Air

Though you can get to the hubs of Rhodes or Kos in around 12 hours nowadays, on the faster ferries from Athens, if you have limited time it's best to fly to these two islands. Olympic Air (Aegean Airlines) and Sky Express both have non-stop daily flights during summer, connecting the pair to the Greek capital; flying time is about 50 minutes to either island. Less frequent direct flights also go from Thessaloniki (1¼ hours). Sky Direct runs a few flights a week between Rhodes and Kos (30 mins), though it's cheaper and less hassle to take the ferry. Finally, it’s possible to fly directly to Rhodes and Kos from a number of European capitals on Aegean and several European carriers during the summer season (May.–Oct.). Neither Patmos nor Symi has an airport.