Getting from Dokos to Monemvasia

If you are heading to Monemvasia from Dokos you are making your way from an uninhabited rocky island in the Saronic Gulf to a medieval fortress town on the southeastern Peloponnese coast, on the opposite side of Greece. It is built entirely on a massive rock connected to the mainland by a single causeway with Byzantine churches and narrow lanes that have changed little in centuries.

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 Monemvasia 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 driving or taking the KTEL bus south through the Peloponnese to Monemvasia, which takes around 4 to 4.5 hours from Athens via Corinth, Tripoli and Sparta.

Getting there by air

Monemvasia has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. Dokos has no airport. Taking the water taxi from Dokos to Hydra, the Saronic ferry to Piraeus and then driving or taking the KTEL bus south to Monemvasia gives a total journey time of around 7 to 8 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 drive or take the KTEL bus south to Monemvasia. Pre-arrange your water taxi departure as you cannot hail a boat once you are on Dokos. Monemvasia rewards at least two nights. The town reveals itself slowly once the day visitors leave in the evening and the streets inside the walls become entirely your own.