Greece. 7 days route from Kos to the Northern Dodecanese islands

On the first day, you’ll have a few important tasks: accept the yacht, settle on board, and check up the equipment. After that, you can enjoy some leisure time and take a walk in Kos, enjoying its picturesque sights and stopping to try local cuisine.

Leros is part of the Dodecanese or Southern Sporades. It’s a relatively small island with a jagged shoreline and lots of natural bays and coves, which explains why it’s been a base for seafaring vessels since ancient times. In the 20th century alone, it’s managed to attract new settlers from Turkey, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy. Citizens from the latter have made a significant contribution to the development of Leros, having built the city of Lakki and adding some flare to the local architecture. Today, Lakki is home to a sprawling new marina, where most yachts come to moor. There are also more modest harbours in the cities of Pandeli, Agia Marina, Vromolitos, and Ksirokambos. These are considered the island’s main resorts. Each is lined with fabulous beaches, the best of which is in the hamlet of Gurna on the west coast. The attractions on Leros include a number of churches sprinkled chaotically throughout the island, the majestic knights’ castle Castro in the village of Platanost, and the Artemis temple ruins seven kilometers from Alindi.

Agathonisi is the north most islet of the Dodecanese islands complex. The coast configurations of the island are quite impressive. There are many beautiful and windless bays as well as small promontories. The surface of the islet is comprised of rocky and barren hills. Agathonisi has a really important and sensitive ecosystem and along with its neighboring islands, makes part of Natura protected areas, as a valuable shelter of rare birds. The quiet life on the island, the calm, the hospitality of the locals, the cleanliness of the beaches and the fresh fish which a visitor is able to enjoy, all make Agathonisi an ideal place for those who wish for quiet holidays away from the hustle and bustle of the main tourist routes.

Patmos, like some other northern islands in the Southern Sporades, has a dramatically-jagged coastline, which yachtsmen find particularly alluring. Patmos’ main port is Skala, situated on the shores of a rather large bay – by local standards anyway. Every day in the harbour, curious tourists flock to the waterfront, headed to the island’s main attraction – the Monastery of St. John the Apostle. The saint was banished by Emperor Domitian into exile on Patmos, where he lived in a cave and wrote “Revelation” and “Apocalypse.” From the monastery walls to the shore run the tidy streets and neoclassical buildings of Chora – considered one of the most picturesque island capitals of its kind. The surroundings here are tranquil and serene. Patmos has its beaches too. Kambos and Grikos are the most frequented, Meloi and Aspri – the most quiet and wind-free, and Psili Amos – the most beautiful and inaccessible (but not for those travelling by yacht).

Though it shares the same mountainous terrain and cove-dotted coastline as its northern neighbours in the Dodecanese Islands, the island if Kalymnos is unique in its own special way. Kalymnos, situated between Kos and Leros, is also a whole chain of islands of the same name. It has plenty of churches, a few museums, and dozens of fantastic beaches. The population is sparse and in the past, the local residents crafted handmade sponges. The history of Kalymnos has the same history of governing bodies as the nearby Southern Sporades: from the Byzantines to the Venetians, the Knights of Malta, the Turks and the Italians. Yet, it does have one standout feature that sharply distinguishes the island from its counterparts, and that’s mountain climbing. The terrain of Kalymnos is so mountainous and yet so varied that it manages to pack in more than 1,500 climbing routes of varying difficulty. Once every two years, it’s the scene of the Kalymnos International Mountain Climbing Festival. Aside from alpinists, the island also draws diving enthusiasts. Kalymnos boasts Greece’s only state-run scuba diving school.

After you return the yacht to the charter company trouble-free, visiting Kos and sightseeing its most beautiful places will be the final chord of your trip. You’ll also enjoy dinner with the seascape background – a memory that will last a long time.