Rhodes to Symi day trip: what the crossing day is, the kayaking version, and the island day we do sell

A Rhodes to Symi day trip starts with a separate island, and the sea is the road. Symi sits north-west of Rhodes in the same Dodecanese chain, and there is no way there that is not a boat. That single fact is what shapes every Rhodes to Symi day trip: a chunk of the day at the beginning and a chunk at the end is sailing, and what is left in the middle is the island. People who book expecting a beach day with an island attached usually have it the other way round.

The classic version is a crossing, not a cruise. A day trip to Symi from Rhodes on a scheduled excursion boat is sold on the harbour and the monastery, with time ashore to eat and walk. It is a good day and it is a different product from the swimming cruises gathered here, which anchor in bays on the east coast of Rhodes and come back to the same port. We do not list crossings, so this page will not pretend to compare fares on them.

What we do list on Symi is the kayaking day. $797 is six hours of sea kayaking to St. George Disalonas Bay, swimming in turquoise water and a picnic lunch on the beach. It is the only Symi day trip from Rhodes that this site lists, and it is honest to say what it is: paddling and swimming on Symi’s coast rather than sightseeing in the town. It is a young listing with no review record yet, and the fare sits at the top of this site, so check on the operator page whether it covers the boat and the group before you compare it with a seat.

The island day with a real record is Alimia. $145 is seven hours: dolphin watching near Makri, snorkeling at Stroggyli guided by a marine biologist, time of your own on Alimia Island, then a beachside BBQ lunch with locally farmed fish and drinks. 4.8 from 234 reviews. If the appeal of a Rhodes to Symi day trip is «get me to another island and feed me», this is the booking on this site that does it and has the opinion behind it.

Seven hours is seven hours, wherever it goes. The two longest shared days here, $145 and $63, are the same length as a crossing day, and they spend it differently: swimming stops, guided snorkeling and a meal rather than sailing and a harbour. That is the real choice in front of you, and it is a choice about what you want to be doing at two in the afternoon.

No Rhodes to Symi day trip, and no cruise here, promises the sea. Both are the operator’s call on the day, the season runs roughly May to October, and free cancellation is shown across the listings gathered here. We do not promise conditions, visibility or dolphins — they are wild animals, and even the two listings with a biologist on board only watch for them.

If you want a second island with the strongest record: $145. Seven hours, 4.8 from 234 reviews, and the fullest day on this site: dolphin watching near Makri, snorkeling at Stroggyli with a marine biologist who can tell you what you are looking at, Alimia Island, and a beachside BBQ lunch with locally farmed fish and drinks. It is the booking we would make if the appeal of a Rhodes to Symi day trip was the idea of a whole day somewhere else.

If you want to be on Symi: $797. Six hours of sea kayaking to St. George Disalonas Bay, swimming in turquoise water, a picnic lunch on the beach. It is the only Symi island tour from Rhodes on this site, the fare is the second-highest here, and there is no review record yet — so read the inclusions line and check whether the fare is for the boat. What it gives you that a crossing does not is the coast from the water.

If the guiding in the water matters most: $63. A full-day boat trip built around guided snorkeling, described as suitable for all ages, with swimming and time to relax at sea. Three reviews at 5.0, which is a signal rather than a record. It is the same length as an island crossing spent entirely on the water.

If seven hours is too much: $102. Our top pick on the site, and it is the short version of the same idea: three hours, 4.8 from 993 reviews, a marine biologist on board, snorkeling at Stroggyli, dolphin watching near Makri and underwater photos included. Half the reason people book a long day is the biologist, and here you get that in a morning.

If you want a long day with a table on it: $71 or $97. $71 is six hours on a luxury catamaran along the east coast with swimming stops, a Mediterranean buffet lunch and unlimited drinks, 4.8 from 2,483 reviews — the largest record on this site. $97 is six hours on a traditional Greek caique with gourmet Greek food and an open bar, 4.7 from 625. Neither leaves Rhodes, and both give you the long lunch a crossing day rarely has time for.

If it is your group: $740 or $1,218. $740 is four hours from Stegna beach to a quieter beach on a private modern boat. $1,218 is five hours over Ladiko Bay and Anthony Quinn Bay with a maximum of twelve guests and a BBQ on the return. Both are priced for the boat rather than the seat, which is the arithmetic to do before comparing them with anything else here.

«Symi island day trip from Rhodes» and «Symi island Rhodes day trip». Both mean the crossing day: boat out, hours in the town, boat back. The thing to plan around is not the fare but the timetable, because the hours ashore are what you are buying and they are shorter than the day is. On this site the Symi product is the kayaking day instead.

«Rhodes to Symi day trip cost» and «Rhodes Symi day trip». Crossing fares are not ours to quote and we will not invent them. What we can tell you is what a full day on the water costs on this site: $63 for a guided full-day snorkeling trip, $145 for the seven-hour island day with a marine biologist and a BBQ, $797 for six hours of kayaking on Symi.

«Kos to Rhodes day trip» and «Bodrum to Rhodes day trip». These two come from the other direction: people already on Kos or on the Turkish coast at Bodrum, looking for a way over here for the day. Crossings are not something this site lists, and the timetable rather than the fare is what decides whether such a day works. What we can tell you is what is worth booking once you are standing on Rhodes, and the shortest of those is $45 at two and a half hours.

«Rhodes to Athens day trip» and «Rhodes city day trip». Two different distances and one shared idea: fitting a whole place into a day. Athens is a flight away and not a boat day at all. The town of Rhodes, on the other hand, is where three of these listings leave from — $51, $68 and $70 all print Rhodes Town as the departure point — so a day in the town and three hours at sea in the evening fit together comfortably.

«Oludeniz to Rhodes day trip». Further along the same Turkish coast, and the same answer: a crossing with documents, not a cruise. If you are already on Rhodes and looking for a day at sea, the fifteen listings here are the ones we can actually stand behind with numbers.

«Symi tour from Rhodes» and «day trip to Symi island from Rhodes». The word tour does not change the shape of the day: it is still a crossing with hours ashore at the other end. The one thing this site sells over there is $797, and what it sells is the coastline from a kayak rather than the town from a promenade. Read the inclusions line and the fare line before you compare it with anything else here.

«Day trip to Rhodes» in general. If you have one spare day and want it spent well, the honest ranking on this site is by record rather than by distance: $71 holds 4.8 from 2,483 reviews for a six-hour catamaran day, $56 holds 4.8 from 1,857 for three hours over the bays, and $102 holds 4.8 from 993 for three hours with a marine biologist. Those are the three bookings with the most people behind them.

«Will we see dolphins on a long day?» $145 and $102 both watch for them near Makri and neither can promise a sighting, because they are wild animals. What is printed on the page is the biologist, the snorkeling stop at Stroggyli and, on $102, the underwater photos.