Guide · Beaches

Symi beaches, from the harbor to the bays you reach by boat

Symi has no long sandy strands. It has pebble coves, small sandy bays and beaches under cliffs, many of them reached only by water. These are the Symi beaches worth knowing, with how to get to each and what you find there.

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Editorial team, symiboattrip.comUpdated October 18, 2026Reading time 6 min27 sources

On this topic: the tour Rhodes to Symi high-speed boat with swim stop 4.7 (3,658 reviews) 6 to 9 hours3 hours of free time on Symi30-minute swim at St George's Bay from$69per person Check availabilityFree to cancel until one day before

In short

01Closest: Nos, next to the harbor of Gialos, with umbrellas and sun beds.¹
02Easy and sandy: Agios Nikolaos, with shallow clear water and a taverna.²
03By taxi boat: Pedi is the starting point for boats to other beaches.³
04By sea only: St George's Bay, Nanou, Maroni and Agios Vasileios.⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷
05On a day trip: This site's boat swims 30 minutes at St George's Bay.

How the coast is laid out

Symi is steep and rocky, and its beaches sit where the mountains break into bays. Some are close to the town and easy to reach; others lie at the end of a long road or have no road at all. The Municipality of Symi and Dodekanisos Seaways both describe several of the best bays as reachable only from the sea, which is why boats matter here more than cars.⁸ ⁵

The village of Pedi is the hinge of the system. It lies 2 kilometers from Chora, with olive trees, vineyards and a beach, and the municipality describes it as the starting point for other beaches, either by taxi boat or on foot.⁹ ³ A bus called Lakis runs between Gialos, Chorio and Pedi, so you can get there without a car.¹⁰

If you are on a day trip, adjust your expectations. A day boat from Rhodes gives you the harbor town and one swim stop, not a tour of the coast. The beaches on this page are a reason to stay a night or two, or to choose a boat with a longer swim.

Nos: the beach next to the harbor

The closest swim to the boats is Nos beach on Symi. Dodekanisos Seaways says it is located next to Gialos and easy to reach, organized with umbrellas and sun beds.¹ The municipality adds that it is a beautiful and popular beach with a snack bar, a little beyond Charani, quiet even though it is the busiest on the island.¹¹

That makes Nos the one beach you can realistically use during a short visit. If your boat gives you 3 hours and the climb up the Kali Strata does not tempt you, a swim at Nos and lunch by the water is a different and very pleasant way to spend the time.

Go early in your visit and watch the clock. The beach is small, and in high summer the sun beds fill. Keep your clothes and valuables close, and leave enough time to walk back along the harbor and be on board well before your boat leaves.

Beach by beach

How to reach each beach, and what is there

Beach	Getting there	Facilities
Nos	Walk from Gialos	Umbrellas, sun beds
Pedi	Bus or road	Many amenities
Agios Nikolaos	From Pedi	Sun beds, taverna, bar
Agia Marina	On foot or taxi boat	Sun beds, bar-restaurant
St George's Bay	By sea only	None
Nanou	By sea only	Sun beds, taverna
Marathounda	By car	Taverna, shops

From the Municipality of Symi and Dodekanisos Seaways.¹ ¹² ¹³ ¹⁴ ⁸ ⁵ ¹⁵

Beach days by boat or van

St George's swim, Toli by van or Seskli by yacht

Rhodes: High-Speed Boat to Symi Island & Saint George's Bay

Day trip

St George's swim

Fast boat from Rhodes

Swim: 30 minutes
On Symi: 3 hours
Price: from $69

See details

Beach day

Toli Bay by van

From Gialos

At the bay: About 5.5 hours
Days: Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun
Price: from $12

See details

Rhodes: Symi Yacht Tour with Unlimited Drinks and Transfer

Two swims

Seskli by yacht

From Rhodes

Swims: St George Bay, Seskli
Guests: Up to 25
Price: from $150

See details

Decision helper

Find your beach

Start from what you need most

Nos

Next to the harbor where the boats dock.¹

Agios Nikolaos

Shallow, clean water and a taverna.²

St George's Bay

Reached only by sea, below a vertical rock.⁴

Nanou

Sun beds and a taverna, by sea.⁵

Marathounda

One of the few beaches with a road.¹⁵

a paradise island that is the ideal destination for one day excursion and sea exploration, due to its rich seabed and beautiful waters.

