Kastellorizo island – Travelling to the edge of Greece

Kastellorizo Island is one of the smallest islands of the Dodecanese region and floats on the easternmost edge of Greece. Dodecanese region is an island complex comprising twenty three inhabited islands and lots of islets. The major inhabited islands by population order are: Rhodes island, Kos, Kalimnos, Leros, Karpathos, Patmos, Symi, Astipalea, Kasos, Nisiros, Lipsi, Tilos, Kastelorizo island and Halki and Agathonisi.

It gets its name by the greekization of the phrase Castello Rosso, which means red rock. Castello Rosso also called the castle is built on the reddish rock above the port. Although, its official name is Megisti which in greek means the great one. Possibly, it is named like this because it is the biggest of all the archipelago islands. However, you can consider it as a funny name as it covers only an area of just 12 sq. km!

Where is Kastellorizo island?

 

Climb to reach the church “Agios Georgios of the Mountain” and watch the sunset in Paleokastro. 

One of the most beautiful parts of the island, which offers an incomparable view, is the ascent to the mountain until you reach the church St George of the Mountain. One of the things worth doing in Kastellorizo ​​is to put on your sportswear and climb the approximately 400 steps up there. Throughout the climb, the view that reaches the shoreline of Turkey will compensate you more than you can imagine. You do not need to be in good physical condition to reach the top and, in any case, you can take short breaks to breathe and take photos. It will be a wonderful experience, through which you can have the opportunity to see Katellorizo from another point of view!

The tour of the island by boat.

Another must-do activity ​​is the tour of the island by boat! You do not expect it when you visit Kastellorizo, ​​since, at first glance, it has no beaches in the classical sense of the word. However, you soon realize that it has incredible places with impressive rocks and waters that mentally take you to tropical places. At this point, it is worth saying that there is another impressive cave, Kolones, where the waters have the same blue colors as the popular Blue Cave.

The antique mosque and it’s museum

It is really worth dedicating an hour of your vacation to visiting this museum and structure where it is in. Here you will learn about the different populations that ruled the island over the years and the artistic influence that each of them had on the island’s landscape.

How to get to Kastellorizo: 

In the summer you have several options since there is a ferry to Kastellorizo ​​from Rhodes Island 6 times a week. From Rhodes, the fast ferry takes about 2.5 hours while the conventional ones about 3-5 hours. There is also a direct ferry from Athens with Blue Star Ferries which takes about 22 hours. In winter things are more difficult as it has a ship twice a week. The island also has an airport. Olympic Air has a flight from Rhodes every day except Thursday. 

Where to stay in Kastellorizo?

Kastellorizo ​​is a small island, which means it has limited accommodation. That’s why it’s good to make your reservation on time.

Where to swim?  

Kastellorizo ​​has no beaches in the classical sense (long sandy or pebbles beach). It looks like Hydra Island, with docks in many places. 

• Mandraki beach In this small bay you will find some of the few sandy beaches of the island. Don’t expect to find a long and astonishing beach like on other islands but you can still enjoy the nice bay that surrounds the beach.
• Ro island beach This tiny island can only be reached by boat. Ro island has a few beautiful beaches that are perfect for spending a day out in a relaxing location.
• Saint George beach As soon as you arrive in Saint Georgeyou will notice the bright blue sea. You can access the sea from a small staircase that leads you directly to the water as there isn’t a proper beach. The blue waters are wonderful and worth the visit!