full day symi tour including panormitis monastery

• Day Trips and Tours

Symi Island Full-Day Tour with Panormitis Monastery from North Rhodes

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About this experience

• Free Cancellation For a full refund cancel at least before the start of your booking
• 9 hours - 10 hours
• Suitable for 1-10 Participants
• Guided Experience
• Explore the perfectly formed Harbor of Symi
• Guided visit to Panormitis Monastery
• Quaint shops with local products
• Fresh seafood lunch in a seafront taverna
• See Byzantine frescoes and golden temple offerings
• Air-conditioned vehicle

Not included

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• You can book at any time before the event

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• At least one adult or senior required per booking

Your Itinerary

You will be picked up by bus from your hotel and transferred to Rhodes port (transfer's duration depends on the area of your hotel). You will then get on the boat in order to sail to Symi Island. The trip's duration is approx.1h20min.

Visit to the perfectly formed Harbor of Symi, one of the most beautiful picture postcard villages with neo classical pastel colored houses. You will have the great opportunity to be guided by a professional guide and you will have free time to have a walk around the island, to have fresh seafood in one of the local tavernas (optional) and to visit the little shops with local products (sponges, herbs, honey). You will get on board, which will be sailing to Panormitis Monastery. The trip's duration is approx. 30 minutes.

Panormitis Monastery

This monastery is dedicated to the Archangel Michael and has a charming bell tower and a beautiful 12th century church. It is a well-known spot of great interest and attracts many visitors and worshippers who come to see the Byzantine frescoes and engraved temple full of golden offerings. You will have the unique experience of visiting this monastery with a professional guide. You will then get on board in order to sail back to Rhodes island. The trip duration is approx. 1h30 min. As soon you will arrive at Rhodes port you will be transferred by bus back to your hotel.

Additional information

• Wheelchair accessible
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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Full Day Symi Tour including Panormitis Monastery in Rhodes, Greece

• Boat trip from Rhodes to two locations in the Dodecanese island of Symi
• Explore the Venetian-style Panormitis Monastery and the surrounding bay
• Walking tour of Symi town, famed for its hills packed with pastel-coloured homes
• Learn about the sponge-making industry and help support the local economy
• Expert local guide with an unrivalled knowledge of Symi and its people
• Pick up and drop off
• Personal headsets
• Entrance fee
• Personal expenses

You'll discover its laidback charm and visit sights such as Panormitis Monastery and a sponge maker. Fotini, one of our local guides, says, Symi is one of the smallest and most picturesque Greek islands. The sight of the colourful houses as soon as you enter the harbour never fails to impress.'

The fun starts with a glide across the Aegean to Symi. The first stop is in the southwest of the island, at the vast, Venetian-style Panormitis Monastery. It is famed for its Byzantine frescoes and icon of St Michael, but most of all for its location right on the water's edge in a remote and sheltered bay. You'll also have free time to explore the site.

Next, you'll sail for Symi town itself. The arrival into the harbour is a joy to behold tiers of pastel-coloured houses cascade down the surrounding hillsides. There's a guided tour of Symi town, too. And during the sponge maker visit, you'll learn about the island's sponge-diving heritage and its importance to the eco system surrounding the Symi. Your visit also helps support this traditional industry, vital to the local community. You'll get a small gift to take home, too. It's Fotini's favourite part of the experience. She says, The old tradition of sponge diving has strongly affected the history and the customs of the Dodecanese Islands.'

Free cancellation

Meeting point.

Panormitis Monastery

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Panormitis Monastery, Symi

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Why Symi could become Greece's newest hiking destination

Walking the old donkey trails on Symi lets travellers discover the forested interior of this small Dodecanese island — and meet its resilient, resourceful locals.

“Ela!” says Valantis Makrakis with a huff, mid-step, one hand clutching his side, the other lifted in greeting. A young man nods back as he trots down the sloping street, followed by a litter of cats. “Kalimera!” Valantis says again to a woman, who answers with a pat on his back before overtaking us on the uphill climb. He turns to me and smiles broadly, his eyebrows, which are dark like his eyes, forming little beads of sweat. “I know everyone here.”  

Valantis is showing me around the pint-sized island of Symi. Raised on these shores, he works in the management office at Nireus, a hotel in the only town, also called Symi. Neoclassical houses hug its theatre-like bay, painted ochre and russet with splashes of blue. This architecture is Symi’s calling card — the first thing visitors notice on inbound ferries, and the image they’ll likely take away on postcards. But I’m here to hike and, as it turns out, opportunities start right in the centre of town.  

In the island’s north, Symi town is split into seafront Gialos, the harbour, with all the restaurants and shops to welcome day-trippers from nearby Rhodes, and hillside Chorio — older and residential. Connecting the two is the Kali Strata, the street of some 400 steps we’re navigating.  

Valantis pauses to catch his breath, and I take in my surroundings. The details of the houses, lining the street on both sides, come into focus: the window cases painted white, the skylights on the gables. And, in between these manicured facades, ruins. The town was bombed to near-destruction in the Second World War, and the population never quite recovered from the subsequent exodus: of the 22,000 residents who lived here, some 3,000 remain.

