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7 hr
Fast boat journey to picturesque Symi with over 3 hours to wander the colorful harbor town
Reserve
9 hr
Speed across the Aegean on a cutting-edge vessel to explore Symi's harbour and swim in secluded bays
Reserve
6 hr
High-speed cruise to a picturesque Greek island with swimming in a secluded bay and free time to explore
ReservePrices from verified partners. Availability updates in real time at checkout. Free cancellation policies apply where shown.
The landmarks, rooms, and views travelers on this tour remember — all visible on a single visit.
Admire the colorful, neoclassical mansions that surround the main port of Symi, creating a picturesque Venetian-style setting.
The modern fast ferry provides a highly efficient transit, whereas the traditional boat offers a relaxed maritime pace; most visitors who prioritize time choose the rhodes to symi day cruise as their preferred method.
| Feature | Top pick Symi Day Cruise | Traditional Wooden Boat |
|---|---|---|
Speed |
High speed hydrofoil | Slow leisure cruising |
Vessel Size |
Large passenger ferry | Smaller wooden vessel |
Deck Accessibility |
Enclosed air-conditioned cabin | Open sun deck access |
Onboard Services |
Cafeteria and restrooms | Onboard meals and bar |
Itinerary Flexibility |
Fixed scheduled transit | Varied swimming stops |
Crowd Levels |
Higher passenger density | Lower intimate capacity |
| See tickets → |
Verdict: Those seeking maximum time in the village should secure rhodes to symi day cruise tickets, while those prioritizing a nautical atmosphere often prefer rhodes to symi day cruise tours on a classic wooden craft.
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Arrive at the entrance, show your voucher on your phone, and walk in. Most tickets include priority or skip-the-line access.
Practical details for your visit straight from our verified partners — hours, access, rules, and how to get there.
Casual beachwear is standard for the rhodes to symi day cruise, but ensure you have a light cover-up for the return trip. Wear comfortable, non-slip footwear suitable for the cobbled streets of the island.
Passengers are advised to carry only essential personal items, as space on the ferry decks is limited. Boarding procedures for your rhodes to symi day cruise require valid identification documents.
Photography is highly encouraged throughout your rhodes to symi day cruise, especially when capturing the neoclassical architecture of the harbor. Ensure your camera or mobile device is fully charged before boarding.
Most vessels are equipped to accommodate passengers, though access to upper sundecks via stairs may be challenging for those with mobility issues. Please notify the operator in advance of your rhodes to symi day cruise for assistance.
The rhodes to symi day cruise is a popular choice for families, offering comfortable indoor and outdoor seating. Children under 4 travel for free, with discounted rates available for ages 5–10.
Snack bars are available on board the rhodes to symi day cruise ships, serving refreshments and light meals. Alternatively, you can pack your own water and snacks to enjoy during the crossing.
Best time to go, insider tips, nearby landmarks, and the cancellation fine print — flip through to skim what matters to you.
Flexible, no hidden fees.
Tickets may be cancelled or converted to open-date tickets up to one hour before the scheduled departure. A 100% refund is provided for cancellations made at least 24 hours prior to departure, while cancellations within 12 hours receive a 50% refund.
Symi has no rivers, no springs and almost no arable soil, yet in the nineteenth century it built one of the wealthiest merchant fleets in the Aegean. Water came by tanker. Wealth came by sponge. That contradiction is the first thing visible from the deck on rhodes to symi day cruise tours: a bowl of tall neoclassical houses stacked in tiers above the water, financed by sponge diving and shipbuilding, pinned against bare limestone. The crossing covers roughly 40 kilometres of open Aegean between two Dodecanese neighbours, and the change of scale on arrival is abrupt. Rhodes Town is a fortified medieval capital of moats and gatehouses. Symi is a single working harbour, Gialos, with a population of about 2,500. Boats enter past the clock tower of 1881 and moor along a quay lined with ochre, terracotta and pale blue facades. Above them, the stone staircase known as the Kali Strata climbs to Chorio, the older upper village, where roofless mansions stand beside restored ones. Those facades are protected. Symi is designated a traditional settlement, which bars concrete blocks and mandates the neoclassical vocabulary: triangular pediments, symmetrical shutters, wooden balconies, Venetian red and ochre render. The rule is why the island still looks as it did when its captains ran cargo to Alexandria. Elsewhere the coast turns severe. Agios Georgios Dysalonas sits beneath one of the highest sea cliffs in the Dodecanese, reachable only from the water. At the southern end, the monastery of Panormitis, dedicated to the Archangel Michael, keeps a pebble-mosaic courtyard and a bell tower visible long before a hull rounds the headland. A Symi Island boat excursion threads these three registers — harbour, cliff, monastery — inside a single day. What survives on Symi is scarcity. Fresh water is still imported. The sponge trade thinned after the 1950s, and the population fell from roughly 22,000 at its peak to a few thousand permanent residents. The island never acquired the resort strip that reshaped larger Aegean coastlines, and it has no airport of its own, so almost everyone who sees it sees it from a hull. Most arrive in the morning and leave before dinner, which is the shape of the classic rhodes to symi day cruise tour: an island easier to reach than to stay on, unusually legible from the deck of a boat, and best read from the water outward.
"An island with no rivers built one of the richest merchant fleets in the Aegean."
A step-by-step walkthrough of the visit — what you'll see, how long each stage takes, and the details that matter.
You reach the quay between 08:30 and 11:00, early enough to choose a seat before the pontoon fills. Your rhodes to symi day cruise tickets are scanned at the gangway; the crew stows bags below, and the engines take you out past the deer columns and the windmills on the old mole. Sit on the upper deck for the crossing. The Turkish coast holds one horizon for most of it. Then Symi opens without warning — first the bare ridge, then the clock tower, then a wall of coloured facades all at once. You step onto the Gialos quay into the smell of hot stone and diesel. Turn left for the boatyards, right for the shops selling sponges and dried oregano, or straight up the Kali Strata if you want the upper village and the view back down over the roofs. Most boats build in a swimming stop. You climb down the ladder at St George's Bay or into the shallows at Pedi, where the water reads pale green over sand and drops to deep blue within a few metres. You dry off on the return leg, watching the ridge shrink astern and the gulls track the wake, and you come back into Rhodes with the light already low across the harbour wall.
Early arrival between 08:30–11:00 is recommended to secure preferred seating for your rhodes to symi day cruise.
There is 0 EUR entrance fee for the harbor; the cost applies only to the boat fare for your rhodes to symi day cruise.
The boats depart from Mandraki Harbour or Kolona Harbour in Rhodes Town.
Yes, cancellation is possible up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund on your rhodes to symi day cruise tickets.
Yes, the rhodes to symi day cruise is family-friendly with specific pricing for infants and children.
Bring sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, your camera, and comfortable footwear for your rhodes to symi day cruise.
Photography is encouraged throughout the rhodes to symi day cruise to capture the island's beauty.
Yes, snacks and refreshments are available on board during the rhodes to symi day cruise.
The vessels feature comfortable, air-conditioned lounges, though sundeck access may involve stairs on the rhodes to symi day cruise.