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Rhodes is the island that operates simultaneously at two entirely different registers, and most visitors only see one of them. The register they see is usually beaches, resorts, Lindos day trip, and cocktails in the Old Town on the last evening.
This is not wrong. The beaches are very good, Lindos is extraordinary, and the Old Town at night has a genuinely cinematic quality.
What they miss is the second register: the Old Town as a serious medieval city requiring two proper days, not a scenic backdrop for aperitivo hour. The mountain interior as a world apart from the coast. The ancient city of Kameiros, sitting above the western sea with no crowds and no fences. And the far south of the island — Prasonisi, the windswept double beach at the tip — where the island reverts to something genuinely wild.
Rhodes is the largest island in the Dodecanese and the fourth-largest in Greece. It has 220 km of coastline, a mountain spine rising to 1,215 meters, and a city whose medieval history connects it directly to the Knights Hospitaller, the Ottoman Empire, the Italian colonial administration, and the living Greek present simultaneously. Two days is not enough. Five is closer to right.
For accommodation, see Where to Stay in Rhodes and Best Hotels in Rhodes. For tours, see Rhodes Tours.
The Rhodes Old Town
Type: UNESCO World Heritage medieval city Time needed: 2 full days Cost: Free to wander; Palace of Grand Masters €6; Archaeological Museum €6 Best time: 7–9am for the lanes (empty); evenings for atmosphere
The Old Town of Rhodes is the largest inhabited medieval city in the Mediterranean and one of the finest medieval monuments in Europe. The claim is not hyperbole — the city walls (4 km of perfectly preserved Crusader fortification, 10–12 meters thick, with 11 towers and 7 gates), the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Street of the Knights, and the entire medieval urban fabric enclosed within them represent an extraordinary survival that is simultaneously an archaeological site, a living city, and an architectural museum.
The Street of the Knights (Odos Ippoton) is the single most impressive medieval street in the Mediterranean — a 200-meter cobblestone street lined with the inns of the Knights Hospitaller, each inn representing a different national contingent (French, English, Provençal, Italian, Spanish), their Gothic-Renaissance facades intact after 500 years. The street was built in the 15th century and not significantly altered since. Walking it in the early morning, before the tour buses arrive, produces the closest thing available to a time-travel experience in Greece.
The Palace of the Grand Masters at the top of the Street of the Knights was built in the 14th century, destroyed by an accidental explosion in 1856, and reconstructed during the Italian colonial period (1912–1943) on the original foundations. The Italian reconstruction is a subject of debate among historians, but the result — a formidable castle with a mosaic-floored interior and exhibitions covering the history of Rhodes from antiquity through the medieval period — is impressive and worth the entry fee.
The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, housed in the medieval Hospital of the Knights (one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings in the Aegean), contains excellent finds from across the Dodecanese: the Aphrodite of Rhodes (a 1st-century BC marble figure emerging from the sea), Mycenaean jewelry, ancient pottery from the three original Rhodian cities. The building itself — the great ward of the medieval hospital, with its columns and Gothic arches — is the attraction equal to the collection.
The Ottoman layers in the Old Town are significant and largely unrecognized. After 1522, when Suleiman the Magnificent took the city from the Knights, the Ottomans built mosques, hammams, fountains, and covered markets in the old city that still stand: the Süleymaniye Mosque on the main square (exterior can be viewed; currently under restoration), the Mustafa Pasha hammam (one of the few operating Ottoman hammams in Greece), and the ornate Çeşme fountain on Socratous Street.
Good to know:
Most people visit the Old Town and wonder why they arrived at noon. I'd say go at 7am instead: the cobblestones are still cool underfoot, the light turns the honey-coloured walls amber, and the only sound you'll hear is your own footsteps echoing through the Street of the Knights. The medieval city — all 2.5km of intact walls and Gothic architecture — genuinely earns its UNESCO listing when you see it like this.
By midday the tour groups arrive and the main arteries (Sokratous Street, the palace plaza) fill up fast. My approach: get the main monuments done in the morning, retreat for a long lunch, and return in the evening when the restaurants spill into the lanes and the whole place turns cinematic. It's the same city, three completely different moods.
