Categories: Travel

Greek Islands Notes – Simi (Symi)

Where to stay:

Elpida Mayoleskov Symi rents a room in the center. Elpida's got a cage in the harbor, and that's where we met. She was a very sweet, welcoming lady, her father was born in Izmir and then immigrated to Athens. Elpida has lived in Symi for 30 years. His wife's name is Yannis. They've both been very good and friendly to us.

Tel: 22460 71032, Email: elpidacha@yahoo.gr

We stayed for 3 days in 2010. We loved them and Symi so much that in 2011, we took our little baby Aegean and went straight to Symi and stayed in the same house for about 2 weeks. Elpida and Yannis treated us like family, loved the Aegean, sent us to Turkey with our hands full of gifts. And when we told us we wanted to rent a car to get a ride, they lent us their own cars.

The house we stayed in was one of the most beautiful places we stayed on all the Greek islands we visited!

This is a detached house, the building belongs to Elpida and his brother, there are 4 apartments of different sizes in the building. Two of them are Elpida's, the other two are your brother's. We stayed in Elpida's big apartment. The house is located in a much better location than other hotels and hostels in Symi, a 5-minute walk from the beach and the port. There's an old boat in front of him called Lazy Days. The yellow building right behind the boat in the picture below.

The apartment we stayed in was a big two-story place. Upstairs there's a large bedroom with double beds and two single beds outside. Downstairs there is a kitchen section under the stairs, a large lounge, a balcony and a small bathroom with a shower cabin. There's another sofa bed in the lounge and the balcony has sea views and fixed sunvising. The beauty of this house is that it takes the sun in the morning and then has a shadow, so there's no such thing as cooking from the sun in the afternoon.

This house is ideal for families. They also give you a baby bed if you want to go with the baby. They even gave us two separate baby beds for the lower floor and the upper floor.

Elpida's other apartment has a single room for two beds, but this room looks on the side of the building, so the sea view is limited.

The prices were quite affordable, in 2010 the small room was €45 per night, the large apartment was €60 a night, we bargained and stayed at €50.

Unfortunately, there's no internet in the room.

Odyssia Apartments

Alternative apart can be weddingd as a hotel. It's very close to the houses elpida rented. They run a sweet family here, and they run a café downstairs. Rooms are smaller but more modern than the other. The only problem is that it gets sun all day long, obviously we didn't choose.

Tel: 0030 22460 72642

www.symi-odyssia.gr

There's the internet here.

HOTEL PEDI BEACH SYMI

We didn't stay here, but we wondered and went to Pedi Beach. It consists of a beach and several restaurants in a remote location in the city centre, which is accessible by car. It came to us, frankly, a little distant and isolated.

Tel: 0030 24171981

Where to enter the sea

beach in the city center:

On foot on the island, only the beach close to the hostel can enter the sea, asking for €3 per person for sun lounger umbrella money. But if you sit at a table in the restaurant next door and eat and drink there, you don't have to pay that kind of price. Don't expect much from this beach, it's small and crowded on weekends and afternoons.

Marathounda Beach

You can reach this beach by road. Nice restaurant, I recommend goat dishes.

It's already full of goats around the restaurant asking you to come and give you bread.

Cruise:

However, we are in the second world war. Nowadays we have a daily boat trip, €40 per person, floats in 4 places and barbecues are held for lunch. The boat leaves the port at 10:30 and returns at 5:30 p.m. On our tour we swam in cave, St.Vassilos, Sesclia Island, St. George bays, but there are other bays, you can find different tour routes on different days. The bays we swam in were amazing, there's no way to get to them by car or walk. We can say that the most beautiful sea was in Symi. The bays are virgin, immaculate and clear.

We loved the boat trip, i highly recommend it. The top floor of the boat is quieter and drier, the waves can come downthere. So if you're going to take a boat trip, choose the top floor of the boat. The boat we boarded was called Poseidon and you can find it at the port. There's a lot of boats like this.

Sea Taxi

In addition, there are daily boats (sea taxi) who pay €8.5 per person and leave certain swimming bays in the morning (10,11 and 12) and take them in the evening (4.5 and 6 pm).

We didn't have time to try it, so it could swim in different places.

Where to Eat

There aren't many restaurants to recommend, but make sure you eat Symi Shrimps. Very Successful Little Crusty Prawns Are Roasting, Boiling Crispy With Its Shell, Very Tasty

Taverna Restaurant O Meraklis
Tel: 0030 22460 71003

It's a good alternative for dinner.
Odyssia Apartments

Breakfast and desserts are very successful

Tzbar

Cocktails are successful and internet access is available.

Restaurant on the Beach

Ideal for lunch, an old aunt cooks the food.

Be sure to try stuffed, wrapping dishes.

Grill House

Ideal for cheap and snack meals. It's a tiny place, usually a place where the island's natives come from. They make beautiful Gyros.

Bakery in Panormitis

You can walk down the alley just behind the monastery in Panormitis, on the alley next door.

Here you must definitely eat dessert, you can find a very fresh and varied dessert, doughnuts and bread varieties.

Restaurant at Marathounda Beach

Be sure to eat goat meat here.

Market

There are a few markets on the island. But I recommend the Emporio Supermarket in the harbor. Owner Maria is very sympathetic and friendly. You can find almost anything. Those who come by boat are usually shopping here.

Transportation

1) You can reach the island of Symi via Kos or Rhodes (Rhodes).

A very popular island is therefore possible to switch from these two islands to Symi every day after June.

You can use the Greek Ferries link below to be sure.

http://greeceferries.com

2) Switch from Datca to Symi

There's a switch from Datca to Symi on Saturdays at 3:00. And the following week, you can move from Symi to Datca at 10:30. I found the following two companies, but switching symi over Rhodes or Kos makes more sense and flexibility.

Knidos Travel: 0090 252 7129464

Seher Tour: 0090 252 7122473

Datca – Symi one way was €25.

Burcu