There is a Greece of the postcards and a Greece that existed long before them. The Dodecanese is the second kind. This is the arc where the medieval city of the Knights still guards the harbour of Rhodes, where Symi's amphitheatre of ochre mansions rises straight out of the sea, and where the week ends beneath a fortified monastery on Patmos that has watched ships arrive for nine hundred years.
This is the third of my working itineraries, after the Cyclades week and the Ionian week, and it covers the charter ground I believe is Greece's best-kept open secret. As always, every figure comes from the Greek Charter Index and the weeks we actually price and book, not from a brochure.
What is a good 7 day yacht charter route from Rhodes?
Board in Rhodes and sail the northern arc: Symi, Tilos, Nisyros, Kos and Patmos, then the long run home on the last day, roughly 230 nautical miles of sheltered, castle-studded water in total. It is the seven day Rhodes route we plan most often, and this is how the week actually feels, day by day.
Day 1, Rhodes to Symi. You board near Mandraki, where the Knights of Saint John once chained the harbour mouth, and if the flight allows I always argue for one unhurried hour inside the walled Old Town before lines are cast. The first leg is a gentle 25 nautical miles, and it delivers the single best harbour entrance in Greece: Gialos on Symi, a golden amphitheatre of neoclassical facades that looks painted until you smell the bread from the bakery. Dinner ashore, ten steps from the passerelle.
Day 2, around Symi. Morning at Panormitis, the great monastery of the Archangel Michael, protector of sailors, standing alone on an enclosed bay at the island's southern end. Your captain will know which of the east coast coves is empty that day for the long swim and the long lunch. Evening back at Gialos, or at anchor somewhere quieter if the harbour bustle is not your mood.
Day 3, Tilos. The quiet one. Tilos runs largely on its own renewable power, guards its beaches from development, and remains blissfully empty by August standards. Livadia for the harbour and the tavernas, Eristos for the long sweep of sand. This is the day the week changes gear: phones go face down and stay there.
Day 4, Nisyros. An island that is a volcano, not an island with one. From Palon harbour you drive up to the caldera and walk the floor of the Stefanos crater, sulphur underfoot and the whole Aegean below. In the evening, Mandraki village does what Greek villages do best: one plateia, several opinions, excellent food. No other charter ground in Greece offers a day like this one.
Day 5, Kos. The practical day, and a pleasant one. Kos brings a full-service marina, provisioning for the second half of the week, the castle of the Knights at the harbour mouth and the plane tree under which Hippocrates is said to have taught. Crews who prefer a wilder lunch break the leg at Pserimos, the little island between Kos and Kalymnos, and nobody has ever complained.
Day 6, Kos to Patmos. A solid half day under way, and worth every mile. Patmos is the island of the Revelation: the Cave of the Apocalypse and the fortified Monastery of Saint John the Theologian crown a chora of whitewashed mansions that UNESCO protects and crowds have never found, because there is no airport and never will be. It is quietly favoured by families who could holiday anywhere, precisely because nobody makes a fuss. Arrive by sea, walk up before dusk, and you will understand.
Day 7, the run home. The honest part of this itinerary: the return from Patmos to Rhodes is the long leg, roughly 90 nautical miles south. On a motor yacht it is an early start, breakfast under way and lunch back in Rhodes. On a pure sailing plan I often reshape the week instead: either a one-way charter ending in Kos, or trading Patmos for Kalymnos and Pserimos so every leg stays kind. A good broker fits the route to the yacht, never the other way round.
How much does a Dodecanese crewed charter cost in 2026?
From the Greek Charter Index: a crewed sailing catamaran week runs about 15,000 to 40,000 euros, a crewed motor yacht of 24 to 34 metres runs 30,000 to 100,000 euros, and the larger the yacht the higher the ladder climbs. The Dodecanese itself carries no premium over the Cyclades; the water is the same price everywhere, which remains one of my favourite facts about Greece.
On top of the weekly rate sit the usual three companions. The APA provisioning fund, typically 25 to 35 percent on sailing yachts and catamarans and 30 to 40 percent on motor yachts, which your crew spends on your fuel, food, wine and mooring and accounts for to the euro. Greek VAT at the yacht's certified rate, in practice 5.2 to 12 percent on weekly crewed charters, with 13 percent the statutory ceiling. And the crew gratuity, discretionary and earned.
One Dodecanese-specific honesty: much of Greece's professional crewed fleet is based in Athens, so a Rhodes or Kos start sometimes carries a delivery fee for bringing the yacht down. Some yachts summer in the Dodecanese and charge nothing. I quote whichever is true in the first proposal, in plain figures, because a surprise on the contract is the fastest way to lose a client's trust and I did not build this house to lose trust.
When should you go, and how strong is the Meltemi down here?
May to early October, with June and September the connoisseur's months, as everywhere in Greece; the month by month guide covers the trade-offs. As for the Meltemi: it blows from roughly June to September, and the Dodecanese generally receives it more kindly than the open Cyclades, though the channels between the islands accelerate it on summer afternoons. Professional crews sail the calm mornings and keep the afternoons for sheltered water; our Rhodes anchorage guide maps where that shelter actually is. The wind is a rhythm to plan around, not a reason to stay home.
Can we cross to the Turkish coast during the charter?
Only as a formal border crossing, decided before the contract is signed, never during dinner. The Turkish shore sits a dinner-table conversation away from Symi and Rhodes, and the temptation is real. But leaving Greek waters means customs and immigration clearance out and back in, and it can change the charter's paperwork and VAT treatment. If a Turkish call matters to you, tell your broker at the first conversation and the week will be built lawfully around it. Most guests stay Greek-side and lose nothing: it is the same sea, without the formalities.
When the Dodecanese is not your week
I would rather tell you now than have you discover it aboard. If your week needs Mykonos energy, beach clubs and a scene, this is the wrong arc: sail the Cyclades route instead. If it is your first Greek charter and your heart is set on the postcard sugar-cube islands, the Cyclades again. If long passages spoil your mood, remember days six and seven cover real distance: either take the ten day version, which spreads the same miles kindly and adds Kalymnos and Leros, or choose a fast power catamaran or motor yacht that shrugs the miles off. And if your dates are locked to high August, book early: the Dodecanese fleet is smaller than the Athens fleet, and the good yachts go first.
The week, in one honest sentence
Medieval Rhodes to monastic Patmos, five islands in between, and not one of them trying to impress you, which is exactly why they do. If that sounds like your Greece, start with the crewed charter guide, see the Dodecanese charter page for the region in full, or read my honest case for the motor yacht if day seven made you think. And when you are ready, write to me. I answer personally, usually within hours, and the first conversation costs nothing but tells you everything.
