If you happen to be in Symi 8-9 November then you will be able to attend the big feast day celebrations at this monastery and you certainly should. Buses run from Symi town on the hour (ish) from 7.30am - stopping just beyond Pantellis restaurant. We bought tickets (10e return) for the 10am bus at 9am and got to the monastery just in time to see the procession of the St Michael the Archangel icon to the war memorial and hear the “cannon” blasts. It’s very impressive but also laid back and chaotic! We jumped right on a bus back to Symi town at about 2.30’without any wait (having visited the icon, bought delicious pastries at the tiny bakery and witnessed the huge Dodecanese ferry perform a full circle in the bay while sounding its horn and being serenaded by the monastery bells). The whole area is packed with people from all over Greece. This was an experience not to be missed (the bus ride through the mountains is also extremely fun).

Arriving by boat the place honestly looked like a model village. Nobody was about and the place looked so clean and still! A bell chorus to honour our arrival and departure was lovely. The place itself is beautiful and quaint! We really enjoyed our brief stay

Great place to visit. The monastery has a museum and a church, including the famous icon of the patron saint of the island and sailors - Michael the Archangel. Pilgrimages come from all over Greece to the icon of Taksiarchis as the archangel Michael is commonly called in Greece. Noteworthy are the richly decorated iconostasis and 18th-century frescoes on the walls, painted by local artists, the Karakosti brothers. The interior of the church is filled with various votive offerings left here by sailors and fishermen in gratitude for their safe return home.

The Church of Archangel Michael. A must-see place. You can either go as part of a tour or buy a ticket yourself online, if the round trip ticket is with the same company, it will be cheaper. It's a small temple. Magical. The icon of Archangel Michael is located on the right. In front of the entrance they sell candles, which should be placed at the exit of the Temple in a special place. 💎Buy a broom, they are sold in the shops at the temple, they need to sweep at the icon and then hang at home. In this way you sweep away all the bad things in your life. There are also shields, boots and daggers, all of which can be purchased and presented to Archangel Michael.

There are two ways you can visit this monastery, to take a midibus from Symi or by the sea. We took the Poseidon Trip and our first stop after an hour on a wavy sea. The huge monastery looks beautiful from the outside and has a holy church which has beautiful religious paintings inside. Worshippers clean and sweep the holy icon inside. The belltower is very ornate and pretty. The monastery was originally built in the 18th century and is still used by monks. There is a museum inside too but we didn’t visit it. There is a small coffee shop where you can buy food and drinks. Public toilets are quite bad, the squatting type with no paper, so bring your own. Fortunately there is water and soap. I would recommend a visit to this impressive monastery.