“John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” – Rev. 1:9
Patmos is a small, rocky, arid island located off the Western coast of Turkey. It is part of a group of islands in the Aegean Sea between mainland Turkey and Greece known as the Dodecanese Islands.
During the reign of Roman emperor Domitian, the Apostle John was exiled to Patmos to keep him quiet. While on Patmos, John wrote the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, as inspired by God. The book of Revelation is foremost “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1). God promises a blessing to all who read the book (Rev 1:3).
Revelation 1:1-3 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Placard at the Cave of the Apocalypse on the island of Patmos. 
Monastery of the Apocalypse, Patmos.
Patmos does not have an airport. The nearby islands of Samos, Leros, Kos, and Kalimnos all have airports and ferry service to Patmos. We began our trip to Patmos from Kusadasi Turkey, not far from Ephesus. At Kusadasi we boarded a Turkish boat to the island of Samos, about twenty miles away. At Samos we traveled by taxi from the island’s northern port of Samos town to the southern port of Pythagoreio where we boarded a ferry to Patmos. The ferry stopped along the way at the islands of Agathonisi and Lipsi.
On the boat from Kusadasi Turkey to Samos. 
Ferry from Samos to Patmos
When we arrived at the Patmos port we saw several people holding placards indicating that they had rooms for rent. We inquired with one of them, agreed on the price, and she took us to her home. The following morning we rented a car and set out to see the sights on Patmos. It didn’t take long since the island is small, only about 13 square miles. The capitol, Chora, is built around a monastery/fortress from the 12th century and is the hub of tourism. The only commercial port is the town of Skala.
Patmos is known as Greek’s “holy” island as it is home to several Greek Orthodox monasteries and more than 100 churches. On the one evening we were there, an international sacred music festival was being held.
Agathonisi
By happenstance we spent a night and most of a day on the island of Agathonisi. I remembered the ticket agent telling me that the trip from Samos to Patmos took about two hours. About two hours into the trip we arrived at a port and just as the ferry was about to pull out I thought to myself “this must be Patmos, we need to get off.” As the ferry began to depart, our daughter stepped across the gap between the Ferry’s bridge and the dock. My wife jumped across the gap as I tossed our bags onto the dock and took a running jump. As the ferry departed I was gathering our bags when a young boy with curly red hair walked up. I asked him, “do you speak English?” He responded “yes” and I then asked him, “is this Patmos?” He replied, “No Sir, this is Agathonisi.”
We arrived in mid afternoon and quickly discovered that the next ferry to Patmos would leave the following day at 6:00 pm. There were only 40 beds on the entire island, not so many tourists. Someone pointed in the direction of a guest house and told us that the woman might have a room. She didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Greek. Through pantomiming we understood that she had a room available and we would have to be out by noon the next day.
There were few tourists on the island, only a few fishermen, a small team of archeologists and a Greek woman on holiday with her two children. The local restaurant served up fresh seafood brought in by local fishermen. The fresh produce and cheese all came from the island. Agathonisi ended up being the highlight of our trip to Patmos.
Ferry from Patmos back to Samos. 
Turkish vessel that took us from Samos back to Kusadasi Turkey.
We visited Patmos in August, 2009.