Symi Chat

Hello,
We are returning to Symi this year having spent a wonderful 3 days there in 2006. Back for 2 weeks this time.

We found the water taxis added considerably to the cost of the holiday and have decided to use them some days but not every day.
We wondered just what lies around the headland further on than Nos beach.

Are there any reasonable beaches which can be reached without risking life and limb on the rocks? I know these will have no facilities but that would be fine. If anyone knows of any nice, quiet beaches off the main tourist list, we would love to hear about them.
As we only had 3 days last time, we did not do much exploring.

I seem to remember that there were few roads on the island. Would there be any benefit in hiring a scooter or bike?

Can't wait

If you go to Nimborio, remember to take lots of bread with you. Maria gives you a basket with your lunch anyway but I had hours of fun feeding the fish. You get to see all sorts of marine life.

You can of course do all of this outside the Nireus and at Nos, but closer up is more interesting.

Thank you for your quick replies. We will definitely take a look at Nimborio. How long does it take to walk there? I did feed the fish off Nos, I used bananas which they loved.

We did go to Pedi last time and we followed the red dots. It is a lovely beach and we will be returning there too.

What we hoped to find were perhaps a beach or two which are not in general use and have no taverna - shock horror.

We wondered about the possibility of hiring a small boat and whether there are isolated beaches which can be reached this way.

The nearest isolated beach is Aghios Giorgios which is round the headland past Aghios Nikolaos beach ( turn right out of Pedi Bay) You can only reach that by taxi boat as it is surrounded by sheer cliffs and the sun goes off it quite early in the afternoon. You may get the odd couple of people there also seeking seclusion. Aghia Marina can be reached by either taxi boat or walking from the Windmills - again the path is well marked but it's a fair walk. There is a taverna there and it can get quite popular but if you want seclusion you can easily swim to the small island in the entrance to the bay. Aghia Marina is situated at the end of the headland between Symi Harbour and Pedi Bay. There are other bays farther round the island but it all depends how long you are staying on Symi. Secluded ones mostly can only be reached by boat.

Muppet. Welcome to the Chat Page.

It will take you about half an hour or so to walk round to Nimborio. There are a few spots on the way where you can scramble down to the water's edge with space to sunbathe on the rocks. Secluded, certainly but not what you would call beaches.

If you do decide to walk to Nimborio, take Richard's suggestion of trying the path over the top of the hill rather than the road past Nos. It's an easy walk with some good views from the top and a lovely shaded church where you can sit and catch your breath.

The walk, along with many others, is described in the Lance Chilton walking book available from the Symi Visitor office.

There are a few pictures of Nimborio on my Flickr pages. Go to and search for Nimborio.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/symipix/


If you hire a small boat you will be able to get to secluded beaches round the North Western side of the island such as Agios Emilianos and Maroni. You may come across the odd yacht or maybe a visiting day-trip boat but otherwise these beaches are usually very quiet or even deserted.

Alternatively if you hire a bike you could drive to Marathounda bay in the South East of the island, a very quiet spot. If you don't mind a walk you could drive across the island most of the way to Agios Vassilios bay, walking the last section down to the beach. Again this is well described in the Lance Chilton book.

Enjoy your holiday!

Allan, you've got some brilliant pictures on that Flickr page of yours - they're whetting my appetite to get out there unmercifully!

Andy

Thank you for the compliment Andy.


Not long now and you can see it all for real you lucky person!

Thank you all for your help. We are really looking forward to returning.