Getting from Antipaxos to Symi

If you are heading to Symi from Antipaxos you are making your way from a tiny island in the Ionian Sea to one of the most beautiful harbour towns in the Dodecanese group, on the opposite side of Greece. The colorful neoclassical mansions stacked up the hillside above the port make for one of the most striking harbour approaches in the Greek islands.

Take the ferry

There are no scheduled ferries from Antipaxos to Symi. Antipaxos has no ferry port of its own and is accessible only by sea taxi from Gaios on Paxos. Getting to Symi means taking the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu, flying to Athens and then flying to Rhodes, followed by the local ferry from Rhodes to Symi taking around 1 to 1.5 hours.

Getting there by air

Symi has no airport. The nearest airport is Rhodes. Antipaxos has no airport either. Taking the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu and flying to Athens and then Athens to Rhodes, followed by the local ferry from Rhodes to Symi, gives a total journey time of around 8 to 9 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the sea taxi from Antipaxos to Paxos, the ferry from Paxos to Corfu, fly to Athens and then fly to Rhodes and take the local ferry across to Symi. Give yourself at least two nights on Symi. The island reveals itself completely once the day visitors leave and the harbour becomes entirely your own.