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Symi, sunniest island of Greece

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One of the smallest but most renowned islands of the Dodecanese archipelago, Symi, was in fact totally unknown to us until a few months ago.

Symi
Yialos harbour

It was only after a quite desperate research for a warm European destination in October, that we found out this little paradise in the Mediterranean offering, even late in the year, sunny days and warm and calm waters...so that sunbathing, swimming and snorkeling in mid/late October is even more enjoyable than in the hottest summer months.

Symi
Symi island

Symi is easily reachable from Rhodes (that has an international airport) via a 75 minutes ferry. The island is fairly small and it is easy to get around both on foot or by scooter. Some beaches are only accessible via boat and a taxi boat service is available daily from the harbour and is not too expensive.

The harbour town of Yialos is characterised by the wide palette of the typical houses in neoclassical style. There, after descending many stairs, along the cobbled narrow streets, you will find banks, a few supermarkets, a couple of souvenirs shops and many local taverns.
There are a couple of other villages on the island, the most popular being Panormitis, that owes its fame to a monastery where pilgrims come frequently.

Symi
Symi island

The rest of the island is quite dry and stoney even for Greek standards and the beaches are made of cobbles. This is really a snorkelers paradise; it offers impressively crystalline sea and an incredible amount of fish population just a few metres off the coast.

Symi
Symi island

Symi
Symi island

We spent a week there and found this was the perfect amount of time to explore the place and have time both for a bit of hiking and for relaxing by the beach. In October, the evenings started to be pleasantly chilly and after an aperitif with Rhodesian wine and a dinner with some fresh octopus or the typical Symi small pink prawns, it was nice to have a walk around and give a little sneak at the many yachts anchored by the harbour.

Unfortunately we also found that, apart from the more touristy areas in town and on the beaches, the rest of the island is quite dirty: a lot of rubbish is left around including big objects such as washing machines and fridges...this is quite sad, and we hope that the local community will take care of this problem.





Location: Symi, Simi 856 00, Greece

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