Really enjoyed the trip. The boat drops passengers right in the middle of the town in Symi. The area is beautiful with loads of shops, cafes, restaurants etc. There was an issue on board the top deck with some people trying to ‘keep’ seats when we stopped at the monastery on the way back. No one expected to automatically get the same seats. There was no expectation of this apart from 4 people whom the female attendant at the kiosk must have agreed to keep those seats. Other people came back early and tried to sit down on these ‘reserved’ seats but were shouted at by the kiosk attendant and there was quite an argument which kept being reignited as other people also tried to keep the seats. I don’t know what the policy is but it got most unpleasant with the kiosk lady putting up her 2 middle fingers to some of the passengers who were remonstrating this her. Very unprofessional.

The trip to Symi Island is a must. Yialos is a truly charming town, we had a lovely few hours spent there. We learnt about the history of the island and the sea sponge industry;how and when it started. Interesting facts. Our guide took us to a shop, where we had a thorough explanation/demonstration of the many different types of sponges. The shop offers 10% discount, but don't buy sponges there. In many other markets you will find them much cheaper. After a few hours spent in Yialos we headed to Panormitis Monastery and visited the orthodox church where you can see the icon of Archangel Michael. The church-bell is impressive (baroque style). Worth the visit. Overall it has been a lovely day-trip. We enjoyed it. The only issue we had was with the boat. We wanted to be on the upper decks, outdoors. Our boat was King Saron. We sat on the middle deck with the blue chairs. The most uncomfortable chairs we have ever sat on! After each stop everyone rushed to the boat to secure a seat.

The boat was full, be careful to board as soon as possible to have seats side by side! The crossing to Symi was hectic, many people felt bad and it was a little scary: the ship is a huge catamaran, this may explain this discomfort. But on the way back it was quieter. On site (in Symi), we had 4 hours to visit. You have to choose either to go to the beach or to visit the old village on the heights, but doing both seems impossible. The visit to the monastery seemed to us without much interest. Helpful and smiling crew, air-conditioned boat.