A guided historical tour makes a real difference here — the layers of Knights, Ottomans, and ancient Greeks are genuinely hard to untangle alone, and a good guide turns what could be a long walk into a story. I booked through GetYourGuide and the quality of the licensed guides is consistently strong.
Best for: Every visitor to Rhodes — the Old Town is the reason this island belongs on any Greece list.
Walking the Old Town Walls
Type: Historical walk Time needed: 1.5 hours Cost: €6 (wall walk ticket from Palace of Grand Masters) Best time: Late afternoon; avoid midday heat
The walls of the Rhodes Old Town are among the best-preserved Crusader fortifications in the world, and the wall walk — from the Palace of the Grand Masters along the outer battlements — gives the most complete sense of the city's medieval defensive logic. The views from the walls over the moat (dry, and planted with gardens that make the defensive channel unexpectedly pleasant to look into), over the city towers, and across the rooftops of the medieval town to the sea beyond are the best overview available of the Old Town.
The moat walk (ground level, free) runs parallel below the walls and is lined with palm trees and gardens — more pleasant in summer than the exposed wall walk above.
Good to know: The full wall circuit takes 1.5 hours at a moderate pace. The section from the Palace of the Grand Masters to the D'Amboise Gate is the most impressive — the wall is at its thickest and the towers at their most dramatic. Begin the walk 1.5 hours before sunset for the best light.
Best for: Architecture lovers, history enthusiasts, photographers, anyone who wants to understand the medieval city from the outside.
Lindos
Type: Ancient acropolis and medieval village Time needed: Full day Distance: 50 km south of Rhodes Town Cost: Acropolis €12 Best time: 8am opening — beat both the heat and the tour buses by 2 hours
Lindos is the most visually complete ancient site in the Dodecanese and one of the most dramatically positioned in Greece. The acropolis — a rocky promontory rising 116 meters above the coastline — carries four distinct layers of history simultaneously: the ancient sanctuary of Athena Lindia (4th century BC, with a Doric propylon and temple rebuilt by the Rhodians when the island was at the peak of its Hellenistic power), a Byzantine fortification, a Crusader castle built by the Knights Hospitaller in the 14th century, and the relief of a Rhodian trireme carved into the living rock of the approach staircase.
The view from the acropolis — south over the horseshoe bay of Saint Paul (where, according to tradition, the Apostle Paul sheltered during a storm on his way to Rome), east over the Aegean toward the Turkish coast, and down over the whitewashed rooftops of the medieval village — is one of the defining images of Greek travel.
The village of Lindos below the acropolis is a well-preserved medieval settlement of sea-captain houses — built between the 15th and 18th centuries by prosperous Lindian ship owners, with ornate carved doorframes, cobbled courtyards, and the characteristic Lindos architectural tradition of pebble mosaic floors (choklakia). Many are now pensions, restaurants, or private houses that can be seen from the lanes. The village is beautiful and busy: in July–August, the main square and the donkey-path to the acropolis are extremely crowded.
Good to know:
There's a particular moment on the Lindos acropolis that I keep thinking about: you climb the rocky path, pass through the ancient propylaea, and suddenly the Temple of Athena opens up in front of you with the blue arc of St. Paul's Bay some 116 metres directly below. It's one of the genuinely great views in Greece — the kind that makes the sweaty climb feel immediately worth it.
The village below is almost absurdly pretty: white-cube houses, bougainvillea, donkeys still ferrying luggage up lanes too narrow for anything else. Arrive early before the day-trippers from Rhodes Town flood in, or visit late afternoon when they've largely cleared. The bay itself — St. Paul's Bay on one side, the main Lindos Beach on the other — is excellent for swimming, and the shallow, sheltered water makes it one of the calmer spots on the island.
I'd strongly recommend a guided tour from Rhodes Town rather than self-driving: parking in Lindos is a genuine ordeal in summer, and having a guide for the acropolis means you actually understand what you're looking at.
