Nimos

Nimos is an uninhabited islet of 4.6 square kilometres lying off the northern coast of Symi, in the Dodecanese. A shallow strait called Diapori divides the two, narrow enough that from the Symi shore the island reads as a continuation of the same ridge. Nobody lives on it, nothing has been built on it beyond a single chapel, and that is most of the reason boats stop.

History and Protected Status

The ancient Greeks knew the island as Ymos. Its position on the northern approach to Symi put it on a shipping route in continuous use since antiquity, and traces of that use survive on the ground.

Nimos, Symi and the surrounding islets have all been proclaimed archaeological sites by Greece's Central Archaeological Council. In practice that means building is restricted. The island has stayed empty, and what is on it is protected rather than dressed up for visitors.

The one structure of note is the monastery of Panagia Ypakoi. Its feast falls on 24 August, when people cross from Symi to honour the icon of the Virgin. It is the single day of the year the place sees a crowd, and the only day it has anything resembling a programme.

Landscape and Beaches

The exposed flanks of the island are bare and dry, the sheltered folds greener, with low scrub rather than forest covering most of the ground. The coast is broken into a run of small coves.

Two of them are worth the tender ride. Panagia Nimos, below the chapel, and Taviri both have pebble shores and water shallow and clear enough to snorkel without effort. There is no shade beyond the trees around the chapel and no fresh water anywhere on the island, so carry both.

Reaching Nimos by Water

There is no port, no ferry service and no facilities. Day boats run across from Symi through the season, and yachts anchor off the coves for a swim. Because nothing ashore is selling anything, Nimos works better as one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet cruise in Greece than as a destination you set out for on its own.

Diapori itself needs respect. The middle of the channel carries around 4 metres, dropping to 2 to 3 metres towards the edges, so it is passable with local knowledge and shallow draught but not somewhere to cut a corner in a keelboat. Symi town is a short run away, and Rhodes lies roughly 40 km to the south-east, which is what keeps an empty island within easy reach of provisioning and an airport.

When to Go

June to September is the practical window. August is the hottest month: daytime highs average around 32°C (90°F) and can reach 34°C (94°F), with the sea at its warmest, about 26°C (79°F). The Panagia Ypakoi feast on 24 August falls inside that window. June and September give much the same water with less heat and fewer boats in the coves.