Dodekanisos SeawaysSource 16

Pedi, Agios Nikolaos and Agia Marina

Pedi beach on Symi sits right next to the village, and Dodekanisos Seaways calls it one of the most famous and cosmopolitan beaches of the island, with clear blue water and many amenities.¹² The municipality notes that Pedi has several small beaches and serves as the base for reaching others.³ It is the most practical place to stay if you want a few beach days.

From the Pedi side you can reach Agios Nikolaos, a sandy beach that the municipality calls particularly popular for its shallow, clean water and its facilities, with sun beds and a taverna.² Dodekanisos Seaways describes sand with fine pebbles, turquoise water, umbrellas, a taverna and a beach bar.¹³ Shallow water makes it an easy choice for families.

Agia Marina is the picture-postcard one. Dodekanisos Seaways describes a small sandy beach in a bay with a rocky islet and a church at its entrance, organized with sun beds, umbrellas and a bar-restaurant.¹⁷ The municipality places the islet on the north side of the entrance to Pedi bay and says it is reached on foot or by taxi boat, with water very safe for children.¹⁴

Map

From the harbors of Rhodes to the bays of Symi

The crossing from Rhodes, the island with its beaches and the monastery in the south, then a close look at the harbor and the steps up to Chorio.

Map of the sea between the north-east coast of Rhodes and the island of Symi — Rhodes to Symi

Map of Symi from Gialos and Pedi in the north to Panormitis in the south — Around the island

Street map of the harbor of Gialos, the Kali Strata steps and the upper village of Chorio — Gialos and Chorio

1
Rhodes town (Mandraki and Kolona)
This site's boat leaves from Mandraki Harbor, and Sebeco Lines' speedboat from Kolona Harbor.
In Google Maps ↗
2
Faliraki
Faliraki Sea Lines picks up from four stops on the beach, the first at 10:00.
In Google Maps ↗
3
Kolymbia
A boarding option for this site's tour and the start of a Kolymbia boat to the island.
In Google Maps ↗
4
Gialos
The harbor of Symi, where SP Cruises' boat ties up; the merchants and captains of the island once lived here.¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
5
Chorio
The oldest part of town, gathered around the castle and joined to the harbor by 500 stone steps.¹⁹
In Google Maps ↗
6
Nos
An organized beach next to Gialos, with umbrellas and sun beds.¹
In Google Maps ↗
7
Emporios
The second harbor of the island, with a few houses and a beach with a taverna.²⁰
In Google Maps ↗
8
Pedi
A seaside village 2 km from Chora; taxi boats leave from here for other beaches.⁹ ³
In Google Maps ↗
9
Agios Nikolaos
A sandy beach with shallow, clear water and a taverna.²
In Google Maps ↗
10
Agia Marina
A small sandy beach facing a rocky islet with a church.¹⁷
In Google Maps ↗
11
St George's Bay
Agios Georgios Dysalonas: a beach below a sheer cliff on the east coast, reached only from the sea.⁴
In Google Maps ↗
12
Nanou
A pebble bay with a taverna, reached only from the sea.⁵
In Google Maps ↗
13
Marathounda
One of the few beaches on the island that you can drive to.¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
14
Panormitis Monastery
The most important religious monument of the island, on the south-west side among cypress and pine.²¹ ²²
In Google Maps ↗
15
Clock Tower
The stone clock of 1881 on the waterfront, the first sight on arrival.²³
In Google Maps ↗
16
Kali Strata
A set of 500 wide steps between the harbor and Chorio.²⁴
In Google Maps ↗
17
Castle
Built in the 14th century by the Knights of St. John on the ruins of a Byzantine castle.²⁵
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

A beach bag for Symi

Take

Hat and sun cream, shade is scarce
Plenty of water
Water shoes for pebbles and rocks

Plan

The bus to Pedi, or a taxi boat
The return time of your taxi boat
A bag to carry your rubbish back

Cost calculator

What a beach day costs your group

Pick a beach outing and your group size.

