A Symi itinerary: after the boats leave

The island is essentially one town in two halves. Gialos is the harbour at the water; Chorio, also called Ano Symi, is the older settlement on the ridge above it. Hold those two names and you have the shape of the place. We print no boat times or prices here, because they move every season. Everything else Symi holds is in the Symi guide.

Day 1: arrive late, and have the harbour to yourself

If you can, take an afternoon boat rather than a morning one. The harbour at midday belongs to the excursion crowd; by six it does not.

Give the evening to Gialos itself, which is the reason the island is famous. Tiers of colourful neoclassical mansions climb the steep sides of the bay like the seats of an amphitheatre, painted in ochre, terracotta, faded blue and cream, with pediments and decorated window frames. They went up in the 1800s when this was one of the wealthier islands of the Aegean, built by merchant and sponge-diving families who wanted their fortunes to show.

The colour is inherited rather than a modern tourist-board choice, and the town has since protected the style, which is why the harbour still reads as one composition rather than a patchwork. Walk the full curve of it, then eat on the water.

Day 2: the climb to Chorio, and the Kali Strata

The morning job is the staircase. The Kali Strata is the broad stone stairway that climbs from the harbour to Chorio on the ridge, and walking up it is the thing to do on Symi. Go early, before the heat and before the day boats land.

Chorio at the top is the older half of the town, quieter, more lived-in and less painted for visitors, with the ruined castle above it and views back down over the whole bay. Come down slowly in the late afternoon when the light is on the harbour front.

Between the two, spend the middle of the day out of the sun. That is the rhythm the island itself keeps.

Day 3: Panormitis, and a boat to a bay

The Panormitis monastery sits at the southern end of the island, a substantial pilgrimage site with a large courtyard, reached by road or by boat. It is the island’s other landmark and it is a genuine working monastery rather than a viewpoint.

Pair it with a swim. Symi’s coast is rocky and its bays are small, and the best of them are easier by water than by road. Nimborio is the accessible one from the harbour and makes an easy half day. Small boats run from Gialos to the further bays in season, which is the better way to do it if the wind allows.

How to adapt this

One night only. Do day one and the Kali Strata climb the next morning before your boat. That alone is more of Symi than a day trip gives you.

As a day trip from Rhodes. Land, walk the harbour, climb as much of the Kali Strata as the heat allows, swim at Nimborio, and accept that you are seeing the busiest version of the island. Rhodes to Symi covers the crossing.

In high summer. Symi is a rock bowl and the harbour holds heat. Do the climb early, the boat at midday and the town in the evening, in that order, every day.

Out of season. The excursion boats thin out, which is good for the harbour and bad for the bays, since the small boats stop too. Expect to see the town and less of the coast.

Where this leaves you

Symi is one harbour and one climb, and both are better without the day crowd. Arrive in the afternoon rather than the morning, walk the Kali Strata up to Chorio early on your full day, give the middle of the day to the water or the shade, and keep Panormitis and a boat to a bay for the third. The island rewards the night far more than the visit.

Quick answers

Is Symi worth staying overnight?

Yes, and it is the main recommendation on this page. Most visitors arrive on a day boat from Rhodes and leave by mid-afternoon, so the harbour they see is the busiest version of it. After the excursion boats go, the town belongs to the people who live there.

How many days do you need on Symi?

Two or three. One evening for the harbour, one morning for the Kali Strata staircase up to Chorio, and a third day for Panormitis monastery and a swim. The island is small and the pleasure is concentrated rather than broad.

What is the Kali Strata?

The broad stone stairway that climbs from the harbour at Gialos to the older settlement of Chorio on the ridge above. Walking up it is the single best thing to do on Symi, and it is worth doing early, before the heat and before the day boats arrive.

Why does Symi look so different from the Cyclades?

Because of who built it. Instead of whitewashed cubes, Symi has tall neoclassical mansions in ochre, terracotta and faded blue, put up in the 1800s by merchant and sponge-diving families when this was one of the wealthier islands in the Aegean.