Greek Islands: Sailing the Dodecanesee

Nick Jenkins' tale of his first sailing adventure through the Greek Islands has me craving a glass of wine, a dip in the Aegean, and a lot of seafood. But that's just me: Sailing the Dodecanesee - Kos to Leros.

It is a long piece, four and a half thousand words, and it earns them. He is a beginner on someone else's boat working out what the ropes do, which makes it a far better read than a competent sailor's account of the same water.

The Dodecanese still suit this better than the Cyclades do. The islands sit close together down the Turkish coast, so the hops between Kos, Kalymnos, Leros and Lipsi are short enough to be pleasant in a small boat, and the meltemi that flattens the central Aegean in high summer is more manageable this far east. Late May to June and September are the kind months. August is the one to avoid, both for wind and for the fact that everyone else has had the same idea.

Without a boat, the same route works on the local ferries, which are frequent between these islands and cheap, and the Blue Star and Dodekanisos services connect the whole chain up to Rhodes and Patmos.

Posted 10 April 2003 by Ant in Greece, Eurail Blog Archives · updated by Chris