Kos Ferry Guide: Bodrum, Nisyros and the Dodecanese

Kos works well for travellers who like to keep things unhurried: the main harbour is in the town, catamarans and larger ferries link it with neighbouring islands, and a short crossing reaches Turkey. This guide sits beside our Kos ferry hub, which lists the routes we have verified. Here we cover what to check before you buy a ticket, especially if you are visiting from a cruise ship.

1. Getting to the boats

The Kos tourism site says the main harbour, Mandraki, is in the city centre and has connections to Athens (Piraeus). It adds that schedules are busier in spring and summer and often less frequent in autumn and winter. The airport is at Antimachia, roughly 23.5 km from Kos town and about a 30 to 35 minute drive, and the same page gives a taxi from the airport to the marina as about half an hour. We found no official page that says where cruise ships berth in Kos, so take that from your cruise line's port information and ask how far the walk to Mandraki is.

2. The boats you are likely to meet

Dodekanisos Seaways lists Kos among its 18 island destinations, including Kalymnos, Nisyros, Rhodes and Patmos. Its own page describes two high-speed catamarans, Dodekanisos Express (337 passengers) and Dodekanisos Pride (280 passengers), and a conventional passenger and vehicle ferry, Panagia Skiadeni (600 passengers). The Kos tourism site notes that catamarans are usually faster than the regular ferries and that trip length depends on the boat, so check which vessel is on your ticket. Island by island, the Kos tourism site says:

• Pserimos is probably the most popular island-hopping destination from Kos, 7.8 nautical miles away, with day trips from the main harbour.
• Kalymnos is linked by catamaran and suits a day trip; it is one stop on the three-island cruise (see what to ask before booking).
• Nisyros is reached in less than an hour from the port of Kardamena. The timetable pages we read disagree with each other on sailing days and times, so confirm with the operator (see our Nisyros guide).
• Rhodes is described as not recommended for a day trip because it takes about three hours to reach.

3. Crossing to Bodrum: paperwork first

The Kos tourism site puts the Turkish coast almost 30 to 40 minutes away. We found no official timetable for the Bodrum boats. As the booking site Ferryhopper lists them, operators include Tilos Travel, Dentur Avrasya, Bodrum Sea Lines and Turkish Sea Lines; it shows year-round service, with boats usually departing between 08:45 and 19:00 from Kos's main port, carrying foot passengers only (no cars), and it advises arriving at least an hour before boarding. Treat these as a guide to what exists, and read the operator's own schedule for your date.

This is an international border crossing, so documents come before the ticket. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says ordinary passport holders of many countries are exempt from a visa for up to 90 days in any 180, that its e-Visa (evisa.gov.tr) is valid only for tourism or commerce, and that a passport must expire at least 60 days after the intended stay. The UK government says British passport holders can visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period and that the passport must expire more than 150 days after arrival and have a blank page. Other nationalities should check their own government's advice and the Turkish ministry's page; we could not open the US State Department's page on 29 October 2026.

The return matters too. The UK government's Turkey advice says the EU Entry/Exit System applies to any non-EU national travelling from Turkey into the EU by land, sea or air, that registration may add a few minutes per passenger, and that border waits may be longer than usual. Our guide Europe's New Border System explains what changed. For Greece, the UK government also states that a passport should have been issued less than 10 years before arrival and expire at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area.

4. Tickets, timing and the weather

Dodekanisos Seaways takes bookings online and through an app, and its site lists a ticket vending machine and tickets sent by SMS. Its terms of travel say passengers must arrive at the ship 60 minutes before departure, that someone arriving after departure is not entitled to a refund, and that boarding needs the ticket plus a passport, identity card or other valid travel document. Phone and web tickets can be shown as a QR code sent by email or SMS. On weather, the terms say the company bears no responsibility for delay, modification or cancellation when departure is prohibited, and that the passenger can then modify the ticket or be refunded. Cancellations also happen for other reasons: on 29 October 2026 the Blue Star Ferries home page carried a notice of a strike on 30 October. Our guides on boarding passes and on cancellations cover the next steps.

5. Luggage, comfort and access questions

The Dodekanisos Seaways terms allow hand luggage of up to 40 kg and 0.5 cubic metres, say luggage is placed in special areas of the vehicle deck that passengers cannot reach during the trip, and advise keeping valuables on your person. Blue Star's general conditions say its ships have specially designed cabins with easy access and operation for passengers with special needs, that cabins are limited, and that you should reserve early through its reservations centre.

On Dodekanisos Seaways, the pages we read describe only a 50% fare discount for passengers with a disability rate of 80% or more, with documents required; they do not describe boarding assistance, so ask before you book. Useful questions are in Greek Ferry Access: how you get from the quay to the seats, whether there is a lift, and who helps with luggage.

6. Keep a margin on a cruise day

Add up the pieces: the walk from the ship, the 60-minute arrival rule, border checks both ways, and the crossing itself. A separate ferry ticket does not protect you if the ship leaves; read why separate tickets need a buffer and fill in the all-aboard worksheet before choosing a trip. We have not checked any ship's schedule, so nothing here says a ferry fits a particular port call. Back at the hub, the Kos ferry page lists the verified routes and sources.