First time island hopper

Chat about anything to do with the island of Symi

First time island hopper

Postby nags » 18 Jan 2017, 14:42

Hi all. I am island hopping for a month in June / July 2017. Have booked my ferry from Rhodes to Symi....arriving Symi June 21st at 16.30. I have a couple of questions and wonder ifanyonecan help. 1. Where on Symi does the ferry arrive and is the town close to hotels. 2. Are there buses or taxis into the town? 3. Any recommendations for hotels less than £50 a night. 4. Any suggestions as to where to move to after Symi.
Symi will be the start of my second week and I will need to get back to Rhodes for my flight home during week 4. My age and health (66) restrict me a little bit, but not too much
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby Allan » 18 Jan 2017, 16:24

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I'm sure you will get plenty of responses to your questions. These are mine:

This Google Earth image might help you understand the geography of the place. It shows the main harbour area (Yialos) and, towards the bottom right, "The Village" (Chorio).
As you can see, nothing is very far from anywhere else!

map.jpg


The ferry will dock at the 'point' of the main (lower) part of the harbour, just above the centre of the image, at the opposite side to where the large ship is moored.

If you pre-book your accommodation the property owner or agent will arrange to meet you where the ferry docks and take you to the accommodation. It may be a short stroll along the harbour front or you will be taken by car or minibus right to the door so there will be no transport problems when you first arrive. Virtually all of the accommodation is in Yialos, around the harbour, or in Chorio which is on the hill overlooking the harbour. There is a hotel in Pedi, a small bay (not shown on the Google Earth image) to the south of Yialos.

There is one bus which leaves Yialos, around the area where the big ship is moored on the Google Earth image, every hour to take you up the hill to Chorio and then down the neighbouring valley to Pedi Bay, from where it returns to Yialos (via Chorio) on the half-hour. There are also taxis on the island and the main taxi rank in Yialos is on the south side of the harbour, not far from the bus terminus. So getting around Symi is no problem, regardless of your age. Trust me, I know ;)

I don't have any suggestions for cheap accommodation though others may offer some tips. There aren't many hotels on the island, most of the tourist accommodation tends to be in studios or apartments.

Regarding your next stop after Symi you are constrained by the ferry itineraries of course. Most of the timetables haven't been published yet but the fast catamarans heading north can get you first to Kos which is a bit busy for my tastes and then on to Kalymnos and Leros, both of which are worth a visit. On certain days (Friday I think - could be wrong) it's possible to get to Tilos on the Bluestar ferry so that might be worth considering. In the opposite direction, Kastellorizo is a possibility though, again, probably only one day a week and since the timetables haven't been published yet it's too early to be sure it will fit in your itinerary at all.
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby Gemma1 » 19 Jan 2017, 08:05

I can't add to the excellent information that Allan has already provided re the location of the ferry and the port / village. Symi is one of those islands where you can walk to a selection of properties within a few minutes.

I've just had a look at booking.com and there are several properties that fall within your budget and if you look at the individual properties there is map giving you some idea of where they are situated. Symi Visitor also provide accommodation on Symi so I'd have a look a the accommodation pages on this website too.

The only other island that I've travelled to from Symi is Tilos which I thoroughly enjoyed a few years ago. I usually travel to Symi on a package so tend to 'stay put'. On island hopping holidays in the Dodecanese I've travelled to Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos, Lipsi and Nissyros. I liked them all though have very fond memories of little Lipsi which is a very quiet island.

Happy planning :)
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby Jan » 19 Jan 2017, 11:40

As Gemma says, booking.com is a good place to look if you just want to stop for a few days (though do beware - Symi is addictive!). Quite a few accommodation owners are now using it to pick up short-stay customers; some tend not to load their availability until this time of year so it might be worth looking now but also again in a few weeks time if you don't see what you want.

You can indeed walk to anywhere from anywhere, though very often steps are involved as the harbour is steep-sided - hence its photographic beauty. Your main decision is harbour (Yialos) or village (Chorio). Both have their charms, and it's easy to get from one to the other via foot, bus or taxi.

Enjoy - you will.
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby nags » 19 Jan 2017, 12:38

wow!!! Thanks all for the incredibly helpful information. I very much appreciate it. Allan........your map was particularly helpful
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby Kojak » 19 Jan 2017, 20:38

A very reasonable self catering place is the Anastasoula Mouragio which is almost opposite where the ferry docks. The annex is taken by Olympic holidays but rooms in the main building are let by the owner. There are steps up (inevitably) and the rooms are simple but adequate.
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby Gemma1 » 20 Jan 2017, 08:38

Kojak wrote:A very reasonable self catering place is the Anastasoula Mouragio which is almost opposite where the ferry docks. The annex is taken by Olympic holidays but rooms in the main building are let by the owner. There are steps up (inevitably) and the rooms are simple but adequate.


The Anastasoula Mouragio is one of the properties that came up when I was searching on booking.com kojak. It's just under £35 a night so well within nags' budget - but also goes to show what a good deal you are getting with Olympic ;)
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Re: First time island hopper

Postby bill » 20 Jan 2017, 10:05

We always stay with Kokona at her beautifully run and centrally located hotel:

https://www.facebook.com/Hotel-Kokona-in-Symi-Greece-345308795822764/

Brilliant service, beautiful family and extremely reasonable prices. They will also meet you at the ferry if need be.

Enjoy.
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