Did you know that there are more than 10 Greek islands that you can visit directly from Türkiye? It’s true! If you want to escape the overcrowded beaches of Antalya or try something other than the usual Mykonos-Milos-Santorini circuit, why not go island hopping from Turkey to Greece?
There are a few reasons why you should go island hopping. There are tons of ferry routes from Turkey to Greece, many ferries are less than an hour, and you’ll get to check out amazing and lesser-known destinations like the beautiful mastic villages of Chios, the neo-classical buildings in Symi, or the idyllic landscapes of Patmos.
If all this sounds great but the logistics seem a bit daunting, then no worries — this blog post will help!
We’ll go over the Greek islands closest to Turkey, how to get from Turkey to Greece, how to plan your ferry trips, and a little summary of each island! We originally wanted to title this post, Everything We Wish We Knew When We Traveled To Our First Greek Island From Türkiye, but that’s kind of long, isn’t it? 🙂
We hope this post will help you plan your own unforgettable island-hopping adventure between Turkey and Greece!
A Short Introduction to The Greek Islands
If you’re completely new to the Greek Islands and can’t tell the Cyclades from the Sporades, then don’t worry — this section was written for you. 🙂
In a nutshell, Greece has six main island ‘groups’. From west to east, they are Ionian, Saronic, Sporades, Cyclades, North Aegean, and Dodecanese. You can also check the map above to get a better visual.
If you’re traveling from Turkey to Greece by ferry, the most accessible islands are those in the North Aegean and Dodecanese groups, since they’re the closest to Turkey. Here’s a quick overview of each:
North Aegean Islands
The North Aegean islands are a great choice if you prefer a laid-back vacation with plenty of local character. They’re typically overlooked by most tourists due to their distance, which means fewer crowds and a more authentic experience! These islands are also known to be larger than their counterparts, so you can easily spend your entire vacation exploring one or two islands.
The North Aegean islands are typically characterized by their volcanic and mountainous terrain, as well as a variety of beaches (pebble, sand, black volcanic sand, etc).
The culture of these islands is an interesting mix of Greek, Byzantine, Ottoman, and even Genoese, as some of the islands (like Chios) were under the control of the Genoese.
Here is a list of the islands that make up the North Aegean island group (the names highlighted in red are the islands you can visit from Türkiye):
Agios Efstratios, Chios, Icaria, Lesbos (Lesvos), Lemnos, Oinousses + Pasas, Psara, Samos, Fournoi, Samothrace, and Thassos.
Dodecanese Islands
Located in the southeastern part of the Aegean Sea, this island chain is famous for its medieval history and architecture (especially Rhodes and Kos), as the Knights of St. John used the islands as their base.
The Dodecanese are famous for their sandy beaches and rocky coves. There’s also a nice mix of small- and medium-sized islands, which makes it easy to island hop and see different islands on your trip. Of course, the exception is Rhodes, which is the largest Dodecanese island and could easily warrant a stand-alone trip!
Although the name literally translates to ‘12 islands,’ there are actually 15 major islands and some 100 smaller islets in this group!
Those 15 major islands are the following (the names highlighted in red are the islands you can visit from Türkiye):
Agathonisi, Astypalaia, Chalki, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kastellorizo (Meis), Kos, Lipsi, Leros, Nisyros, Patmos, Rhodes, Symi, and Tilos.
Planning Your Trip: What You Need to Know
Alright, now that you have a basic overview of the Greek islands, let’s move onto the logistic side and plan your trip to the Greek islands! Let’s go step by step through the basics:
The Best Time to Island Hop from Turkey to Greece
The best time to visit will depend on a few factors, such as what you want to do, how many crowds you can handle, your budget, and so on.
Generally, the Greek islands follow the same “tourist schedule” as Turkey — the shoulder season is April/May and September/October, and the high season is in the summer (June through August).
If you want fewer crowds and better deals, we recommend the shoulder season (April/May or September/October).
If you want to relax on the beach and enjoy the nightlife, then your best bet is summer (June to August).