Best for: Every visitor to Rhodes — the acropolis is irreplaceable, the village is beautiful, and the bay rounds out a perfect day.
East Coast Beaches
Type: Beaches — organized and natural Time needed: Half to full day each Highlights: Tsambika, Agathi, Stegna, Lindos Beach, Anthony Quinn Bay Best time: Morning for calm water; afternoon has more wave activity on east coast
The east coast of Rhodes, facing the Aegean and sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds, has the best consistent beach quality on the island. The coastline from Faliraki south through Tsambika, Stegna, Agathi, and down to the beaches around Lindos is the main beach circuit for visitors staying in Rhodes Town.
Anthony Quinn Bay (20 km south) — named for the actor who bought land here after filming The Guns of Navarone on Rhodes in 1960 — is a narrow cove between rock formations with intensely turquoise water and a small organized beach. Crowded but beautiful; best early morning.
Tsambika Beach (27 km south) is the most complete beach on the east coast: a long sandy crescent with clear shallow water, good organization, tavernas, and the hilltop Monastery of Tsambika visible above. The monastery (290 m above the beach, reached by a steep path or more easily by car via the back road) has the best panoramic view on the island's east coast — the beach curving below, the Aegean stretching to the Turkish coast. Worth the 20-minute climb.
Agathi Beach (30 km south) is the east coast's most beautiful small beach — a sheltered bay of extraordinary turquoise water accessible via a short dirt road, with a seasonal beach bar and a quality that repays the modest effort. Early morning or October visit strongly recommended.
Stegna is a good alternative to the busier beaches — a village beach with local tavernas rather than beach clubs, a pebble-and-sand floor, and the clear water of the east coast.
Good to know:
Rhodes has more coastline variety than most people expect. The east coast is where you'll find the standout beaches — long sandy stretches, calm water, consistent sun. Faliraki and Tsambika draw the summer crowds (Tsambika especially is genuinely beautiful), but if you continue south past Lindos toward Pefkos, Lardos, and Kiotari, the beaches thin out fast. I've had stretches of sand to myself in late July down there, which almost never happens on a Greek island this popular.
The west coast is a different story: windier, rougher water, less suited to swimming — but if you're a windsurfer, Ialyssos is one of the best spots in the Aegean. For everyone else, stay east.
The best beach day I had in Rhodes was a full-day boat cruise — the kind where you anchor in coves you can't reach by road, swim off the back, and eat a proper BBQ lunch while moving between bays. The all-inclusive version with unlimited drinks makes the whole thing feel like a proper event rather than just a boat ride. It's genuinely the best way to see the coastline.
Best for: Beach lovers, families, and anyone who wants to combine swimming with Lindos in a single day.
The Ancient City of Kameiros
Type: Ancient archaeological site Time needed: 1.5–2 hours Distance: 36 km southwest of Rhodes Town Cost: €8 Best time: Morning; almost no crowds any time
Kameiros is one of the three original cities of ancient Rhodes and the least visited of any significant ancient site in the Dodecanese — which makes it, for visitors who discover it, one of the more affecting archaeological experiences in the country. While Lindos has the acropolis drama and the tour buses to match, Kameiros is a complete ancient Doric city — agora, temple terrace, residential streets, cisterns, sanctuaries — spread across a hillside above the western coast in a landscape of pines and wildflowers, with almost nobody else there.
The site is not reconstructed and not dramatized. It simply exists — the foundations of a 5th–3rd century BC city, laid out on a grid plan visible from the temple terrace above, with the Aegean Sea and the Turkish coast visible in the distance. The Temple of Athena on the upper terrace has the best sea view of any ancient site on the island.
Good to know: Kameiros is on the west coast road, naturally combining with a drive north to the Valley of the Butterflies (Petaloudes — see below) and the ancient site of Ialyssos on the same day. The road between Kameiros and Ialyssos is one of the most scenic on the island.
Best for: Archaeology lovers, anyone who found Lindos too crowded, travelers who want the ancient world without the tour bus context.
