Ferry

[Janette]

Hi

Am I right in assuming I can get an early ferry back to Rhodes on the Monday Morning when we return or will it be another overnight stay in Rhodes so returning to Rhodes on the Sunday?

[Allan]

Very early Monday morning Janette. 07.45 from Symi, arrives Rhodes 08.30.

[Janette]

Thanks, thats a relief

Will need to find somewhere nice to stay for one night in Rhodes then

[Allan]

Everyone has their own preference for Rhodes accommodation and you'll find plenty of suggestions if you dig through the archives here. My personal favourite is the Plaza Hotel and that's where I'll be a couple of days before you arrive.

The Plaza 'all you can eat for 7 Euros' breakfast is good too if you're feeling peckish when you get off the early ferry on the way home

[Janette]

Hi again

Can you tell me which ferry company it is that we get the ferry back to Rhodes early on the Monday morning, can't see that Blue Ferries do that route.

Thanks

Jan

[Allan]

The company is Dodekanisos Seaways, Janette. Their website is at

[Andy W]

It might help if I linked directly to the Symi Visitor Travel Blog's simplified summer ferry timetable, for dates between 12 May and 30 September

A few points: Yes, there are ferries before 12 May, just to a different timetable. You'll see it if you look at the blog itself

Yes, there are lots of ferries after 30 September, but we don't know the timetable yet.

No, we can't guarantee there won't be timetable changes, in fact there always are. Keep reading the blog to see them.

Should I book in advance? Yes, especially for sailings on Dodecanese Pride and Express which can fill up in season. Use the link Allan has given above. You can book on line, take the confirmation with you and pick the tickets up at the ticket office on the quayside.

Why can't I use one of the day trip boats sailing from Mandraki Harbour/the Sea Star sailing from Mandraki Harbour? Because they aren't licensed to operate as ferries on this route, so you aren't insured, and it is illegal. It's enforced by banning people from travelling with luggage.

My guidebook says I should use the Symi I or Symi II, and refers to a company called ANES? Your guidebook is out of date. Symi I went into semi-retirement on Crete years ago and potters around just offshore there, Symi II hasn't turned a propeller in anger since November 2010. ANES does exist but doesn't currently operate ferries to Symi, You'll also find loads of ticket-agency websites mentioning these ferries. Tells you how accurate their information is.

[Allan]

Excellent reply from Andy (as ever!).

What I think I will do is copy the information (editing slightly) to a new post in the Noticeboard area and pin it so it stays at the top of the list where it's easy to find.

It's a shame that the forum software hides links from people who are not logged in but I'll try to find a way around that.

[Janette]

Thank you for the link, the reason I keep asking is that our friends who we are going with thought they had seen a ferry on the Monday night at 6pm for last year. I have emailed the holiday company to ask if we can change our check in at hotel until the Tuesday instead of the Monday and think they may do it, as we are half board and it would have meant paying for a day that we weren't going to be there. They just thought we might be able to go on the Monday at 6pm. I think it best to change the check in date until the Tuesday and stay overnight in Rhodes.

Thanks for all your help

Jan

[Andy W]

Your friends were right. There was a 19:00 ferry on Mondays last summer. This year there isn't so presumably it didn't cover its costs. Monday probably has the lowest number of flight arrivals at Rhodes from elsewhere in Europe of the whole week which may explain it.

[Gemma1]

I can't get my head round the fact that you're not insured to get off the day tripper boat and stay on Symi but presumably you are insured if you're getting back on it and doing both journeys. Confused.com

[Andy W]

It's not really personal injury insurance I'm talking about, Gemma. If your baggage was lost, stolen, damaged or fell overboard, the shipping company isn't insured because it's illegal for them to carry baggage on these sailings. You couldn't claim on your own travel insurance because you'd need a police report number, and the people who'd issue that are the Port Police, the very people who enforce the "day trippers only and no luggage" rules.
If the boat didn't sail from Rhodes, or left and had to turn back, the shipping company would give you your fare back, and that's it. But you'd be stuck with maybe having to pay for overnight accommodation in Rhodes as well as your accommodation on Symi. Travel insurance would usually cover this - "failure of public transport" is how it is described on most policies, and to claim you'd need a document from, guess who, the Port Police, confirming that a scheduled ferry had failed to operate. Of course you can't get this, because you weren't booked on a scheduled ferry in the first place.
Just to make it clear, you can buy day returns on scheduled ferries such as Panagia Skiadeni, Dodecanese Express, Dodecanese Pride, (or even Blue Star Diagoras if you start from the Symi end), and they and you are fully insured. It's just the Nikolaos X and other Mandraki based boats, the Symi, and the Sea Star (when it's sailing to and from Symi) that are insured only for people taking day trips, without luggage.

[Gemma1]

Thanks for the clarification Andy. Some of the basic insurance policies on offer wouldn't cover you for all those things anyway but at least now I understand that it's my baggage that won't be covered if it ends up in the sea and not me

[borneobob]

Hello again forum, I'm just about to book our ferry tickets online at the Dodecanese seaways website. We are booking to travel on the panagia skiadeni boat on 2nd July , and as mentioned previously by Andy W on here the system requires that you book two separate journeys ( Rhodes-Pantormitis and then Pantormitis-Symi ) . This is not a problem but we were just wondering if we will be able to leave our luggage on board the ship whilst we disembark to visit the Monastery whilst the ship is in port .

[Andy W]

Oh yes, you can certainly leave your luggage on the ship. No problem at all.