⭐️ Travel Tip: When planning your trip, be sure to check the dates of Ramadan and Greek Orthodox Easter. Ramadan in Türkiye means many Turkish locals will go on vacation (including to the Greek islands), while Greek Orthodox Easter means Greece will be much quieter than usual (and some places may be closed).
Required Documents
Whether you’re traveling from Türkiye to Greece or visa versa, you’ll be crossing an international border — so it’s important to have a visa (if needed) and bring your passport!
Before setting off on your trip, check to see if you need a Schengen visa to enter Greece, or if traveling vice versa, check if you need a visa to Türkiye.
Planning Your Itinerary
After choosing your dates and making sure your documents are valid, it’s time to start planning the ‘island hopping’ part of your adventure! Here are some tips to keep in mind:
🧿 Decide on the trip length — Do you want to do a day trip, a weekend trip, or an entire week of island hopping? Of course, this also depends on the island and ferry schedules. For example, Bodrum to Kos is a very popular day trip that you can do in a few hours, whereas Rhodes is a huge island and requires at least a few days (if not a week!)
🧿 Day trip prices — Speaking of day trips… Many ferry companies offer better deals if you buy a same-day return ticket (called ‘Excursion Tickets’) versus two separate tickets. Let’s take the example of Bodrum to Kos: a same-day return costs 32 EUR, versus 42 EUR if you buy two separate tickets. Also factor in that you’ll need a hotel if you’re staying overnight!
🧿 Check the “day off” — This tip is especially important if you’re doing a day trip! When planning your itinerary, do a quick search and make sure you don’t arrive during the ‘off day’ when museums, cafes, and the places you want to visit aren’t closed. We made this mistake on our first trip to Kos, which we visited on a Tuesday. Turns out, Tuesdays are when many businesses take their well-deserved break!
🧿 Weekdays vs Weekends — If you prefer a more peaceful island-hopping experience, consider traveling during the weekdays, when ferry lines and tourist attractions tend to be less crowded than on weekends.
Booking Your Ferry Tickets
Now it’s time to talk about booking ferry tickets. 🙂
🧿 Some routes don’t sail every day — Keep this very important travel tip when planning your trip! Some routes may only sail a few times a week, or in the low season (November to April), there may be no sailings at all! This reminded us of another story, where we wanted to travel from Marmaris to Rhodes in April, but there was only one sailing a week.
🧿 Book your ticket in advance! — Ahh, the golden rule. It would be a shame to make an awesome itinerary and find out that tickets are sold out for your travel day. ;(
🧿 Our favorite ferry ticket tool — We love using Ferryhopper’s map feature when planning our island hopping trips (between Greece and Turkey, and beyond :)).
The interface is easy to use, super helpful, and very convenient (especially if you’re a visual person). You can also book multiple trips at the same time (for example, Kușadası – Samos – Fourni – Mykonos).
Which Greek Islands Can You Visit From Turkey?
Now comes the fun part — deciding which Greek island(s) you want to visit!
To make it easier, we’ve created a helpful table of all the Greek islands that you can visit from Turkish port cities. For example, if you’re departing from Bodrum, there are direct ferries to Leros, Kos, Symi, and Rhodes.
❗️ Please keep in mind that these routes may not operate every day (i.e. due to low season) and/or routes may change— this is just a quick visual to get you started. 🙂
| Turkish Port City | Greek Island Destination(s) |
|---|---|
| Ayvalık | Lesvos |
| Dikili | Lesvos |
| Çeşme | Chios |
| Kuşadası | Samos (Vathy or Pythagoreio), Patmos |
| Didim | Leros (Lakki or Ag. Marina), Kos |
| Bodrum | Leros (Lakki or Ag. Marina), Kos, Symi, Rhodes |
| Turgutreis | Leros (Lakki), Kalymnos, Kos |
| Marmaris | Rhodes |
| Fethiye | Rhodes |
| Kaş | Kastellorizo (Meis) |
If you’re planning to island hop, we also recommend using Ferryhopper’s map widget to see which other destinations you can visit after your first island. For example, let’s say you depart from Çeşme and travel to Chios. From Chios, you can go to Evdilos → Mykonos → and finally land in Piraeus (Athens). Cool, huh?
