Symi Chat

Hi,

We have 3-4hours between landing in Rhodes and catching the ferry to Symi and wondered if any one could give any advise as to staying put at airport, heading off to harbour or if there is somewhere close by to grab a coffee/beer?

Can't wait one week to go ......

sue

Hi Sue and welcome to the chat page.

I'd recommend you go to the harbour. By the time you've got your bags, found a taxi and travelled to Rhodes Town you will have used up an hour of your waiting time.

If you are travelling on the Dodekanisos ferry you'll need to get to Kolona harbour. There is a bar/taverna in the commercial harbour directly opposite Kolona and only a few minutes walk away. Alternatively, there is a gate into the Old Town opposite the entrance to Kolona and there are innumerable bars, cafes and tavernas in there.

If you arrive on a UK 'changeover' day (Wednesday or Saturday) you will probably find a tour rep or two at the port waiting for their clients and looking after their luggage. If you smile sweetly at them you should be able to leave your bags with them while you find a coffee or beer.

Thank you for the recommendation much appreciated. We will head straight for the Harbour!

Have a wonderful holiday Sue.

I'd second that.
As to what to do, it does depend what time the plane is landing, and which airline you're travelling with. Allan's advice is spot on for planes landing in the afternoon, but if you are landing in the middle of the night and aiming for an 8.30-9.00 am ferry there are fewer options. However Rhodes never totally closes and there are always places you can go. The Swedish Bakery chain operates several 24-hour cafe-bars in Rhodes (and has now opened one in Kos too). This year they have been rebranded as Swedco, for some reason. The taxi driver will take you to one if you ask, they use them too, and the staff will call another taxi to take you to the harbour if you ask when you're ready to leave. Good coffee, same beer as everywhere else, nice pastries, reasonable prices. They are self-service so if you just sit down nothing will happen!
The which airline bit is relevant because the time it takes to get your luggage back is dependant on who you're flying with. Airlines with associated tour operators like Thomas Cook, Thomson, Jet2 etc schedule planes to arrive at Rhodes from different airports within minutes of each other so they can minimise the number of transfer coaches and reps they need, but this can overwhelm the baggage handling at Rhodes especially if there are flight delays as well. Priority is normally given to unloading scheduled flights rather than charters or semi-charters as passengers may have connections to make to other services. Arrive on an Aegean or Olympic flight and you'll probably be walking out the airport doors in 20 minutes, but with some other airlines if yours is the last bag to go on the belt it could be an hour .

Hi sue deffinatley get to Kolona and pop into old town for a coffee or something more holiday like I would pre book your ferry ticket just in case am jealous I have to wait for annother 10 days before relaxing

Hi Andy,

Do you happen to know whereabouts on Kos the new Swedish Bakery cafe can be found?

Ifigenia

My favorite place for spending a few hours on Rhodes is the Plaza Hotel which is just 2 streets away from the International Hotel where we are usually dropped of by Olympic.

Hi Ifegenia
Swedco Kos is at :20 Vasil�os P�vlou, Kos Town
Phone: 22420 24154
This is one of the streets running inland from the waterfront, near where the day excursion boats depart.

Thanks a lot for the information, Andy.

Ifigenia

Thank you for all the advise, we land in the afternoon and now know we may have to wait a while for our luggage. Ferry booked, which I did at the same time as flights. The information supplied on the chat page re Ferrys was really helpful as I was struggling to find the right timetables, Ferrys etc!

Only a few days to go until Symi, which I know I am going to love.

Have a great holiday Sue! (I'm sure you will)

Reference waiting for ferries....
According to Dodekanisos Seaways website there are no ferries to Symi on 23rd May. I land Rhodes from Gatwick on 23rd May (15.45) and it looks like I will have to spend night in Rhodes. I assume Olympic Holidays will provde accomodation. They did 2 years ago.
Likewise we will be transferred back to Rhodes on 5thJune instead of 6th. Another night spent in Rhodes.
The thing is I have paid a supplement (not small) for a sea view room at the Nireus but will only get 12 nights there instead of 14.
Not much I can do about except moan. (Luckily I dont believe in fairys)

Hello KENT, I was in a similar situation last year when I booked with Olympic and having paid a supplement for a sea view room at the Nireus but we had to overnight in Rhodes due to flight delays. Nireus only charged me the supplement for 13 nights. Incidently may I ask how much the NIREUS are charging this year per night for an upgrade.

Sorry Jean W I cannot help you there. I have already been issued with my tickets and there is nothing to indicate the price of a room supplement, only a slip to show that I have paid the required supplement. I booked the holiday through Co operative Travel last June so the memory is letting me down a bit. I do know it was substantial over 14 nights for 2 people. Olympic Holiday website is no help as Nireus must have sold out of seaview rooms for the summer.

Don't assume that the ferry timetables you have seen are the final ones for the day you are travelling. Something seems to have been lost in translation and my understanding is that the published timetable is the minimum that will be operated. The row between Dodekanisos Seaways and the Symi Municipality is not resolved and the timetable that has been issued is for the benefit of travellers to/from Chalki. Tilos, Nissyros, Kos, Kalymnos, Leros, Lipsi, Patmos and Athagonisis so they can see and book the ferries that will call at their islands.

With three ferries in the fleet, one of which in the published timetable has no work at all, and the other two aren't fully employed, you can certainly expect Dodekanisos Seaways to actually operate many more sailings that they've announced so far. And ANES still intend to put Proteus back into service when she returns from overhaul at Syros.

Just been on to the Dodekanisos website and I'm a bit shocked to see that there is no mention of the Dodekanise Express from Rhodes to Symi on Wednesday 4 July. Does anyone know if this service will be running on that date? Hopefully it will appear nearer the time!

Sorry Andy I've just read your posting and you've more or less answered my question!

It did strike me as odd that two ferries had no schedule against them.
Will just have to sit tight and hope something is resolved in the next three weeks.

[quote="Andy W"]


With three ferries in the fleet, one of which in the published timetable has no work at all, and the other two aren't fully employed, you can certainly expect Dodekanisos Seaways to actually operate many more sailings that they've announced so far.
[/quote]And to prove Andy's point, Dodekanisos have just announced an odd sailing of the Panagia Skiadeni to Symi via Panormitis on May 3rd.