TIPS ON TRAVELLING
TO TILOS

Situated within the Dodecanese chain of islands, 65 kilometres north-west of Rhodes, Tilos is visited by several ferries on a regular basis in the main summer season, however, the vagaries of the Greek ferry schedules and the strength of the prevailing winds sometimes play havoc with the best of planning.

In 2009 Tilos was well-served with ferry connections as boats from Rhodes and Athens (via Kalymnos and Kos) called at the island. Currently there is one 'big' ferry, the 'Diagoras ' (Blue Star Lines), operating on the Piraeus/Rhodes route which departs Piraeus, Athens, arriving at Tilos the following morning.

In 2006 a new ferry service came into service linking Tilos to Rhodes and Kos. The 'Proteus', a medium-sized car ferry, operates from the main harbour in Rhodes and travels to Tilos via Symi and onwards to Kos. Although not the fastest mode of transport, the ship has proved to be reliable with a capacity of around 60 vehicles and 500 passengers. Tickets may be purchased at a kiosk on the main harbour and at ferry offices in Rhodes town.

The introduction of the 'island boat' - the Sea Star - which came into service in the summer of 2000, gave a much-needed regular and fast connection with Rhodes.

There are ferry connections to Symi, Rhodes, Halki, Nisyros, Kos, Kalymnos and onward connections to the northern Greek islands and Piraeus.

Tilos is easily accessed from two main airports, those of Rhodes to the south and Kos to the north. A large number of visitors use these hub airports for their onward journey to Tilos. Rhodes and Kos are well-served by Charter airlines with direct flights from the UK and other European countries, as well as scheduled services from Athens and abroad.
Bear in mind when booking flights that there are more ferry options from Rhodes to Tilos than from Kos.

Domestic connections from Athens to Rhodes and Kos are available with Olympic Airways (www.olympicairlines.com) and Aegean Airlines (www.aegeanair.com). Between the two companies there are several options of daily flights, starting around 6.30am (check relevant websites for current details), to Kos and Rhodes.
2010: Aegean Airlines now fly from Athens to London Heathrow with connecting flights to Rhodes.

As more people are being tempted to travel to Tilos independently, flights may be viewed and in many cases, purchased on-line.
Some of the many flight-only websites are: www.flythomascook.co.uk, www.thomsonfly.com, www.cheapflights.co.uk  and www.lowfareflights.co.uk
www.Jet2.com
which give good selections of flights to Greece.
There is, of course, EasyJet which flies from Gatwick and Luton airports into Athens.
2010: EasyJet now flies from Gatwick and Liverpool direct to Rhodes www.EasyJet.com

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For those visitors wishing to travel to Tilos by ferry, there is an express bus (E96) from Athens airport to Piraeus. This is a 24-hour service, the journey takes from 45 minutes up to two hours, depending on time of day and traffic density. The cost of a single ticket is approximately 4.00(euro), tickets can be bought from a kiosk at the airport or from the driver. 

Alternatively, travellers can now use the new Metro system which runs from the Airport through to Piraeus.
Take the Metro train, Line Three (there are two different lines - Metro and Suburban), from the airport and change trains to Line One at Monistiraki for Piraeus. The journey takes around 70 minutes at a cost of 5euro per person.

* Currently  (June, 2010) the cost of a taxi ride from Rhodes Airport to Rhodes Harbour is €20.00 *