A comment on here a few months ago from someone considering independent travel to Symi for the first time reminded me that whilst there is a wealth of information about this subject in past posts I don't think we have had a thread dedicated to the topic for some time.
So I thought I'd start a thread where people can add their own tips for how to make the journey go smoothly.
To kick things off, a couple of tips from me:
The first and most important is to keep up with the posts on the Symi Visitor travel news blog http://symivisitor-accommodation.com/blog/ What Andy doesn't know about travel to and from Symi isn't worth knowing and he keeps his blog updated regularly.
Secondly, if you intend to travel to Symi on a ferry operated by Dodekanisos Seaways you should apply for a 'Bonus Ways' loyalty card. It is free, can be applied for online and will give you a 10% discount on all fares plus a scheme to earn 'sea miles' towards a free ticket. http://www.12ne.gr/en/bonusways/register.asp?pageID=86
The online form states that the card will be posted to you 'Within Greece'. I don't know whether that is a new restriction but when I applied a few years ago they posted the card to me here in the UK so it's definitely worth filling in the form online to see what happens.