Getting from Dokos to Karpathos

If you are heading to Karpathos from Dokos you are making your way from an uninhabited rocky island in the Saronic Gulf to a long mountainous island in the southern Dodecanese, on the opposite side of Greece. It has a strong local culture and the extraordinary village of Olympos in the north where centuries-old customs are still very much alive.

Take the ferry

There are no scheduled ferries from Dokos. Dokos has no ferry service and is accessible only by water taxi from Hydra, Spetses or Ermioni, with the crossing from Hydra taking around 30 minutes. Getting to Karpathos means arranging a water taxi from Dokos to Hydra, taking the Saronic ferry from Hydra to Piraeus, which takes around 1 hour 5 minutes to 2 hours, and then boarding the Piraeus to Karpathos ferry, which runs around 3 times a week and takes around 13 to 20 hours. Flying is considerably more practical for most travelers.

Getting there by air

Karpathos has its own airport with daily connections from Athens. Dokos has no airport. Taking the water taxi from Dokos to Hydra, the Saronic ferry to Piraeus and flying from Athens to Karpathos takes around 1 hour 15 minutes on the second leg. Total journey time is around 5 to 6 hours. In Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights.

Your best option

Arrange a water taxi from Dokos to Hydra before leaving the island, take the Saronic ferry to Piraeus and fly from Athens to Karpathos. It is the fastest and most practical approach. Pre-arrange your water taxi departure as you cannot hail a boat once you are on Dokos. If you are traveling with a car, note that Dokos is only accessible by small boat so a vehicle cannot be brought to or from the island.