Patmos, a monastic week
A single-island trip for stillness rather than sightseeing. One base, short walks between the port, the Chora and the bays, and evenings with almost nothing scheduled.
- Length
- 6 days · 5 nights
- Months
- May – October
- Stops
- 3
The route on a map
1 · 2 nights
Skala, Patmos
The island's port and main village, with ferry connections and good tavernas along the waterfront.
2 · 3 nights
Chora, Patmos
Sea-captains' houses beneath the Monastery of St John, a monastic centre for nine hundred years.
3 · A day here
Grikos, Patmos
A curved bay south of Skala, good for a slow lunch and a swim.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrive Patmos
Sleep · Skala
Reached by ferry from Kos or Leros; settle in and walk the harbour front in the evening.
Day 2
The Cave of the Apocalypse
Sleep · Skala
A morning visit halfway up the road to Chora, followed by a swim at Melloi beach.
Day 3
Move up to Chora
Sleep · Chora
A short taxi up; the afternoon for the monastery's museum and treasury, the evening for the quiet lanes.
Day 4
Chora on foot
Sleep · Chora
A slow day around the stepped streets, with sunset from the monastery walls.
Day 5
Grikos and the southern coves
Sleep · Chora
Lunch by the water at Grikos, and an afternoon boat to Psili Ammos at the island's southern tip.
Day 6
Departure
Departure
A morning ferry from Skala connecting onward to Kos or Leros for flights.