Panagia Skiadeni in 2019, she’ll look at lot less orange by the time she gets to Symi this year.
This week has seen the timetable announcements by SAOS Ferries and most importantly ANES Ferries for this summer. We now have times from now right through to late October, and I’ve started compiling the summary timetables. Basically for July, August and September there will be at least 3 ferries every day between Rhodes and Symi, and between Symi and Rhodes. On some days there will be 4 or even 5 sailings.
I’m working on May, June and October and will add these to this post when they are ready.
For those who do not know Symi well, Blue Star use the new quay by the petrol station, SAOS and Dodekanisos Seaways use moorings at the Clock Tower, and ANES moor near the bus terminus. The Rhodes mooring points are shown in the summary timetables.
Dodekanisos Express in new livery. Photo Dodekanisos Seaways Dodekanisos Seaways have now released their timetable through to late October and it is bookable up to late September. As predicted, once Panagia Skiadeni resumes service (now on 1 July), the two catamarans avoid Symi altogether. Until then there will be three catamaran sailings a week. Both have now been repainted in the new livery with more blue and white, and a lot less orange. Panagia Skiadeni is now away at Piraeus for annual overhaul and will be repainted at the same time.
July, August, and September will see a daily service between Rhodes and Symi, operating direct both ways, northbound in the morning, southbound in the evening, Panormitis will be visited in the slack time in the middle of the day on 5 days a week.
SAOS Ferries usual terrible communications policy continues. While we would expect Stavros to resume service soon with much the same timetable as the last two years (because they have a 3 year contract with the government), there is no indication as to when this might happen, nor does their online booking system work, even after 2 years. The ship itself is fine, though.
The word on the street is that ANES ferries has won the contract for daily morning departures from Symi with evening departures from Rhodes, and the Sebecco will reappear in Yialos soon to run them. I’m waiting for confirmation of this.
Finally, there’s Blue Star. They released their summer timetables months ago and online booking is possible. Much the same as in previous years, though watch out for odd gaps in the Monday sailings.
Once the ANES and SAOS details are firmed up, I’ll produce the usual combined timetable.
There seems little point in doing this for flights to Rhodes as short notice Covid-19 regulation changes in the many different countries served mean that the timetables would be obsolete by the time I’d done them. Maybe 2022?
