4-5 cars and a slightly larger number of two-wheelers; it's a sleek, new, Norwegian-built craft, with a limited amount of deck space (but no deck chairs). The Sea Star does not carry vehicles, and is the much less reliable of the two, fitfully serving the line Tilos-Rhodes with occasionally other nearby islands thrown in. 2001 was the Dodecanese Express 's second season, and departure patterns seem to have settled down as follows: daily 8.30am departure from Rhodes to Kos, Kalymnos, Leros and Patmos, calling at Lipsi 4 days weekly (usually northbound) and Tilos and Nissyros once weekly, both inbound and outbound, usually Wed; returns from Patmos shortly after 1pm, arrives Rhodes 6.30-7.30pm. In spring or autumn it may call at Lipsi just once or twice weekly, serving Symi and Kastellorizo instead twice weekly. It has never called at Astypalea, Agathonissi, Halki, Karpathos or Samos (Pythagorio) and is unlikely to in the future. HYDROFOILS Two hydrofoil companies, Kyriakoulis Maritime and Laoumtzis Flying Dolphins, serve the Dodecanese between mid-May and mid-Oct, operating out of Rhodes, Kalymnos and Samos (Kyriakoulis only), plus Kos (both companies). Kyriakoulis Maritime has ten craft in theory, inherited from the amalgamation of previously existing companies Samos Hydrofoils and Dodecanese Hydrofoils, but only about six of these are active at any given time. Schedules are complicated but fairly predictable. In peak season, there is a daily link Rhodes-Kos and back, north in the morning and south in the evening; on successive weekend days it may detour via Symi or Nissyros. Another craft leaves Kalymnos between 7 and 11am for Kos and a selection of islands north to Pythagorio on Samos, returning between 12.30 and 2pm; while the third craft, based in Pythagorio, leaves Kos between 1 and 2pm, returning to Samos via Kalymnos, Leros, Lipsi and Patmos. Several days a week, this craft calls at Fourni as well, and twice a week Agathonissi is served. Still another craft based on Kalymnos leaves at dawn for Rhodes via Kos, returning between 4 and 6pm; once or twice a week it will call at Halki and Tilos either direction. There is also a nominal Saturday service from Kalymnos to Astypalea, but owing to weather conditions and lack of passenger demand this tends to run at most three times in any summer. Some of the unusual runs to the smaller islands can get completely booked by transfers of package-tour groups. For current routes and schedules, phone 02420/25 920 (Kos), tel 02410/78 052 (Rhodes) or tel 02730/80 620 (Samos). Laoumtzis Flying Dolphins , based in Kos, has two craft with a fairly set pattern. One craft always leaves Kos at around 8am for Rhodes, returning shortly after 5pm. Twice weekly there are diversions via Symi in each direction, and on Sat there's the "milk run" via Nissyros, Tilos and Halki, designed to get package patrons to/from their weekend charters. Twice a week the other craft provides an express run up to Patmos in the morning, returning in the late afternoon. For exact details ring 02420/26 388. INTERNATIONAL FERRIES Kos 2-14 weekly to Bodrum, Turkey (45min). Greek boat or Laoumtzis hydrofoil leaves 9am, returns 4pm; ?29.50 return, Greek tax inclusive; no cheap day-return or one-ways, no Turkish port tax. Identically priced Turkish boat ( Fahri Kaptan ) or hydrofoil, departs Bodrum 9am or so, leaves Kos 4.30pm; this provides the only service in winter. Rhodes Daily in summer to Marmaris, Turkey (1hr) by Greek hydrofoil; ?29.40 one-way, ?41.20 return, plus $10 Turkish port tax. There is no longer a regularly scheduled Turkish car ferry; this must be arranged specially and will work out expensive, so drivers may be better off going to Kos and using the Fahri Kaptan to Bodrum. Also 2-3 weekly to Limassol, Cyprus (18hr) and Haifa, Israel (39hr). FLIGHTS Note: All are on Olympic Aviation/Olympic Airways unless stated otherwise. Karpathos 1-2 daily to Rhodes; 3 weekly to Kassos; 3-5 weekly to Athens. Kassos 3 weekly to Karpathos; 5 weekly to Rhodes. Kastellorizo (Meyisti) 1 daily to Rhodes June-Sept, 3 weekly otherwise. Kos 3 daily to Athens. Leros 4-6 weekly to Athens. Rhodes On Olympic, 5 daily to Athens; 2 weekly to Iraklion (April-Oct); 2-5 weekly to Thira; 3 weekly to Thessaloniki; 2 weekly to Mykonos (June-Sept). On Aegean-Cronus, 5 daily to Athens; 1-2 daily to Iraklion; 1 daily to Thessaloniki.
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