Anyway, we took all of the Greek islands you can visit from Türkiye and wrote a little summary about each. You can check them below. 🙂
North Aegean Islands
📌 Chios — This charming little island is famous for its mastic, windmills, and citrus (an interesting combination!). There are more than well-preserved 20 medieval villages, with the most famous being Pyrgi thanks to its unique architecture and design. In fact, we’d say that Chios is a great ‘starter’ destination because it has a little bit of everything — all packaged into one small island!
How long do you need? Chios can easily be seen in 2 days — perfect for a long weekend!
Must-see places: Mastic Museum, Citrus Museum, Mastic Villages (Pyrgi, Olimpi, Mesta)
Read more: 2- Day Chios Itinerary
📌Lesbos (Lesvos) — Lesvos is famous for being the biggest island in the North Aegean group (and the third-largest Greek island overall!). It’s also known as the Green Island thanks to its lush forests and plenty of natural attractions (caves, waterfalls, and beaches included), as well as being the birthplace of ouzo.
How long do you need? A minimum of 3 days, although you could easily fill a week.
Must-see places: Petrified Forest, Molyvos Old Town & Castle, Skala Sikamineas, Therma Spa
Read more: Lesvos – Ayvalık Ferry Guide, Levos 3 Day Itinerary
📌Samos — While Samos has all the hallmarks of a nice vacation (beaches, culture, sites), it’s especially an excellent destination for foodies! The island is famous for its winemaking (a tradition that goes back 2,000 years) and local Greek cuisine. It’s also famous for hidden coves, mountain villages, and ancient sites (Aesop the storyteller was born here).
How long do you need? At least 3 days
Must-see places: Potami Waterfalls, Manolates village, Kokkari
Dodecanese Islands
📌 Kalymnos — If Samos is for foodies, then Kalymnos is definitely a destination for adventurers. While the island was originally famous for its sponge divers, in recent years Kalymnos got a reputation as being one of the best rock climbing destinations in the world. Besides that, the island has about a dozen hiking and walking paths, plus diving and snorkeling sites, and boat trips. How’s that for an active vacation?
How long do you need? 2 to 3 days if just visiting; up to a week if rock climbing and/or hiking.
Must-see places: Chrysocheria Castle, Grande Grotta, Agios Savvas Monastery, Telendos Island
📌 Kastellorizo (Meis) — Ah, the cute little island of Kastellorizo (or Meis). If there’s one phrase to describe it, we would say an island of contrasts. 🙂 For starters, Kastellorizo is the island furthest from the Greek mainland, yet just 2 kilometers away from Türkiye. It doesn’t stop there: the island’s name, Megisti, means ‘biggest,’ yet ironically it’s the smallest island in the Dodecanese!
Kastellorizo’s small 12 km2 size means you can see it on a day trip — the island’s main town features a picturesque harbor, cute cafes, and posh tavernas, as well as a few well-preserved churches.
How long do you need? Perfect for a day trip
Must-see places: Blue Grotto, Kastellorizo Port, Ro Island, Paliokastro Fortress
📌 Kos — Ancient history, a lively promenade, and various beaches make Kos a well-rounded getaway. Whether you’re visiting as a day trip (it’s one of the most popular day trips from Bodrum!) or for a few days, this island’s interesting mix of Greek, Byzantine, Venetian, and Ottoman culture will delight.
How long do you need? You can either do Kos as a quick day trip from Bodrum, or explore the island on a 2-4 day trip
Must-see places: Kos Town & Waterfront, Ancient Agora, Archaeological Museum, Palio Pyli Castle, Zia Village (if longer)
Read more: Bodrum to Kos Day Trip, Bodrum to Kos Ferry Guide
📌 Leros — This island’s easygoing atmosphere is so legendary that it earned the nickname Laidback Leros! With cute little villages, sandy beaches, and a compact size, you’ll definitely enjoy a laidback trip to the island. 🙂
Besides all of the aforementioned things, it feels like the entire island has a beautiful pastel-white Instagram filter, making it perfect for photographers and those who find beauty in simplicity and natural charm.
