Excursion en bateau à l'île grecque de Meis Kastellorizo

Too much time spend at border control. Quite an intimidating experience. Boat was by no means full as early in the season, boat trip approximately half an hour each way. Queuing for at least 40 minutes on arrival, not that many passengers, possibly 40 and we were not at the back of the queue. Long wait again on return. Would be a nightmare if the boat was full.

The boat tour agency requires you to give your passport up either overnight (which we did) or come early in the morning for processing. We were pretty hesitant but figured people do this everyday, right? There was never a problem, and although I'm not entirely sure what needs to happen with the passports, everything was fine. We are SO glad we did the trip to Meis/Kastellorizo. The island is perfectly sized for the 6 hours that you have to explore. We took our time eating on the water and hired a boat to see the Blue Cave with another couple. The entire day, however short, was such a great day spent during our two weeks in Turkey, and I can't imagine not having done it.

A lot of hassle at Turkish side to get passports checked both going and coming back. Island was expensive after being in Turkey. Little to see and on a very hot day it was expensive for drinks and food. Too long a time on island, most people waiting to go back on ferry at least 2 hours before it was due to leave.

Having wanted to visit this island for over twenty years I achieved it yesterday. I booked with Define Tours had a car pick me up and take me to Meis Express office where I handed over my passport and then had a free hour or so in Kas. Then went on the boat to Meis. The island is stunning and worth a trek up to the castle and visit the museum. Local small boats do trips to beaches and the caves which I wish I did but I spent the afternoon in a cafe on seafront watching the works go by. But worth a visit

We travelled with the Meis Ferry Line to Meis and found them to be very professional. Yes we had to book the day before we went to Meis and leave our passport with the ferry company overnight. It was all fine, these were given back to us when we got on the ferry to go to Meis. The island is well worth a visit with the most delightful pastel coloured houses clustered around an idyllic harbour. There are cafes galore on the edge of the waterfront. You can also walk around a promontory where the castle is to another small harbour tor up behind the town and get an incredible view. Coming back you can buy duty free and then there is a slight hassle on leaving the boat at Kas as your passports are taken again by the police but returned within half an hour to the ferry line office where you booked. All good and worthwhile.

<p>To begin, I absolutely loved this trip to the island, but my review comes with some caveats. The main one was that the company listed on the confirmation email was different from the company that actually led the ferry trip, so this caused some confusion regarding what office to go to. After talking to a few different people, we found out we were supposed to go to one of two Meis Kastellorizo ferry offices on the main drag in Kas. We spoke to a representative the night before our trip who told us to leave our passports with him for proper inspection by Turkish police, or to show up earlier the next morning to give him our passports then. This is actually part of the normal procedure for going to Kastellorizo, but we were reluctant to give up our passports for a whole night after the confusion of finding the place, so we opted for handing our passports over the next morning. Anyway.....<br/> The island itself: a beautiful time. Great quality seafood at Aiolis restaurant, great swimming in the Mediterranean, beautiful architecture. The only thing I wish I could have was more time there. The ferry usually leaves for Kastellorizo at 10am and when it arrives 30 mins later, you need to be processed by Greek customs and immigration, which takes another 20-30 mins. The return ferry leaves at 4pm and you also have to be processed by immigration to return to Turkey. So you pretty much get four hours and change to enjoy the island, which works if you just want that small bit of time. I think next time I'm in Kas I might spend the night in Kastellorizo and return the next day.</p>