Getting from Symi to Monemvasia

If you are heading to Monemvasia from Symi you are making your way from one of the most beautiful harbour towns in the Dodecanese 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 is no direct ferry from Symi to Monemvasia. Monemvasia is accessible only by road. Getting there means taking the ferry from Symi to Rhodes, which takes around 50 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes and runs multiple times daily, and then flying from Rhodes to Athens and 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. Symi has no airport. The nearest airport is Rhodes. Taking the ferry from Symi to Rhodes, flying from Rhodes to Athens 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

Take the ferry from Symi to Rhodes and fly from Rhodes to Athens, then drive south through the Peloponnese to Monemvasia via Corinth, Tripoli and Sparta. Having a car makes this route considerably more practical as public transport connections to Monemvasia are slow and infrequent. 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.