How long do you need? 2 to 3 days is a good start — add a few more if you want to relax on the beaches
Must-see places: Flour Mill, Agia Marina, Agios Isidoros Chapel, Panteli Castle
📌 Patmos — One of our Greek friends once joked that Patmos is ‘neither here nor there,’ meaning, it’s kind of away from other Greek islands, there’s no airport, and takes a bit longer to travel from Türkiye. However, that’s also part of the charm, as it’s very quiet and peaceful. In fact, it was even voted “Europe’s most idyllic place to live” in 2009 by Forbes!
The capital, Hora (Chora) is a lovely blend of history and culture, but the island’s main claim to fame is that Saint John the Theologian allegedly received a part of the bible (in the Cave of the Apocalypse). There’s also a winery on the island, plus a nice mix of beaches and secret coves.
How long do you need? 2 days is a good start
Must-see places: Cave of the Apocalypse, Hora (Chora), Monastery of Saint John, Skala town
📌 Rhodes — Rhodes has a lot going for it: it’s the largest of the Dodecanese islands, it was home to one of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World (the Colossus of Rhodes, if you’re wondering), and it even has a UNESCO World Heritage Site! How’s that for impressive? 😉
While the Medieval Old Town is a must-see (it’s the oldest inhabited medieval city in Europe!), there are also dozens of other amazing attractions like Lindos (a picturesque village), Filerimos Hill and Monastery (beautiful architecture), Agios Pavlos Beach, and more. You can even add a day trip to Symi! Speaking of which…
How long do you need? At least 3 days, but a week is ideal to really see everything
Must-see places: Medieval Old Town, Butterfly Valley, Lindos, Street of the Knights
📌 Symi — They say the best things come in small packages, and that’s particularly true with Symi — this 65 sq. km island is bursting with neo-classical buildings, crystal clear beaches, sweet little cypress-lined villages, and shrimp (seriously, Symi is famous for its unique shrimp!)
How long do you need? Symi is a popular day trip, although 2 days is ideal
Must-see places: Yialos port, take a boat tour, Monastery of Panormitis
Next-Level Travel Tips
You know about the island, you’ve picked a destination (or two, or three…) and you’re ready to take that much-needed vacation. But wait, we have one last secret section!
Now that we’ve got the basics down, we can teach you some next-level travel tips to make your island hopping even better! 🙂
🧿 Check multiple departure points — If you’re on a budget, sometimes it may be cheaper to visit your destination from a different city. It’s easier if we illustrate this with an example. Let’s say you wanted to travel to Rhodes — you could either depart from Marmaris, which is 50 EUR per person… or you could take a 2-hour trip over to Fethiye, where you’ll only pay 25 EUR per person!
🧿 Consider island hopping your route — Another budget hack. 🙂
Let’s say you want to go from Bodrum to Rhodes, which is about 55 EUR per person. Instead of taking the direct route, you could start in Bodrum, take a ferry to Kos, then to Symi, then Rhodes… for a total of 31 EUR! (17 EUR from Bodrum – Kos, 9 EUR from Kos to Symi, 5 EUR from Symi to Rhodes)
By doing a little island hopping, it ended up cheaper and you got to see 2 extra islands!
🧿 Be the first one off the boat — One of the first things we learned when traveling from Turkey to Greece by ferry was to be the first one off the boat. Seriously, we even wrote about it in our Bodrum to Kos Ferry Guide. Some ports are located in the open, and you definitely don’t want to be standing under the scorching sun for 1+ hour. 🥲
🧿 It’s much easier to travel between Greek islands once you’re already in Greece — Besides being cheaper, you’ll have so many more options once you’re already in Greece. This is because some islands don’t have passport control kiosks, and technically can’t process arrivals directly from Türkiye.
🧿 A little travel hack… — We know that this blog post mainly talks about ferries, but if you don’t want to spend hours on a ferry, then you can cheat and take a flight. 😉
For example, we wanted to travel from Chios to Lesvos, but the ferry was 3 hours. Since we didn’t want to waste our vacation time, we opted for a direct flight, which was only 30 minutes and just 10 EUR more expensive (and we got to fly in a cool ATR 42 plane!)
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