Kastellorizo (Meis), day trip from Kaş

Kastellorizo day trip from Kaş: ferry times and prices

The easy way over is the ferry from Kaş port: 20–30 minutes, daily in season. The usual pattern is out at around 9 or 10 in the morning and back at about 16:00, which gives you 4–5 hours on the island. On some summer days there is also a late return.

Two companies run the crossing — Meis Express and Meis Ferry Lines. Buy online or at the booths on the Kaş waterfront signed “Meis” or “Kastellorizo”; you’ll need your passport, because the details go to immigration. Fares vary by seller: roughly €17–30 one way, and travellers report €28–40 for a same-day return plus a few euros in port fees.

An agency tour usually costs more than going on your own, and once there you walk around by yourself anyway — there is one harbour and nowhere to get lost. Book a tour only if you want someone else to handle tickets and the border queue.

Do you need a passport or visa for Kastellorizo?

Yes, a passport — the crossing is an international border. EU and Greek citizens may use a national ID card. Visa rules are the normal Schengen ones: if you can enter Greece visa-free, you can step off the ferry visa-free.

Since 2024 Greece has run an express visa scheme at twelve island ports, Kastellorizo among them, for stays of up to seven days. It is only for Turkish citizens, and it only covers the island you arrive on — it is not a shortcut for other nationalities.

On the way back you pass Turkish immigration again. A single-entry Turkish e-Visa is used up when you leave, so check that yours allows a second entry.

Things to do on Kastellorizo

• Megisti harbour — a ring of pastel neoclassical mansions, waterside tavernas and fishing boats. The island’s signature view, best in late-afternoon light.
• The Blue Cave (Fokiali, or Parasta) — a sea cave on the south coast, reached only by boat. The entrance is so low you lie back in the boat to get in, and most captains give you about ten minutes to swim.
• The Knights’ castle — 14th-century red-stone ruins above the harbour with a view across the strait to Kaş.
• The Lycian tomb — a 4th-century BC rock-cut tomb in the cliff below the castle, the only one in Greece and a cousin of the Kaş rock tombs.
• St George of the Mountain monastery — about 400 steps and half an hour up, with the whole island below. Cover your shoulders for the church.
• Paleokastro — the ancient acropolis on the hill west of town, roughly a 45-minute walk.
• A swim — ladders into the sea on the far side of the harbour, or the beach at St George’s where the Blue Cave boat drops you.

Is Kastellorizo worth it?

Yes, if your passport and visa allow it and you have a spare day. It is small, quiet and beautiful, and the trip is shorter than most city commutes — a rare chance to hop into another country between breakfast and dinner. For YesGo it is one of the best days out from Kaş.

Skip it if you only have one day in Kaş, if you need a visa you don’t have, or if you want a sandy beach with loungers: on the island you swim off rocks and ladders. The alternative is a boat to Kekova — you’ll see Kastellorizo from the water anyway.

What is Kastellorizo?

Its official name is Megisti, “the biggest”, because it is the largest of a tiny cluster of islets. The Turks call it Meis; the Italians called it Castelrosso, the “red castle”, which became Kastellorizo. It is Greece’s easternmost island — over a hundred kilometres from Rhodes and two from Turkey.

Life is almost all in one harbour: houses in every colour, tavernas on the quay, barely any cars. The population shrank sharply in the 20th century, which leaves the town feeling like a stage set — fitting, since the Oscar-winning Mediterraneo was filmed here.

Kastellorizo, Kekova or a day in Kaş?

If your papers allow it, pick Kastellorizo — there is no other day like it on this coast. If not, go to Kekova. Kaş old town fits into the evening after either.

Kaş by the water: compare and choose

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How to do it right

• Buy a same-day return straight away — there is usually just one afternoon boat back, around 16:00.
• Do the Blue Cave first while the sea is calm; the harbour will wait until later.
• Have lunch on the Megisti waterfront — fresh fish and Greek food, priced in euros.
• Avoid the midday heat for the castle and monastery climbs — lots of steps, little shade.
• The best view of the harbour is from the deck on the way back, with the houses lit from the sea side.
• Back in Kaş, look across at the island from the Antiphellos Theatre at sunset.

Questions