How to get to Patmos

Patmos, the island of the Apocalypse, where St. John the Evangelist wrote the last book of the New Testament in the mythical cave where God spoke to him through a crack in the rock.

An island not for everyone, only for lovers of nature and simple things despite the air you breathe in Patmos is anything but, much more refined and sophisticated than any other isolated island in the Aegean, with its imposing and mysterious Chora just above the promontory with its labyrinthine and ghostly streets when darkness falls which all of a sudden open up to enchanting little squares teeming with people and shops of local artists and from all over the world who find inspiration in this wonderful piece of land. Or its sacred monastery which dominates the hill which, when the temperature drops during the night, creates soft clouds which envelop it giving it a magical and mythological aspect, and still its pristine and wild beaches where you can relax and enjoy the magnificence of Mother Nature.

This is Patmos, everything and nothing but with a strong character that binds you to her once seen as a powerful love potion and which you will no longer be able to do without.

Like all beautiful things, reaching it is not difficult but not immediate so if you decide to come here for your holiday in Greece, know that it will almost not be possible to do so without losing at least a day going and returning.

There are two alternatives, either by air or by sea, but let's see in detail. Patmos can be reached by sea, it does not have an airport even for internal flights. It can be reached from various Greek islands. Here are the details.

First you need to decide which island you want to land on. You can choose between Kos the most comfortable and closest to Patmos, Samos, Rhodes, Athens and finally Leros. During the summer there are many routes and companies that arrive there and perhaps by booking well in advance you can also get very advantageous offers. From here it is then necessary to take a ferry to reach your destination.

From Kos: it is usually the preferred tour even if often the flight times do not coincide with the ferry times so you will be forced to do it the night of arrival while in the worst case scenario even the night before departure, but be patient you can take advantage this time to peek at Kos. So here are the shipping companies that carry out the route and the travel times vary according to the type of boat chosen, we are talking from 2 and a half to 5 hours.

https://www.12ne.gr/en/

https://www.bluestarferries.com/en-gb

From Samos: unfortunately the flights towards Samos are always very few but do not despair you will be able to find the route at least once a week and from there build your holiday in Patmos.

The port of departure is Pythagorion and it takes about 3 and a half hours.

https://www.ferries.gr/en/ferry-companies/anekalymnou/fleet/nisos-kalymnos/

From Rhodes: for Rhodes instead you can find more flights and sometimes even cheap if booked in advance. From here, from the port of Mandraki you can choose between the following ships which have times from 5 to 7 hours of navigation.

https://www.12ne.gr/en/

https://www.bluestarferries.com/en-gb

From Leros: this solution is ideal perhaps by stopping there for a couple of days to discover Leros. First of all you have to fly to Athens, from there take a domestic flight to Leros and then a ferry to Patmos. Here are the airlines and shipping companies:

https://www.skyexpress.gr/en

https://www.olympicair.com/

https://www.12ne.gr/en/

https://www.bluestarferries.com/en-gb

From Athens: reach Athens and from here or opt for a domestic flight to Leros then taking the ferry to Patmos, or from Piraeus with a ferry to Patmos

https://www.bluestarferries.com/en-gb

Even from other islands it is possible to reach Patmos such as from Chios, Lesbos and Limnos:

https://www.hellenicseaways.gr/en-gb