Sailing from Kos: the Dodecanese
Kos is the charter gateway to the Dodecanese, the chain of islands that runs down the Turkish coast from Patmos to Rhodes. The sailing is different from the Saronic or the Ionian: the islands are higher and barer, the distances a little longer, the harbours fewer and older, and the wind in high summer is the Meltemi at full strength. In return the water is the clearest in Greece, the villages are unspoiled, and a week north of Kos touches five islands that few tourists reach by ferry.
This guide covers the northern circuit through Kalymnos, Leros, Lipsi and Patmos, which keeps the Meltemi behind you on the way home, and says what the southern islands offer. The figures beside it are live, from the operators’ booking systems today.
When to go
The season runs from late April to late October. May, June and the second half of September are the months to choose: warm, with a moderate breeze and harbours with room. July and August bring the Meltemi at its strongest, which experienced crews enjoy and first-time crews should think about; the harbours are also fullest then. October is quieter and the discounts deep, with the sea still warm.
Charters run Saturday to Saturday from Marina Kos, with check-in on Saturday afternoon and check-out by nine the following Saturday.
The Meltemi here
The Meltemi is the north wind of the Aegean summer, and in the Dodecanese it blows from the north-west, strongest from mid-July to the end of August, typically force 5 to 6 in the afternoon with stronger gusts in the channels. The Kos channel and the gap between Kalymnos and Leros accelerate it; the lee of each island is the calm.
It builds over the day: a morning departure gives a gentle sail, an afternoon one a boisterous beat. The practical rule is to go north early in the week while the wind is lighter in the mornings, and to run home south at the end with the Meltemi on your quarter. Outside the Meltemi months the wind is a sea breeze of force 3 to 4.
Where the boats leave from
Marina Kos, on the eastern edge of Kos town, is a modern marina with fuel, water and power on every pontoon, and the base for most of the fleet; the airport is 25 kilometres away, half an hour by taxi. Kos harbour itself, under the castle, hosts a few boats. Smaller fleets start from Rhodes and from Leros (Lakki), and a one-way between Kos and Rhodes is a route some operators offer.
Provisioning is a short walk into Kos town, and the bigger supermarkets deliver to the marina.
Licences and papers
Greece requires a skipper with a recognised licence and a second crew member with experience, who signs a declaration at check-in if they hold no licence. An ICC or an RYA Day Skipper is accepted. The operator handles the boat’s papers and the crew list. The obligatory extras on the boats here are inside every price on this site: the final cleaning, and a transit log where the operator charges one.
The Turkish coast is in sight the whole week, but a Greek charter boat may not enter Turkish waters without the operator’s written permission and the customs paperwork; most forbid it. Bodrum is a ferry trip from Kos, not a sail.
Harbours and money
Nights are on town quays, stern-to with your own anchor, for a few euros collected by the port police; Pothia on Kalymnos, Lakki on Leros, Lipsi and Skala on Patmos all have room most of the summer, and Lakki is the deepest, safest harbour in the islands. Anchoring in the bays is free: Vathy on Kalymnos, a fjord, and the bays of Lipsi and Arki are the ones people remember.
Water is precious on these islands and the quays charge for it; fill at Marina Kos and at Lakki. Fuel is at Kos, Kalymnos and Leros.
A week from Kos
North with the lighter winds of the early week, south with the Meltemi astern at the end. Pserimos and Arki are stops in reserve; Vathy on Kalymnos is the night to add if the week is settled.
| Day | From | To | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Kos | Pothia, Kalymnos | 12 nm | Check in, provision, and cross the channel to the sponge-divers’ town for the first night on its busy quay. |
| Day 2 | Pothia | Lakki, Leros | 20 nm | Up Kalymnos’s west coast and across the gap to Leros; Lakki’s harbour is a fjord with Italian 1930s streets ashore. |
| Day 3 | Lakki | Lipsi | 12 nm | A short leg north to the smallest inhabited island of the group, with a village harbour and bays within a dinghy ride. |
| Day 4 | Lipsi | Skala, Patmos | 8 nm | Across to Patmos; the monastery and the Chora stand above the harbour, a bus or a long walk up. |
| Day 5 | Patmos | Arki or Agathonisi | 10 nm | The tiny islands to the east, a night at anchor or on a quay with one taverna; the turning point of the week. |
| Day 6 | Arki | Vathy, Kalymnos | 25 nm | South with the Meltemi behind you into the narrow inlet of Vathy, with its orchards and one quay. |
| Day 7 | Vathy | Kos | 15 nm | The last short leg back across the channel to the marina; the boat in its berth by the afternoon. |
Questions people ask
Is Kos a good base for a first charter?
In May, June or late September, yes: moderate winds, short legs and easy harbours. In July and August the Meltemi is strong, and a crew without heavy-weather experience is better served in the Saronic or the Ionian.
How strong is the Meltemi in the Dodecanese?
Force 5 to 6 on most afternoons from mid-July to the end of August, from the north-west, stronger in the channels. Mornings are lighter, which is when the northward legs are sailed.
Can I sail from Kos to Turkey?
Not on a bareboat charter without the operator’s written permission and the customs formalities, which most operators refuse. The Turkish coast is for looking at; Bodrum is a ferry from Kos.
Which islands can I reach from Kos in a week?
Kalymnos, Leros, Lipsi, Patmos and Arki to the north, with Pserimos on the way, or Nisyros, Tilos and Symi to the south. Rhodes is too far for a return in a week; some operators offer it one-way.