Day trips from Patmos: very small islands

We name the trips and say what each is. We print no boat times, crossing durations or prices, because those change every season. Confirm on the day, and check the last boat back before committing to an afternoon anywhere.

Lipsi, the easy small island

The natural day trip, and the good one. Lipsi lies a short crossing east, a small island with one harbour village, a scatter of beaches and a permanent population that gets on with its own business.

There is not much to do, and the appeal is precisely that. Walk round the harbour, take the local transport or walk out to one of the bays, swim, and have a long lunch before the boat back. It is the version of an island holiday that most of Greece has grown out of.

Sailings are seasonal and not frequent, so check both directions carefully.

Arki and the smallest islands

Further out lie Arki and Marathi, which are smaller again: a handful of residents, one or two tavernas, and clear water with nothing built on it.

These are half-day trips rather than full ones, and they run irregularly. Take one if the timetable offers it and you want to see what an island with two dozen people on it looks like. Do not build a week around the possibility.

Samos, north and much bigger

Samos lies north and is a different order of thing: a large, green, mountainous island with deep antiquity, mountain villages and a wine tradition.

As a day trip it is a long one and you will see a fraction of it. The stronger case is to treat it as the next island rather than an excursion, especially if you want to cross to Ephesus, which is reachable from there rather than from here. Samos to Patmos covers the crossing.

The coves by boat

The best short day. Patmos is small enough to drive end to end quickly, but several of its better beaches sit on the coast away from the road, and small boats run to them from Skala in season.

Psili Ammos in the south is the one people ask about, a sandy bay usually reached by boat or by a walk in from the road, and it is the closest the island comes to a classic beach day.

Given that Patmos is quiet, upmarket and reverent rather than a beach island, a boat morning is a sensible way to balance a trip built around the monastery.

Staying put, which is the real recommendation

Patmos is a single settlement strung between a port and a hilltop, and the two things worth your time are both on it. The Monastery of Saint John stands above the Chora like a fortress, and the Cave of the Apocalypse sits on the slope between the two.

Both are working religious sites with a dress code rather than museums, and both reward a slow visit early in the day. If your instinct on the second morning is to get on a boat, consider walking the old path from Skala up to the Chora instead. The rest of what the island holds is in the Patmos guide.

Where this leaves you

From Patmos: Lipsi for an easy small-island day, Arki and Marathi if the timetable happens to offer them, Samos as a next island rather than a day out, and a boat to Psili Ammos or another cove for the best short trip. The honest recommendation is to take fewer boats than you think and give the monastery and the Chora the time they are worth.

Quick answers

What is the best day trip from Patmos?

Lipsi, a short crossing east. It is a small quiet island with one harbour village and a handful of beaches, and the appeal is that there is very little to do. Check the sailings in both directions, because they are seasonal and infrequent.

Can you get to Samos from Patmos?

Yes, it is a crossing north and a much larger island. As a day trip it is long and you will see very little of it, so it works better as the next stop on a longer trip, particularly if you want to reach Ephesus, which goes from Samos.

Is Patmos a beach island?

No. It is quiet, upmarket and built around the monastery and the Cave of the Apocalypse, and the beaches are a pleasant secondary. Psili Ammos in the south is the sandiest and is usually reached by boat or a walk in from the road.

Do you need a car on Patmos?

Not really. The inhabited island is small enough to drive end to end in well under half an hour, and the two main sights sit between the port and the hilltop Chora. A scooter or the local buses cover most needs, and boats do the rest.