Karpathos sits in open sea roughly midway between Rhodes and Crete, rather than tucked into an archipelago. Rhodes has the international flights, which is why this is the standard way in and why most Karpathos fortnights start on Rhodes.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
By air
A short domestic hop, and the sensible option for almost everyone. It lands at the airport in the south of Karpathos, near the capital Pigadia, where the capital, the resort coast and the windsurf grounds all are.
Book it with the car. Nothing about Karpathos works without one.
By sea
The crossing runs, and it is long and weather-dependent, because this is open water rather than a sheltered channel. Sailings are not frequent and they are among the first to go when the wind gets up.
We print no durations or fares. They are set per season by each operator and they change, and on this route the weather changes them further. Confirm on the day rather than relying on a schedule read a week earlier.
If you are taking the boat, build slack into the trip. When a ferry is cancelled covers what actually happens when it does not sail.
Why the trip usually starts on Rhodes
Two reasons worth stating. Rhodes has the direct flights from across Europe and a long dependable season, so it is where a fortnight naturally begins. And it is a genuinely good four or five nights in its own right: a walled medieval city the Crusader knights built, with Roman, Italian and Ottoman layers on top of each other.
Doing Rhodes first and Karpathos second also gets the order right emotionally, because Karpathos is the quieter and stranger of the two and it is a better place to finish. Karpathos vs Rhodes sets out the difference.
What lands you in the south, and what that means
The airport, the port at Pigadia and the wind-scoured windsurf coast are all in the southern half. The northern half is a different proposition: Olympos sits high on a ridge and, until a mountain road was cut in recent decades, was reached mainly by boat into the little port of Diafani and a climb from there.
There is a road now and it is still a serious drive. Plan the north as an overnight or as a boat trip up the coast, not as an afternoon out from Pigadia. Day trips from Karpathos covers both.
Where this leaves you
Fly, in almost every case: it is short, it lands in the south where the airport and the capital are, and it removes the weather risk that the sea crossing carries. Take the boat only if the crossing itself appeals and your dates have slack. Either way, hire a car on arrival and treat the north of the island as a separate journey.
Quick answers
How do you get from Rhodes to Karpathos?
Either a short domestic flight, which is what most people take, or a long sea crossing that is infrequent and weather-dependent because it runs through open water rather than a sheltered channel.
Why do Karpathos trips usually start on Rhodes?
Because Rhodes has the direct international flights and a long season, and it is a good four or five nights in its own right. Karpathos is quieter and stranger, which makes it the better half of the fortnight to finish on.
Where does the flight land on Karpathos?
At the airport in the south of the island, near the capital Pigadia. The southern half holds the capital, the resort coast and the windsurf grounds; the isolated north around Olympos is a separate journey again.
Is the ferry between Rhodes and Karpathos reliable?
It is weather-dependent and infrequent, because the route crosses open water. Build slack into your dates if you plan to use it, and confirm on the day rather than relying on a schedule read earlier in the week.