Getting from Arki to Dokos

If you are heading to Dokos from Arki you are making your way from one of the smallest inhabited islands in the Dodecanese to an uninhabited rocky island in the Saronic Gulf between Hydra and the Peloponnese coast, on the opposite side of Greece. The waters around it hold the oldest known shipwreck in the world, dating to around 2700 BC.

Take the ferry

There are no scheduled ferries from Arki to Dokos. Dokos is accessible only by water taxi from Hydra, which takes around 30 minutes, or by private boat. Arki is connected to Patmos, Leros, Lipsi, Kalymnos and occasionally Rhodes and Samos, with services running a limited number of times per week. Getting to Dokos means taking the ferry from Arki to Leros, flying to Athens and then taking the Saronic ferry from Piraeus to Hydra, which takes around 1 hour 5 minutes to 2 hours, followed by a water taxi to Dokos.

Getting there by air

Dokos has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Arki has no airport either. Taking the local ferry from Arki to Leros, flying to Athens and then taking the Saronic ferry from Piraeus to Hydra, followed by a water taxi to Dokos, gives a total journey time of around 5 to 6 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Take the local ferry from Arki to Leros, fly to Athens, take the Saronic ferry to Hydra and arrange a water taxi from the harbour across to Dokos. Check the ferry schedule from Arki carefully before booking your flights as services run only a limited number of times per week. Come entirely self-sufficient as there is nothing on the island. The coves empty out in the late afternoon when day boats leave and that is when Dokos is at its most extraordinary.