ITINERARY

Day 1

Morning check in for flight to Istanbul with continuing flight to Bodrum. Transfer to our yacht  in Bodrum Harbour, the ancient city of Halicarnassos in the evening. The harbour is overlooked by the Crusader Castle of St Peter. Overnight in Bodrum.

Day 2

Leave Turkey for the Greek island Kos. Afternoon  visit to the Aesclepion, a religious and medical centre dating to the 4th century BC, which was one of the most  famous centres of healing in the ancient world and where the physician Hippocrates, of Hippocratic Oath, practised. In the town of Kos are the remains of the classical city. Dinner and overnight ON BOARD in Kos.

Day 3

Sail south to the volcanic island of Nisyros and moor in the harbour at Mandraki.  Today tiny Greek villages cling to the rim or the cone. We take a bus to the volcanic crater and descend to the crater floor where there is still hydrothermal activity. According to legend, subterranean rumbling noises are the groans of the giant Polyvotis, who was crushed when Poseidon threw a huge lump of rock at him wrenched from the island of Kos. Return to Mandraki, with whitewashed houses and wooden balconies. The narrow streets are overlooked by Palaiokastro,  a magnificent  6th-century BC Doric bastion with thick Cyclopean walls. Below it, the Castle of the Knights contains the monastery of Panagia Spiliani, with its much-venerated icon of the Virgin. Overnight Mandraki.

Day 4

Cruise to Tilos  - a sparsely inhabited island, mooring in the picturesque harbour of Livadia.  We shall drive up to the main town on the island, Megalo Chorio. There is an interesting paleaontological  museum which has the remains of pygmy elephants excavated in the nearby caves. Evidence from XVIII Dynasty paintings in the tomb of Rekhmire at Thebes may suggest that these elephants survived into Late Bronze Age times. Also visit the fortress monastery of St Panteleimon.Return to Livadia for dinner and overnight.

Day 5

Sail to the island of Symi. The harbour is overlooked by the lovely town of Chorio, one of the most beautiful in all the Greek islands, with Cycladic style houses arranged on the slopes.  Afternoon exploring the town.  Dinner and overnight in Symi.

Day 6 

Cruise to Rhodes, the largest island in the Dodecanese. Rhodes was centre for the Crusader Knights of St. John of Jerusalem from 1306 to 1519, when they were ousted by Suleyman the Mgnificent and moved to Malta. The Old City of Rhodes has much of the 14th and 15th century remains. Visit its crusader streets, houses, defences and the palace of the Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller.  Dinner and overnight in Rhodes.

Day 7

After a last look at Rhodes, we leave Greece and return to Turkish waters in Marmaris. A relaxing day of swimming as we navigate eastwards to the beautiful Bay of Fethiye. After a last lunch and dip, cruise into the marina at Göcek for our final evening.

Day 8