SYMI Confidential: Secrets of the eastern Aegean island's all-year appeal revealed
Despite the boatloads of day-trippers from Rhodes, this isle still rocks its own style
It should not come as a surprise that you can now sign up for a (groan) drone tour of Symi — the mostly barren island and in particular its storied harbor lined with pastel-colored neoclassical mansions stacked high up behind one another make for some serious eye candy. It should should also not come as a surprise, then, that a little island with some very big history only an hour or so by ferry from Rhodes would easily fall prey to the jaws of overtourism, which includes things like drone tours, and tends to exclude imagination.
So let’s leave the aerial skullduggery aside for a moment, then, and present a few unvarnished views of Symi…
VISION #1
It’s the last taxi boat back to Gialos, the colorful Instagram-famous (and also, famous) port of Symi from the Instagram-famous (and also, famous) “closed” beach of Agios Georgios Dysalonas — closed, because unless you get there by boat, you’re not getting there at all. It’s a pebbly beach with aquamarine water framed by soaring cliff faces. Lots of day boats and yachts park themselves just offshore, muddling the scene somewhat, but it’s still spectacular. The entire easten shore is rocky and rugged.
From the water, glancing up at the high cliffs, you see the outline of a goat in the bright October sun — wait a second, make that two goats — their shaggy goats’ coats and elegant horns appearing only in silhouette high, high above. For a passing moment, their black and white shadow figures are in perfect harmony with the raw nature before you; even the the cliff faces seem to bow to you in a “slow-down, mate!” sepia-toned dream. No camera could capture this sight, just as despite all technological advances, we still cannot photograph our dreams….
VISION #2
There’s something unique about the small beach of Agios Nikolaos. Yes, the water is crystal-clear as at most Symi beaches, it’s not that. It’s the steep underwater drop-off. Swim just a few yards off shore and you’ll noticed the sea floor plunges away precipitously — despite the fact that this is hardly an obscure beach (they’ll try to make you pay to sit in the lounge chairs, but you didn’t come all this way to pretend you’re at a Las Vegas hotel pool, did you?), it is not for shallow water fans.
That said, because it’s the beach is cove-style, the waters are calm. This means that, when the sunlight hits directly overhead, it has the effect of throwing a spotlight beam right through the water, illuminating it in the manner of one of those blue grotto Capri things, but from below. So when a school of little fishes dart past you, as they do, they appear as so many flashes of electric blue sea light — and this is a mere three or four feet beneath the surface. Then there are the big yellow fish, and the flying fish…
VISION #3
Confession: I don’t much care for loukoumades — which is really no big deal; after all, you can live in Israel and not care much for religion, or in America and not care much for apple pie or Pam Bondi. Anyway, I do have faith in the power of the fornos, or Greek bakery, in general terms and in Symi that faith is rewarded specifically in the form of the akoumi, a kind of twist on loukoumades which I always find to be unnecessarily crispy and a little flavorless.
Not these things. The akoumi is an elongated piece of fried dough, irregularly shaped, and trades crispiness for a softer texture — how fittingly Symian! For this is one island that is remarkably not rough around the edges. Anyway, the soft crust has got hints of orange zest and ouzo baked into it and that adds up to a sort of tangy but not overly sweet deliciousness. I tried my first one sort of by mistake at Φούρνος Νικολέττου, by the port. But it was a revelation, and you should have seen the look on the baker’s face when I said I wanted to buy all the akoumis she had left. Which, of course, did.
©2025 Anthony Grant/Greek Column. Any found use of copyrighted material for AI or other purposes will be prosecuted according to applicable IP laws in the State of California.
👉 Your hotel in Symi: The Old Markets
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