St George's swimFrom Rhodesfrom $69 Toli Bay by vanFrom Gialosfrom $12 Seskli by yachtFrom Rhodesfrom $150

People 2

Total from$137

per participant from $69

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Totals multiply each boat's lowest per-person fare on GetYourGuide by your group, converted at the European Central Bank rate; the checkout shows the binding sum.

Video

Symi Beaches & Taxi Boats

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The bays you reach only by sea

The most famous of these is St George's Bay, Agios Georgios Dysalonas, which the municipality calls the largest and most impressive beach of the island because of the vertical cliff behind it.⁴ It is reached only from the sea and has no facilities.⁸ It is the swim stop of this site's boat, 30 minutes in the water on the way home.

Nanou beach on Symi is another sea-only bay. The municipality considers it the best pebble beach of the island, with a vertical rock on one side, sun beds to rent and a taverna.⁵ Dodekanisos Seaways describes cypress trees, tall hills around the bay and a magnificent seabed.²⁶

Further still, Maroni is reached only by boat, with a pine forest behind the beach.⁶ Agios Vasileios is quiet and isolated, with dark sand and a few trees, reached only by sea and used for nudism.⁷ The islet of Seskli is a day out of its own for its seabed and clear water.¹⁶

Beaches you can drive to

Only a few of the island's beaches have a road. The municipality names Marathounda beach on Symi as one of the few reachable by car, with very clear water and a large taverna.¹⁵ Dodekanisos Seaways describes it as a small and fairly isolated pebble bay with amenities and shops.²⁷

Emporios, also called Nimborio, is the island's second harbor, with a small settlement and a beach with a taverna.²⁰ The guided e-bike tour from Gialos ends its loop there, after the windmills, Chorio and Pedi. On summer Saturdays the Panormitis ferry day adds a short swim stop in Nimborio Bay, weather permitting.

At Toli Bay a minivan service does the driving for you. It leaves the Symi Tours office at 09:30, takes 30 minutes to the bay and comes back at 16:00, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with free sun beds and a taverna at the beach. It starts from $12.

Which beach for which traveler

Families with small children will like the shallow water at Agios Nikolaos and the sheltered bay of Agia Marina beach on Symi, both with sun beds and food close by.² ¹⁷ Taxi boats and the bus to Pedi keep the day simple without a car.³ ¹⁰

Swimmers who want drama should head for the sea-only bays. St George's Bay, Nanou and Maroni all combine clear water with steep, wild backdrops, and you reach them on a boat rather than a road.⁴ ⁵ ⁶ Bring everything you need, because St George's Bay has no facilities at all.⁸

Day-trippers from Rhodes have the narrowest choice and the easiest decision. Nos is the only beach within reach of the harbor on a short visit, and the boat's own swim stop is the other.¹ If the beaches are what draws you, plan a night on the island and give them a full day.

Taxi boats, shade and what to bring

Taxi boats are part of beach life on Symi. Pedi is their usual starting point for the bays along the coast, and Agia Marina can be reached by taxi boat or on foot.³ ¹⁴ Ask at the quay about the day's departures and return times, since they depend on the weather and the season.

Shade is scarce on many beaches, and the sea-only bays have no umbrellas at all. Bring a hat, plenty of water and something to sit on. Water shoes help on pebbles and around rocks, where the seabed can be sharp, and snorkeling gear repays itself in water this clear.

Leave the bays as you found them. Several have no bins and no staff, and everything you bring has to leave with you on the boat. A small bag for rubbish takes no space and keeps these places as clean as they look in the photographs.

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