The Valley of the Butterflies (Petaloudes)
Type: Nature reserve Time needed: 1.5–2 hours Distance: 25 km southwest of Rhodes Town Cost: €5 Best time: June–September (moths present); morning
The Valley of the Butterflies on Rhodes — like its Parian counterpart — is a lush, shaded valley that hosts seasonal migrations of Jersey Tiger moths from June through September. The valley has a stream, wooden bridges, and a canopy of Oriental Sweetgum trees whose resin attracts the moths in their thousands. Walking the valley path, with the moths clustering on every surface, is one of the most atmospheric natural experiences on the island.
The difference from the Paros version: the Rhodes valley is larger, has more developed infrastructure (café, souvenir shop, a short upper trail with good views), and receives significantly more visitors. It is still beautiful and still worth the visit.
Good to know: Please do not clap, shout, or otherwise disturb the moths — the repeated flight depletes their energy reserves and affects the population. The staff enforce this reasonably but visitor cooperation helps.
Best for: Families, nature lovers, anyone on the west coast road combining with Kameiros.
The Mountain Interior: Embona, Attavyros, and Byzantine Villages
Type: Mountain villages and inland drive Time needed: Full day Highlights: Embona village and local wine, Mount Attavyros, Byzantine Monastery of Thari Cost: Free; budget for lunch and wine tasting
The mountain interior of Rhodes is one of the island's most consistently underused areas and one of the most rewarding for visitors with a rental car and an afternoon. The spine of the island — pine-forested slopes rising to Mount Attavyros (1,215 m), the highest peak in the Dodecanese — is cooler by 8–10°C than the coast in summer and produces a landscape that feels entirely removed from the beach-resort perimeter.
Embona (55 km southwest of Rhodes Town) is the highest village on the island and the centre of the Rhodian wine country. The CAIR winery (the island's largest cooperative producer) and several smaller family wineries produce Athiri and Mandilaria wines from grapes grown on the mountain slopes — both varieties distinctive to the Dodecanese. Lunch in Embona at one of the several tavernas serving roasted meats from the local animals (the lamb raised on the mountain herbs is excellent) is the right way to punctuate a mountain day.
The Monastery of Thari (35 km south of Rhodes Town), set in a pine forest, is the oldest surviving monastery on Rhodes — founded in the 9th century AD, with 12th-century Byzantine frescoes in the katholikon that are among the finest medieval paintings remaining in the Dodecanese. The monastery is functioning, inhabited by monks, and visitable. The silence of the pine forest surrounding it is extraordinary after the coast.
Good to know: The road to Embona passes through a pine forest that was severely affected by fire in 2023 — the landscape is in recovery, and the drive through the recovering hillside has its own particular atmosphere. The summit of Attavyros (accessible by dirt track from Embona, 45 minutes on foot from the road end) has a view across the entire island and, on very clear days, to Crete.
Best for: Drivers, wine enthusiasts, hikers, anyone wanting the Rhodes that exists away from the beach infrastructure.
Prasonisi — The Southern Tip
Type: Windsurf beach and wild landscape Time needed: Full day trip Distance: 90 km south of Rhodes Town Cost: Free beach
Prasonisi is the southernmost point of Rhodes — a thin sandy isthmus connecting the main island to a rocky promontory, with the Aegean Sea on one side and the more sheltered water of the Prasonisi lagoon on the other. In winter and spring, the isthmus floods completely and Prasonisi becomes an island. In summer, the sand bridge is exposed and the two sides of the beach offer two entirely different conditions simultaneously: the Aegean side with 3–4 meter waves (the best windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions in the Dodecanese) and the lagoon side with flat, warm, shallow water (beginners and families).
The landscape here — the rocky promontory, the light-colored sand, the exposed location at the very tip of the island — feels different from the resort-infrastructure north. Several windsurfing and kitesurfing schools operate from the beach, and the international community of wind-sports enthusiasts who congregate here in summer give the place a particular energy.
Good to know: Prasonisi is a full day from Rhodes Town (90 km each way). Combine with a stop at the medieval village of Asklipio (with its castle and Byzantine church) and the beach at Kiotari for a complete south Rhodes day.
