These islands are a sailor’s paradise of more than 163 islands and islets!
The Dodecanese means the twelve islands but in fact plenty more!
Dodecanese is actually a group of over 163 islands, and only 26 of those are inhabited. The Islands include 14 larger islands of Astypalea, Rhodes, Kos, Kasos, Karpathos, Lipsos and the traditional sponge divers island of Kalimnos where you can buy some of the best natural sponges in the world, Leros, Nisyros, Khalki, Patmos with its famous Monastery, Symi, Tilos, as well 40 smaller islets and rocks.
It is a rather eclectic mix of wonderful places to go. Chartering a yacht is the best way to go and visit these islands as there are so many.
The Dodecanese are located East of the, West of the coast of Asia Minor, and North-East of Crete. It is an enchanted world, where the sun paints pictures and gives life. The mild winters and refreshing summers give the Dodecanese one of the healthiest climates in the Mediterranean.
You would need a few weeks just to see the major attractions in these islands and what better way to spend a few weeks than on a rental yacht with friends or spouse.
This area with the mild climate, soft breezes and bright sun on crystal clear water is a pleasure to sail in. You can take in all of the natural beauty that this area has to offer while you are on the sea. You can rent a skippered – or crewed boat in order to take trips into the specific islands to get a closer look at all that they have to offer for a fun nightlife, shopping, and ancient sights to behold.
The beaches are sandy and offer trees for shade. They are clean and the beaches can offer you a fun day in the sun, and some beaches like Psili Ammos are only able to be reached by boat, so renting a yacht would be of great use here. Dock your hired boat in the sparkling port and relax and swim on the beach by day, and go back to the luxury motor yacht in the evening.
The islands of the Dodecanese are engaged in a beauty contest with no clear winner.
In the Summer the prevailing wind is the meltemi blowing from a North-West direction at Force 4-6. In Spring and Autumn the wind is less strong and blows from the South-East.
You will find on each island uncounted beautiful beaches and bays that you should not miss. The remotest of the Greek archipelagos the Dodecanese was only incorporated into modern Greece in 1948, after 500 years of occupation by the Latin Knights of St John, the Ottomans, the Italians, the Germans and the British.
Through it all the islanders have retained their Greek cultural identity. The islands’ history has left a legacy of rich and diverse archeological remains.Dry limestone outcrops such as Kalymnos, Symi and Kastellorizo attract those in pursuit of the traditional island life while the sprawling sandy giants of Rhodes and Kos have beaches and bars galore.
One thing is sure; you will want to come back again, and you will absolutely enjoy all of the amenities of a yacht charter when you sail this area of the Seas as you will experience real yacht senses!
Nisyros and Tilos are volcanic, while Astypalea and Patmos at the fringes resemble more the Cyclades. Patmos is island of Religious significance; this is where St John wrote Revelations, the Apocalypse. It is also a popular spot for fun on a sunny beach luxury motor yachts and sailing. There are historical sites to see on this small island, like the Monastery of St John the Theologian, the historic villages with their charming white washed homes. It is full of old world charm and beauty.
This island group is renowned for its temperate climate and long tourist season.
GREECE is a unique place to choose for your summer holidays.
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The Greek islands are an ideal place for summer holidays and the best way to explore them is to rent a charter a sailing boat in Greece.
Greece's Island Groups
Greece's roughly 6,000 islands and islets (227 of which are inhabited) are scattered far and wide across the eastern Mediterranean. Most are in the Aegean Sea (south and east of mainland Greece), while a few are in the Ionian Sea (west of the mainland). The islands are divided into distinct clusters:
The Ionian Islands, are Greece's northwest gateway to the Adriatic and the rest of Europe — they've had more foreign invaders and rulers than anywhere else in the country. The main island is Corfu (Kerkyra in Greek), with a bustling, architecturally eclectic main town and a lush, green islandscape dotted with attractions and beaches.
The Saronic Gulf Islands ( Argosaronikos ), conveniently wedged between the Peloponnese and Athens, ooze lots of island charm and give you a chance to get away from it all without actually going very far. Hydra, my favorite, is in this group.
The Sporades Islands, due east of Athens, are dominated by the giant Evia island, which is attached to the mainland by a bridge. Thickly forested and less touristed by international visitors, the Sporades are a popular and handy weekend getaway for Athenians.
The Cycladic Islands (or simply Cyclades ) — a bit farther south, between Athens and Crete — are the prototypical "Greek islands," boasting chalk-white houses with colorful windowsills and doorways; rocky, sun-parched landscapes; delightful beaches; old-fashioned white windmills topped with tufts of grass like unkempt hair; and an almost overwhelming crush of international visitors. Mykonos and Santorini are the two best and most famous of the Cyclades. Near Mykonos is the archaeological site of Delos (one of the most important locales of the ancient world).
The Dodecanese Islands, at the sunny, southeastern end of the Greek lands, are more rustic and less developed than the Cyclades. Their proximity to Turkey and historic ties to Venice give them a hybrid Turkish-Venetian flavor (though the population is mostly ethnic Greek, these islands merged with Greece only after World War II). Rhodes, with an appealing and very real-feeling Old Town, is the biggest of these islands.
The North Aegean Islands, relatively untrampled and remote-feeling, lie roughly between Turkey and Thessaloniki (at the northern end of mainland Greece). The southernmost of these, Samos, is a particularly handy springboard for Turkey, as it's very close to the Turkish port city of Kusadas? (near the remarkable ancient site of Ephesus).
Crete is Greece's biggest island and practically a mini-state of its own (in fact, from 1897 to 1913 it was an autonomous state within the Ottoman Empire). While many of Greece's smaller islands merit a day or two of fun in the sun, Crete could occupy even a busy traveler for a week or more. Historically, Crete was home to the Minoans — the earliest advanced European civilization, peaking around 1950 B.C., centuries before "the ancient Greeks" of Athens. While Crete's modern main city, Iraklio, is drab and uninviting, the rest of the island offers an engaging diversity of attractions: Minoan ruins, scenic mountains, enticing beaches, characteristic rustic villages, and dramatic caves and gorges (including the famous Samaria Gorge).
Even if you are having no sailing experience we can offer you a sailing yacht with a captain.
Experienced sailors can enjoy the strong winds in the Aegean Sea, while others might choose the mild winds and safer bays of Argosaronicos Gulf, Sporades islands or the Ionian Sea. In few words, sailing in Greece can offer all the pleasure a sailor might seek in summer holidays.
