Getting from Santorini to Dokos

If you are heading to Dokos from Santorini you are making one of the more determined journeys in Greek island travel, and the island waiting at the end of it will give you nothing by way of infrastructure and everything by way of peace. Dokos is an uninhabited rocky island in the Saronic Gulf between Hydra and the Peloponnese coast, known to almost nobody and extraordinary for it. The waters around it hold the oldest known shipwreck in the world, dating to around 2700 BC, discovered in 1975 off Skintos Bay. The anchorages are excellent, the coves are deserted and the only sounds are the wind and the sea.

Take the ferry

There are no scheduled ferries to Dokos at all. The island has no ferry service and no regular boat connection. The only way to reach it is by water taxi from Hydra, which takes around 30 minutes, or by private boat or sailing charter. Getting to Hydra from Santorini means flying to Athens and taking the Saronic ferry from Piraeus to Hydra, which takes around 1 hour 10 minutes to 2 hours.

What about flying?

Dokos has no airport. The nearest airport is Athens. To reach Dokos you would fly to Athens, take the Saronic ferry from Piraeus to Hydra and then arrange a water taxi or sailing charter across to Dokos from the harbour. It is worth knowing that in Greece, airlines do not operate direct inter island flights. Almost all island to island travel goes through Athens.

Your best option

Use Hydra as your base. Fly to Athens, take the Saronic ferry to Hydra and arrange a water taxi from the harbour. The crossing from Hydra to Dokos takes around 30 minutes. 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.