Rhodes and Patmos

As far as leaving Rhodes on an early flight to Athens Tuesday -- that is NOT wise if your flight back to the US is also on a Tuesday. Just suppose your domestic plane experiences mechanical troubles (not frequent but possible), and the flight is cancelled (Aegean doesn't have a bunch of spare planes sittlng around in Rhodes airport). Then you would MISS your US-bound flight (nonrefundable. If you miswrote and your flight to US is on Wednesday, then you are OK. Otherwise, re-think.

I took that 5pm ferry to Patmos back in early May 2006 .... it was fun sail, late sunset as we pulled into 2 ports en route. Yes you DO get in at midnight, and I had written down the name of a tiny place Hotel Rex, about 100 yards from the quay. In my searches before, there didn't seem to be any else very close, and we were not eager to walk far after a 7 hour ferry ride. The reception had 3 retired greeks in it, watching TV, two women in black, and an old man, none speaking any English. With sign language we arranged for a twin-bed double @ 20 Euros and walked upstairs. One of the crones got sheets from a cupboard & I had to help her make the beds (I expect this will have changed ... it was very early in off season. I think we were the only 2 people in the place of about 15 rooms. But perfectly nice, crisp clean white sheets ... and right next door in AM was a cafe with fresh-squeezed OJ and yogurt.

I guess this could work, but there are so many things that could go wrong. In addition to airplane issues stranding you on Rhodes, occasionally there are ferry issues too, which could strand you on Patmos. The monastery could possibly be closed on the day you are there.

If you are adventuresome, and everything goes well, then yes, your timing seems to work. The Monastery of St. John was open from about 8 am to noon when we were there a few years ago. Three hours is plenty, even stopping at the cave of the apocalypse on your way back.

Ask your Rhodes B&B about bus times to/from Lindos on Sundays, to make sure you can get back for that 5 pm ferry.

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. Though I've traveled a lot in Europe and Asia, visits to Greek Islands have been by ship. I hadn't thought about the possible complications with air and ferry travel that could be delayed/cancelled. We are rethinking going to Patmos since in addition to the 2 days going there and back would involve, we also need to build in wiggle room for our flight to Athens for our trip to the US.

I appreciate your thoughts!

I think that's a wise decision. If you want to visit another island from Rhodes, there are day trip ferries to/from Symi and Kastellorizo. I would especially recommend Kastellorizo ... it's a gorgeous little island. Here's a link to a hotel website that shows some of the views. The ferries may not run every day. You may need to take this day trip on Sunday, run up to Lindos Monday morning and catch a flight to Athens late that afternoon, to put you back in Athens the day before your flight home (if it is on Tuesday).