Island Hopping Rhodes

Island hopping from Rhodes, as the boats sell it, means one island per day: Symi, a harbour town built around a bay and reached by a cruise of about an hour to two. I compared the five Symi day cruises on GetYourGuide, and for every other boat in the city, see my guide to boat tours in Rhodes. Prices are in US dollars, checked in October 2026, and the booking links are affiliate links, as I explain on my about page. I haven’t been on any of these boats, so I’m comparing listings and review snippets.

My pick for Rhodes island hopping is the Rhodes Sea Lines trip at $62, rated 4.7 from 4,165 reviews. On a budget I’d take Rizos Cruises at $35 (4.3 from 659 reviews), because it includes the swim stop and hotel pickup that the other $35 option leaves out.

Island Hopping from Rhodes Greece

Island hopping from Rhodes Greece is simpler than the phrase suggests, because the listings I found all end back in Rhodes the same day. The five trips look alike on paper, so here they are in one table, with the differences that matter.

Trip	Operator	Price	Duration	Rating	Swim stop	Hotel transfer
High-speed boat to Symi	Rhodes Sea Lines	$62	6 to 9 hours	4.7 (4,165)	Saint George’s Bay, 30 min	Optional
Cruise with hotel transfer	Nautiki Etairia	$62	6 hours	4.7 (3,226)	Saint George’s Bay, 30 min	Optional
Speedboat with free time	Sebeco Lines	$35	7 hours	4.5 (5,796)	None listed	Not listed
Symi cruise, St. George Bay swim	Rizos Cruises	$35	8 hours	4.3 (659)	Saint George’s Bay, 30 min	Included
Symi cruise, optional itinerary	King of Rhodos	$34	8 hours	4.0 (69)	Bay or Nanou Beach, varies	Not listed

All five give a full refund up to 24 hours before the start.

Rizos Cruises

Symi Island Cruise, St. George Bay Swim & Free Time

• ★ 4.3 (659 reviews)
• 8 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: $35 for 8 hours with a swim first, three hours on Symi and hotel pickup included. Rated 4.3 from 659 reviews.

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$35

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The Rizos Cruises trip does the swim on the way out. The listing has 30 minutes at Saint George’s Bay, then about three hours in Symi Harbour, and a return to Rhodes at about 16:30. It includes a cruise, open sundeck, floats, towels, wifi and insurance, but not food or drinks. That makes it the cheapest way I found to combine a swim and a free afternoon in Symi. The cheapest listing is not always the best value for island hopping from Rhodes, because a trip without a swim stop or transfer leaves you to pay for those separately, so I compare what each price includes before the price itself. The review counts help too: three of the five trips have more than 3,000 reviews, and those are the ones I trust most for a first Rhodes island hopping day.

Island Tour Rhodes

Island hopping from Rhodes by boat is really a choice among two pairs of near-twins and one outlier. The two $62 trips, Rhodes Sea Lines and Nautiki Etairia, describe the same experience: boats called Aphrodite with wave-piercing technology and open-air seating, a high-speed cruise of about an hour, three hours in Symi, a 30-minute swim at Saint George’s Bay, swim noodles and hotel transfers from Faliraki, Kalithea, Ixia, Kremasti and Kolymbia. I can’t see a difference in the product itself. What differs is the evidence and the schedule: Nautiki lists departures at 09:00, 11:00 and 15:15 from Mandraki Harbour, with returns at 15:00, 17:00 or 21:00, and adds a map of Symi with recommendations. Rhodes Sea Lines has more reviews and says that in late September and October the swim stop moves to the outward journey.

The two $35 options are different products. Sebeco Lines is a speedboat from Kolona Harbour with an outdoor deck and a closed air-conditioned deck, and the listing includes a guided tour, food and drinks, but no swim stop. One reviewer calls the boat crowded and the crossing choppy, and another says the timing was just enough. Rizos is a slower, longer day with a swim and hotel pickup. Between them I’d choose Rizos if you want to swim and Sebeco if you want the shortest day.

KING OF RHODOS LP

Symi Island Cruise with Optional Itinerary

• ★ 4.0 (69 reviews)
• 8 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The outlier: $34, 8 hours, may include Panormitis Monastery and/or a swim. Only 69 reviews at 4.0, and not for the seasick.

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The King of Rhodos trip is the cheapest at $34 and the least certain. The listing says the experience may include Saint George’s Bay and/or Panormitis Monastery depending on the day’s operation, or Nanou Beach for the swim, and that a guided tour is not offered daily. A reviewer calls it a catamaran trip and mentions the swim in Saint George’s Bay, and another says there were no announcements on board. It has air conditioning and toilets, and the listing says people prone to seasickness should not book. With 69 reviews I’d treat the rating as a first impression.

Rhodes Island Attractions

Searches for Rhodes island attractions are mostly about what to see on land, and a boat only helps with some of it. From the water you see the sights the Sebeco listing names on the way out of the harbour: the castle walls of the old town, the medieval clock, the Marine Gate, the Naillac Tower, the windmills and Saint Nicholas Fortress. On the Maps data Saint Nicholas Fortress and the Medieval City of Rhodes are both within half a kilometre of the Mandraki boat offices, so you can see them before or after a cruise.

On Symi itself, the listings point to the harbour with its pastel neoclassical houses, the waterfront tavernas and, in the Nautiki listing, the island’s shrimp as the dish to try. One Rizos reviewer says the beach is a 15-minute walk from the dock. The King of Rhodos listing mentions the Kali Strata steps for harbour views and local shops that sell sponges. For attractions on the island of Rhodes, the national tourism board’s Visit Greece page is the official starting point.

Rhodes Island Tourism

Rhodes island hopping runs on seasons, and the boats follow it. No Symi listing states an end-of-season date, so if you are travelling at the end of October, ask the operator which departures are still running. The one calendar note in my data is the Rhodes Sea Lines change to the swim stop. The Nautiki 15:15 departure with its 21:00 return reads like a summer schedule, so check that it exists on your date. Sea conditions matter as well: the Sebeco reviewer who said the speedboat can get choppy and the King of Rhodos warning for people prone to seasickness both suggest picking a calm day. The Hellenic National Meteorological Service publishes the forecast for the Aegean.

Plan your free time as well, because Rhodes island hopping is mostly about those hours ashore. Every one of these trips leaves you about three hours in Symi, and that is enough for lunch, the harbour and a short walk, but not for a hike to the far side of the island. A Sebeco reviewer who likes hiking recommends a longer stay, and the listings do not offer one. If a full day on the water is too much, the short east-coast trip on my snorkeling tour page takes 2.5 hours, and if you want a boat of your own, see boat rental in Rhodes. For every option I compared, the guide to island hopping and other boat tours in Rhodes has them side by side, and the Harbour Advisor home page lists the other cities.