“I like having friends everywhere, helping them,” says Valantis of the tight-knit community that emerged from the dust. “We have one doctor, there are only two passenger ferries a week in winter. It can be a difficult island.” Locals have learned to rely on themselves, adds Valantis, who is also trained in first aid and the leader of the young scouts.

This pride in one’s mettle must come in handy, I think, breathless, as we emerge from the Kali Strata into Chorio, then continue higher still along its quiet alleys. The town’s restoration since the war is being handled house by house, by private owners, and the damage is more evident in these backstreets. We reach the Kastro, the remnants of a 14th-century fortress — now little more than a viewpoint. From here, Symi’s broad bay spreads wider far below. The warm breeze washes over the shrubland; the soil, tinted by red clay, is reflected in the turquoise of the Aegean.  

Valantis suggests a shortcut back to Gialos: a centuries-old path a few streets down from the Kastro, levelled by the passage of heels — and hooves. “Donkeys used to carry loads up this road,” he says, “but now we have bikes, cars.” I picture the pack train, clip-clopping slow and sure over uneven stones. Today, we’re alone on the way down.  

Donkey trails like this have fallen into disuse all around Symi. That afternoon, we drive to the west shore to find another one next to the 18th-century monastery of Megalos Sotiris. Once abandoned, it’s being brought back to life by Manolis Petridis, a former waiter who took on the repairs as a project. He shows us around in a paint-stained workman’s suit as tinny Greek pop plays from his radio, hung on a nail on the wall. “He had no idea how to do this,” says Valantis, gesturing to beautifully restored pebble mosaics and stone arches. “But if you want to do it, you’ll find a way.”

That seems to be true of many things on Symi. We leave the monastery and join the path outside — a dirt road through the forested interior. There are no signposts other than marks on stones, and with no trail maps available, travellers may never even know these paths exist. A hiking enthusiast, Valantis has been tracing them with his smart watch, hoping to one day help create better access.  

“I like following these ways like the old Symians,” he says. This was once the link between Symi town and the monastery in Panormitis, to the south. Donkeys walked it carrying materials, the faithful took it — a steep, difficult route — to demonstrate their devotion. When a road the length of the island was paved in the 1960s, it shortened the pilgrimage from four hours to 30 minutes. “I still hike sometimes,” says Valantis. “If I have a vow — a big one.”  

We reach Panormitis driving along that paved road. The settlement — essentially one seaside street — centres around the Holy Monastery of the Archangel Michael, whose white facade takes pride of place on the coast. Crowds swell with the arrival of day-tripper ferries, which stop right by the complex. We’re alone as we enter the frescoed, single-aisle church, but the quiet doesn’t last.  

A ferry must have moored. A queue of visitors arrives, walking in hushed procession. They take turns to kiss a silver-plated figure of the Archangel Michael, based on an icon that — according to local tradition — miraculously appeared on the spot where the complex now stands, centuries ago. It’s still housed inside, making this one of the most revered places in the Dodecanese.  

The devotees aren’t the sole testament to the monastery’s might. At the far end of the complex, a small museum of religious artefacts displays wooden boxes, messages in bottles, reproductions of mighty vessels and humbler single-mast ships, one crusted in seashells — offerings, Valantis says, that washed up on the island.  

We discuss the finds at Panormitis’s only cafe, whose owner, Mihalis Tsauselis, doubles as Symi’s deputy mayor. “I found one, too — a message in a bottle, asking whoever came upon it to light three candles here,” says Valantis, sipping his coffee. “There have been many miracles here.” He opens his eyes wide, nodding vigorously, as if I wouldn’t believe him. No matter, I think. On this tough little island of rubble and resurrection, it seems the community can make its own miracles — and that is a blessing in itself.

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Symi Island Full-Day Tour with Panormitis Monastery from North Rhodes

• Air-conditioned vehicle
• All our tours include pickup from the street of your hotel. If for any reason there is a change in your pickup point or time, we will contact you via E-mail and/or phone call. Please be at the pickup point at least 5 minutes prior to the stated time. In the unlike case of a delay of over 10 minutes, please call us.
• Wheelchair accessible
• Near public transportation
• Infants must sit on laps
• Transportation is wheelchair accessible
• Confirmation will be received at time of booking
• Most travellers can participate
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
• This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 300 travellers
• For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
• Panormitis Monastery

Similar experiences

• You'll get picked up See departure details
• Pass by Rhodes
• 1 Symi Stop: 3 hours See details
• 2 Panormitis Monastery Stop: 45 minutes See details
• You'll return to the starting point

