Picturesque Patmos, Greece

The Greek Island of Patmos is our last stop on our dreamy Mediterranean cruise with the Celestyal Cruises. This stunning Greek Island is made up of beautiful whitewashed homes with a rich history. Patmos is one the smallest Dodecanese Islands but one of the most important historically. Come along as we explore this beautiful island and try some of their delicious specialties!

It's our final day on the cruise and I am sad to be saying goodbye to the Celestyal Journey cruise ship. We've had such fun on the cruise and really enjoyed all of the destinations. I have really enjoyed not having to pack and unpack and take ferries or flights anywhere for a week.

Patmos is a dreamy Greek Island that's less well known than say Santorini or Mykonos. The white houses of Patmos are famous but also are practical - the white color helps to keep the houses cool during the hot Mediterranean summers by reflecting the sun's rays. The houses are often cube-shaped like marshmallows with flat roofs and a minimalistic design. Narrow, winding alleys connect the buildings in a labyrinthian way. The bright blue doors and window frames and fuchsia bougainvillea flowers are little adornments on the house.

We had a shore excursion booked in for a lunch feast in Patmos but the night before we were given the bad news that it was cancelled because not enough people signed up for it. Mr NQN and I are doing our own thing this morning and have plans to head up to Chora to see the houses and back down to Skala to eat the local food. We start the morning on the ship at Level 8 in the Thalassa restaurant.

The restaurant is fairly empty as most people are on shore excursions. There is a buffet selection but you can also order omelettes made fresh to order. The buffet choices are smaller than that in the Taverna restaurant but feature pastries, bread, fruit, dried fruit, yogurts, cheese and hams. The hot selection is made up of French toast, pancakes, bacon, cinnamon roasted ham, boiled potatoes and scrambled eggs.

I make myself French toast with bacon and maple syrup and try some of the spanakopita with chilli sauce. There's always a range of condiments and chilli sauces available at every meal which is very handy.

Mr NQN makes himself a cereal and fruit bowl and we also order smoothies and coffees from the bar menu. The mango smoothie is a bit different to how we make smoothies in Australia, it is sweeter and more like a mango milkshake.

I also order an egg white omelette with ham, chilli and cheese and it's absolutely perfect with just the right amount of each so that it is spicy, delicious and gooey.

After that, it's time to get changed to explore Patmos. To disembark you need to take a local tender to shore. The tender boats require patience, we wait around an hour for the next available tender boat to arrive and then take it to the shore of Patmos.

Patmos is made up of the lower part of the island near the port called Skala. This pretty port town boasts many of the island's restaurants with stylish shops selling quality clothes and homewares. There's also the houses of Chora and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and The Cave of the Apocalypse that a lot of people visit.

To reach Chora or Hora from Skala port you can take a taxi for €15 one way. The return walk takes around 50 minutes, but it’s all downhill but today it's blowing a gale and it's a battle against the wind. Otherwise you can get a ride on the Patmos bus which is an infrequent service but takes passengers up and down the winding hills for €2. One way tickets can be bought on the bus itself.

While in Chora we get lost and wander around the houses in this pretty labyrinthine town. The homes of affluent merchants in Chora were always oriented toward the port of Skala allowing them to watch for their ships' return. Patmian homes exteriors were designed to look the same despite the home owner's status and wealth, and streets like a maze to confuse pirates and thieves. The rooftops are so tightly packed together and flat so as to form passageways for an escape route for residents so that they could easily and quickly reach the safety of the 11th-century Monastery of Saint John the Theologian.

We follow little alleyways not knowing where they will lead. Although the whole of Patmos has a population of around 3,000 you will scarcely see another soul, just windows of houses flung open showing that there is someone living there and a brisk breeze being the only movement.

We keep climbing to the monastery to get better views and this opens out onto shops and small tavernas. The timing aligns with the Patmos bus so we catch the bus back down to Skala.

Back at Skala port we seek refuge from the chilly wind and head down one of the alleyways to Pernera vegan and organic restaurant and market. The lovely owner Gozde Oguz has owned the cafe with her husband for Nicolas for 6 summers. Pernera is a little hidden away, but this beautiful little spot is worth seeking out whether you’re after one of their home-made ginger lemonades or a more filling repast of vegan and oil free dishes which is perfect after the rich food that I’ve been consuming.

Lemur the cat keeps me company while Mr NQN runs around Skala. I start with a delicious house made ginger lemonade made with mastiha from Chios island. It is made with naturally carbonated water with lemon juice, ginger, mint, Patmian flower water and fairtrade brown sugar.

Then I try the vegan spinach and cheese pie with baba ghanouj on the side and cucumber and tomato. The pie is absolutely fantastic with crisp, wholegrain, organic pastry and creamy spinach filling yet made without cheese.

The vegan moussaka is also absolutely worth trying. It has a top layer of creamy zucchini bechamel, lentils and organic red tempeh with oven baked eggplant and potato. There's a pot of tzatziki on the side with plenty of dill and finely diced cucumber.

Mr NQN returns to the cafe to polish off all the food I haven't been able to finish. After that Gozde offers us a slice of her portokalopita a traditional Greek orange pie made with whole grain organic pastry, organic oranges, fairtrade unprocessed brown sugar, patmian flower water and fairtrade coconut flakes and pistachios. It's deliciously sweet and perfect for a cup of Greek coffee or tea.

We also stop by a Christodoulos Confectionery located right by the helpful tourist information office. This cake shop sells a few Patmos specialties. Pouggia are little crescent pies filled with nuts and honey. There are two versions: one oven baked and covered in powdered sugar and one deep fried. Service is again super friendly and lovely.

There’s also a savoury snack of Patmiotiki or cheese pie made with mizithra cheese. All three are €5.80.

We head back to the boat and we're in luck and don't have to wait long for our return tender to leave. We head to dinner at 6:30pm as we have a lot to pack up and want to be in bed as early as possible as we have a very early transfer to Santorini. The last night's dinner is always a seafood feast at the Taverna buffet and this features fresh prawns with a range of pre-made salads and salad ingredients.

There are also items like vongole cream pasta, fish, potatoes and a giant seafood pasta. My favourite items are the seafood pasta to which the chefs added chilli and fried shallots as they all know that I am looking for spicy food. The seafood saganaki is also delicious. And they really went all out with the fruit carvings on the final night with several amazing displays.

The daily dessert special is a chocolate brownie as well as a large smorgasbord of cakes but we finish with some fresh fruit and ice cream.

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been to Patmos?

NQN and Mr NQN were guests of Celestayl Cruises but all opinions remain her own. We flew to Europe with Vietnam Airlines.

Celestyal Cruises

A similar cruise is priced from $1289AUDpp twin share for a 2025 voyage: https://celestyal.com/au/our-cruises/7-nights-au/idyllic-aegean/

Vietnam Airlines

Vietnam Airlines offers 23 flights per week connecting Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Vietnam Airlines is continuing to add new routes having recently announced new flights to Milan, Munich and Delhi.

https://www.vietnamairlines.com/au/en/home