The Dodecanese island hopping is one of the most astonishing sailing experiences and Samos Island is ideal destination to start from.
Samos Island lies just after the northern end of Dodecanese. The Dodecanese are a group of islands which occupy the south eastern Aegean Sea and form the easternmost part of Greek territory.
Samos features international airport so you can land there with international flight, if the island is offered as an air destination from the departure place of your convenience. Otherwise you can book an international flight to Athens combined with a booking of a domestic flight from Athens to Samos.
Depending on the length of your sailing vacation that determines how far you can sail in the Dodecanese, you may charter a yacht from Samos, sail south up to Kos or up to Rhodes and return back to Samos from a different itinerary.
The area bounded northerly by Samos and southerly by Rhodes offers over 20 island destinations so several alternative itineraries can be compiled. All possible sailing itineraries include anchoring in islands and islets of unique beauty. These Dodecanese destinations are within short distances between each other providing a sailing heaven for island hopping as the daily legs do not take more than 3 to 4 hours of sailing. The itinerary of your choice may include islands with vibrant nightlife like Kos and Rhodes or atmospheric and cosmopolitan like Patmos and Leros. Among those islands there are still many which have not been touched by time and they are incredibly picturesque restful and traditional. The map excerpt* shows proposed daily sailing legs in Dodecanese. Each red line on the map connects an anchorage with another and onto this line is shown the distance between these two anchorages expressed in nautical miles.
So if you have a week for island hopping in Dodecanese we suggest the following itinerary where the return point is Kos:
- Saturday: Pythagorion, Samos – Agios Georgios, Agathonisi = 18 NM
- Sunday: Agios Georgios, Agathonisi – Lakki, Leros = 28 NM
- Monday: Lakki, Leros – marina, Kos = 29 NM
- Tuesday: marina, Kos – Pothia, Kalymnos = 17 NM
- Wednesday: Pothia, Kalymnos – Skala, Patmos = 36 NM
- Thursday: Skala, Patmos – Lipsi – Porto Augusta, Arki = 20 NM
- Friday: Porto Augusta, Arki – Pythagorion, Samos = 26 NM
If you can have two weeks for sailing in Dodecanese, an island hopping there through the following itinerary will bring you to Rhodes where from you will start the return trip through a different set of island destinations:
- Saturday: Pythagorion, Samos – Agios Georgios, Agathonisi = 18 NM
- Sunday: Agios Georgios, Agathonisi – Lakki, Leros = 28 NM
- Monday: Lakki, Leros – Avlakia, Pserimos = 21 NM
- Tuesday: Avlakia, Pserimos – Kardamaina(1), Kos = 25 NM
- Wednesday: Kardamena, Kos – Livadia, Tilos = 25 NM
- Thursday: Livadia, Tilos – Panormitis(2), Simi = 25 NM
- Friday: Panormitis, Symi – Mandraki, Rhodes = 23 NM
- Saturday: Mandraki, Rhodes – Nimborio, Halki = 36 NM
- Sunday: Nimborio, Halki – Pali, Nisyros = 37 NM
- Monday: Pali, Nisyros – Pothia Kalymnos = 31 NM
- Tuesday: Pothia Kalymnos – Skala, Patmos = 36 NM
- Wednesday: Skala, Patmos – Sokora, Lipsos = 10 NM
- Thursday: Sokora, Lipsos – Porto Augusta, Arki = 10 NM
- Friday: Porto Augusta, Arki – Pythagorion, Samos = 26
- Before mooring in Kardamena the afternoon, you can tie in the marina till you explore Kos town.
- If instead of the enclosed and picturesque Panormitis cove with the imposing monastery of the Lord Michael of Panormitis you want to see the astonishing Simi Town, take into account that the distances of Simi port (Gialos) to Livadia of Tilos and to Mandraki of Rhodes are 32 and 30 NM respectively.
As can be seen from the map excerpt and by the distances we’ve noted if Patmos, the atmospheric island of St. John’s sacred revelation, is a destination that you want to see at any rate but you only have a week or less for your island hopping, then your best option is to start from Samos which is only 31 NM far from Patmos or otherwise 4½ hours sailing.
Samos is also one of the most lovely Greek Islands verdant with wildlife and important history which’s evidences repose at the important archaeological sites of and its museums. To most people, Samos is renowned as the birthplace of the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras but many of those who have experienced the island are hooked for plenty more reasons that are waiting for you also to discover them. What you must see however, either before the start or after the end of your sailing holidays, is the Eupalinos tunnel which is a brilliant paradigm of ancient engineering and project management.
Nevertheless, if however you are interested for nearby Rhodes destinations you can simply use the above information reversely and form your own Rhodes itinerary.
Get more information about Samos island
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* The map source is Navionics – we added the red lines. These red lines intend merely to show distances. Any information provided may be incomplete, obsolete or contain errors and cannot substitute the on-board safety equipment and of course the good seamanship.
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