Bodrum to Rhodes: a seven-day, two-country yacht itinerary

Of every route we draw, this is the one guests describe for years afterwards. It uses the geography that makes our coast unusual: Greece is a morning away. Here it is day by day, with the distances and the paperwork made plain.

Before you book: the licence question

Only yachts holding the right papers may carry charter guests from Türkiye into Greek waters. Most of our motor yachts and several of the larger motor sailors do; we propose only those for this route. The crew clears everyone out at Bodrum and into Greece at Kos, and the same in reverse if the yacht returns. Passports stay with the captain for the week. Costs and the Greek VAT are covered in the charter guide.

Day 1: Bodrum to Kos, 12 nautical miles

Embark at noon under the castle at Bodrum, lunch under way, customs in the afternoon, and the crossing: forty-five minutes on a motor yacht, two hours on a motor sailor. Berth at Kos Marina and walk the old harbour beneath the Knights' castle for dinner.

Day 2: Pserimos and Kalymnos, 14 miles

A swim in Pserimos's sandy bay before the day boats, then the short hop to Pothia on Kalymnos, where the sponge-divers' warehouses still line the quay and the climbers' cafés face the harbour.

Day 3: Nisyros, 22 miles

South across open water in the morning calm to the volcano. A taxi to the crater floor, where the ground is warm and the air smells of sulphur, then lunch in Mandraki's white lanes and an afternoon swim beneath the cliffs.

Day 4: Tilos, 18 miles

The quiet island. Anchor at Livadia, walk to the deserted village of Mikro Chorio, watch the eagles over the ridge and eat at the taverna on the beach.

Day 5: Symi, 28 miles

The longest leg, timed to arrive in the late afternoon when the harbour at Gialos turns to amber. Moor stern-to below the mansions; dinner on the quay. Of all the harbours in the Aegean this is the one guests photograph most, and it earns it.

Day 6: Panormitis and St George's bay, 10 miles

The monastery of Panormitis in its own bay in the morning, then round to the east coast and the cliff-backed beach at St George's, where the afternoon is spent in the water.

Day 7: Rhodes, 24 miles

Across to Mandraki harbour by mid-morning. The medieval city is a ten-minute walk; the airport thirty minutes by car. Disembark after lunch, or stay a night in the old town.

Variations

Ten days adds Patmos and Leros to the north, or Lindos and Halki to the south. Guests who prefer to finish in Türkiye reverse the route and clear back in at Datça or Marmaris. The whole Dodecanese guide has the alternatives; the motor yachts that can run it are in the fleet.