• Reading64 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Overview of Kos island ancient and modern. Our guide Marianna(?) for the 6 English on the trip was really excellent. The day was well planned and I felt I had a good overview of Los ancient and modern the lunch in Zia was well organised, and the food was tasty. Overall value for money very good. Read more Written 29 October 2023
• Helen J 0 contributions 3.0 of 5 bubbles Beautiful village. Awful communication skills. Lindos is a beautiful village, well worth a visit in its own right. I couldn't go up to the Acropolis because I couldn't manage the steps carved from rock in various sizes and degradation. I'm told there were later stretches only a meter wide with nothing to hold onto and drops either side. Communication is not Viator's strong point! I booked the trip around 10am Greek time the day before. I never received an email confirming the pick-up time or place; they said I'd get one in an hour. I tracked down their Help Centre and messaged around 5pm Greek time. Fortunately, someone phoned me around 6.30pm, unaware of either my message or that I hadn't had an email, and she gave me my pick-up time and place verbally: 7.15am, outside a church up the road. So that was before breakfast, not at my hotel, on a main road when it was just getting light & I'm a single woman. As it happened, they did try to pick-up at my hotel and waited 10 minutes for me, but I wasn't there. Fortunately, they came to find me or I would have missed the tour! I received a reply to my message about 5 minutes before we left Lindos on our way home! So those 3 stars are all for Lindos and none for Viator (booking agent) or TripAdvisor! Read more Written 13 October 2023
• Mrandmrsrice 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Happy day tripper Nice trip just be carful which boat you pick it took 2 hours to get over from Rhodes harbour and sane back. Such a pretty place to see and take in a bite not much else to do only admire the beautiful place. Not enough time to visit the monastery before we had we board again worth a 1 night stop over Read more Written 11 September 2023
• Quest52796666679 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles The trip was great! The trip was great. We swam and took photos at beautiful locations, there was plenty of time for that, the boat was comfortable and the food was good. Read more Written 25 July 2023
• mariadL1660XE 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles 3 islands cruise from Kos After Corona, we decided to travel in Greece especially in Kos. It was the most amazing cruise I’ve ever had with my friend. Our first stop was in Kalymnos. The beaches there was stunning. Then we went to Platy island. There we enjoyed the swimming and relaxation. People there was so friendly and polite, they made us feel like home. Our last destination was in Pserimos beach, we enjoyed a comfortable day by the sea and we were fully informed about the excursion from the escort provided. I highly recommend this tour. It made my day! Read more Written 17 July 2023
• 490roslynm 0 contributions 1.0 of 5 bubbles Sunset cruise kos Please don’t go everyone was complaining . 10 min trip to a really horrible beach with some kind of structure where you ate not nice at all . Food appalling tiny amount of horrible meat stale bread and chicken raw . Wine ha was given a shot glass ! . Stayed at this beach far too long the captain then teaches Greek dance to pad out the time ! He’s a ego maniac note a show off joking at other people’s exspense . All back on the boat to go see the sunset except we’re waiting for him to get on bobbing about bored with no wine , he’s back Opa he’s shouting everyone is miserable and bored withhim needing his ego stroked , there he goes again dancing again with his board captive Audience it’s painful . We are approached by several people complaining we all just can’t wait to get off. Off to sea sunset yeh nice but it’s freezu and we’re thirsty I stay there far too long . So please don’t put you’re through this horrible day save your money . Read more Written 19 June 2023
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• ZaninaLionakis 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Thank you Destination One for the experience Santorini excursion was superb. The pick up was on time, everything is very well organized and the guide had a great amount of knowledge. This is the best way to visit Santorini for a day trip. Every time I tried to contact them I received a reply immediately which made me feel security and reliance. Read more Written 15 June 2023
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• Aliana L 0 contributions 5.0 of 5 bubbles Great! Fantastic day, fantastic places to swim, big boat with alot of space. Great lunch, all you could eat 👌👍 Very good experience ☀️💙 Read more Written 16 October 2022
• martinmY4483RV 0 contributions 2.0 of 5 bubbles Disappointing This trip was a waste of time and very disappointing. Santorini is overrated and very very crowded. There was no time to explore anything. Most of this trip consisted of traveling in the bus and on the ferry. We spent 1.5 hours in Oia which is nowhere near enough to get the feel of it. Half an hour in Thera was laughable. We paid for the optional trip to the volcano which was short and not worth it. Visit Chania instead. Read more Written 13 October 2022
• LiverpoolMegsy 0 contributions 4.0 of 5 bubbles Great boat cruise but expect a road trio! The only reason I didn't award 5 stars is because it wasn't clear that "from the South" meant you'd be picked up in a bus and driven for 90 minutes to the North! I thought it meant the cruise would start from the South. The coach itself was comfy enough and airconed but we weren't expecting such a long road journey. The operators were well organised and escorted us to Triton, a boat on 3 levels, with toilets, bar, and sundeck up top. The amount of stops and opportunities for jumping off the boat and swimming were fantastic. 4 stops in all - each with crystal clear water. The boat also supplies plenty of swimming noodles which helped give confidence to uncertain ooen water swimmers. The lunch was great. The crew served a good selection of moussaka, chicken, burgers, salads, potatoes and tsaziki. Lots for the 70 or so people on board. We were back in Rhodes Town for 5pm but a 90 minute coach ride awaited! Read more Written 25 August 2022
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