HILLTOP TOWN
Chora
A maze of whitewashed mansions and chapels beneath the monastery walls — best at dusk, when the day-trippers have gone.
DISCOVER PATMOS
An island with a quieter rhythm
Patmos is small, sacred and unhurried — an island where a UNESCO-listed monastery crowns the hill, and the best plan most days is a swim, a table and no schedule at all.
Places
Getting to Patmos
- Patmos has no airport — that is part of its calm. Arrive by ferry via Piraeus, or fly to Kos, Samos or Leros and connect by boat.
- Ferries dock at Skala; the family can meet confirmed guests at the port.
- Check seasonal ferry schedules before fixing travel dates — sailings thin out in winter.
When to come
- May–June — wildflowers, warm sea by June, the island at its greenest.
- July–August — full summer; busiest around 15 August and Easter-scale festivities.
- September–October — the family's quiet favourite: warm water, soft light, empty beaches.
Island customs
- Cover shoulders and knees when visiting the monastery and the Cave.
- Lunch runs late, dinner later — book waterfront tables in August.
- Sunday liturgy bells and Easter celebrations shape the island calendar.
Three good days
The sacred day
Cave of the Apocalypse in the morning, the Monastery of Saint John before noon, lunch in Chora's lanes, sunset from the windmills.
The sea day
Day boat from Skala to Psili Ammos or the islets, swim until lunch, taverna on the sand, doze on the way back.
The slow day
No car, no plan: swim off the doorstep in Grikos, walk to Petra, read in the shade, dinner at the nearest table to the water.