polly229

After a few days driving around the mainland, my husband and I plan to fly either to Rhodes or Kos from Athens on Tues., May 9, arriving mid to late afternoon. We will probably return to Athens the following Mon. morning, though we could wait till Tues.

Coming from FL, we don’t much care about lying in the sun on a beach. Nor is nightlife a concern. Our interests are more in archeological sites, scenic areas (which could include beaches), enjoyable walks, museums, shopping for unusual items and fine crafts, and good food.

I know that I want to spend a couple of days on Rhodes since we couldn’t fit it in last year. The question is whether we should spend some time on another island or base in Rhodes and take day trips. Kos sounds good in some ways and if we opt for that, we’d probably fly into Rhodes and out of Kos or vice versa. Or maybe Symi or Tilos. Or maybe a Fodorite will have another recommendation.

As I am no stranger to mal de mer, I’d want to do any inter-island trips by high speed cat unless the trip is very short (no more than 2 hrs.). Since I haven’t decided where I want to go, I haven’t tried to find out what days I can get where by cat.

Last year I made notes from forum posts but am no closer to deciding than I was then. I would appreciate information and advice from any of you who have visited the Dodecanese.

brotherleelove2004

You might want to consider taking a day trip over to Bodrum in Turkey to visit the castle build by the Crusaders.

polly229

Actually, I thought about going to Bodrum some months back until I read read somewhere that there is a pretty hefty fee (visa?) to enter Turkey, even for a day. Also somebody on this forum said the ferry was something like $70 Canadian return. And someone else mentioned the queue time to get the visa once she got to Turkey was over an hour. So I thought it could turn out to be a pretty expensive day with a good chunk eaten up in transportation and waiting. If someone has had recent experience otherwise, I'd love to hear about it.

brotherleelove2004

I'm not 100% sure about the current visa fee, but I think it's only USD $20. It went up to $100 for awhile a few years ago then dropped back down. I do know that the daytrips are set up differently than if you were entering the country for an extended stay. I think the immigration people keep your passport until you return to the ship for the return journey to Rhodes. In fact, under these circumstances there might not even be a visa fee. Perhaps someone here has more information.

KESinMN

I could have spent another couple days on Leros. I realize it doesn't rate too high on the must see islands but I thought it was interesting.

Art Deco architecture, the castle & windmills and the chapel in the sea might be what you had in mind.

I stayed at a lovely B&B a short walk from a lengthly beach.

If I remember correctly, there is a kat that goes to Rhodes??

Patmos would be my other suggestion in Dodecanese.