How
to get
Several
excursion boats arrive daily from Rhodes; two of them (the Simi I and Simi
II) are owned cooperatively and are booked locally in Rhodes through The
schedules and itineraries for the boats vary, but all leave from Mandraki
Harbor and stop at the main port of Simi, Yialos, with an additional stop
at Panormitis Monastery or the beach at Pedi, before returning to Rhodes.
Currently, there are daily car ferries from Piraeus, and two local ferries
weekly via Tilos, Nissiros, Kos, and Kalimnos. From late spring to summer,
hydrofoils skim daily from Rhodes to Simi, usually making both morning
and afternoon runs.
Getting Around
Ferries and excursion boats
dock first at hilly Yialos on the barren, rocky northern half of the island.
Yialos is the liveliest village on the island and the venue for most overnighters.
The clock tower, on the right as you enter the port, is used as a landmark
when negotiating the maze of car-free lanes and stairs. Another landmark
used in giving directions is the bridge in the center of the harbor.
Simi's main road leads to
Pedi, a developing beach resort one cove east of Yialos, and a new road
rises up to Horio, the old capital. The island's 4,000 daily visitors most
often take an excursion boat that stops at the Panormitis Monastery or
at the beach at Pedi. Buses leave every hour from 8am until 11pm to Pedi
via Horio There are a grand total of four taxis on the island--leaving
from the taxi stand at the center of the harbor
Caiques shuttle people to
various beaches: Nimborios, Ayia Marina, Ayios Nikolaos, and Nanou |