Best for: Windsurfers, kitesurfers, anyone wanting the wild, unresort end of a large island.
Rhodes Town's New Town and Mandraki Harbour
Type: Town and harbour Time needed: 1–2 hours Cost: Free Best time: Morning
The New Town of Rhodes — built during the Italian colonial period (1912–1943) and immediately outside the Old Town walls — is an under-appreciated area that contains some of the most handsome early-20th-century colonial architecture in Greece. The Italians built ambitiously: the Government House, the post office, the market hall, and the buildings around Mandraki Harbour are in a hybrid neo-Crusader and Art Deco style that is entirely its own and thoroughly enjoyable.
Mandraki Harbour — the ancient harbour of Rhodes, where the Colossus of Rhodes supposedly straddled the entrance (the famous image, though historically uncertain) — is now marked by two columns topped with a deer and a doe, the symbols of the city. The harbour is lined with excursion boats, the three restored windmills of the medieval grain-milling operation, and the Fort of Saint Nicholas at the harbour entrance. The morning fish market in the covered hall beside the harbour is excellent and worth a visit.
Good to know: The three windmills at Mandraki are the most photographed elements of the New Town and easily visible from the harbour promenade. The evening promenade along Mandraki is the social heart of Rhodes Town for locals — an excellent observation point for the city's non-tourist daily life.
Best for: Architecture lovers, morning market visits, the Colossus mythology, and understanding the Italian legacy in the Dodecanese.
What to wear and pack for Rhodes
For the Old Town: Comfortable walking shoes with grip — the cobblestones of the Old Town and the Street of the Knights are uneven and can be slippery when wet. A light layer for the evenings (the stone walls stay cool after sunset). Modest dress for church and monastery visits.
For Lindos: Walking shoes and water (the acropolis path is steep and exposed). Arrive early enough that heat is not yet an issue. A hat is essential — the acropolis has no shade.
For mountain interior and Kameiros: Sun protection and water. The sites are exposed. The mountain roads require a car with reasonable ground clearance for unpaved sections near Embona.
For Prasonisi: Windsurf/surf conditions mean wind-protection clothing is useful even in summer.
Practical Tips for Rhodes
Rhodes Diagoras Airport (RHO) sits 14 km southwest of Rhodes Town and is one of the busiest airports in Greece — year-round flights from Athens and direct seasonal connections from most major European hubs mean getting here is straightforward. The taxi rank outside arrivals charges €30–35 to the town centre, which is fair, but if you're travelling as a couple or family the smarter move is a pre-booked private transfer through Welcome Pickups — fixed price, driver waiting with your name, no meter anxiety after a long flight. Worth the few extra euros.
One thing most people don't think about until it happens to them: if your flight is delayed or cancelled, you may be entitled to compensation of up to €600 under EU261. AirHelp handles the claim on your behalf — you submit the details, they chase the airline, and you only pay if they win. Takes five minutes to check whether your disrupted flight qualifies.
For ferries, Piraeus to Rhodes takes 14–18 hours overnight — a slow but cheap option. Fast ferries run from Kos (1.5 hrs) and Santorini (4 hrs) in season. See FerryHopper for schedules.
A rental car is non-negotiable if you want to see the real Rhodes — Lindos, Kameiros, Prasonisi, Embona, and the east coast beaches south of Faliraki all require one. The city bus technically covers Faliraki and Lindos in season, but the timetables are restrictive enough to effectively dictate your day. Pick up your car at the airport or from the New Town; rates on Rhodes are noticeably lower than on the Cyclades or Crete. I book through Discover Cars — it searches across local and international suppliers simultaneously, so you get the best available rate without having to check five different websites.
Rhodes Town itself — Old Town, New Town, Mandraki Harbour — is entirely walkable and doesn't need a car at all.
How many days. Five to six days is the right duration: two days for the Old Town (properly, with the museums and the wall walk); one full day for Lindos (including the beach and the village); one east coast beach day; one mountain interior and west coast day (Embona, Kameiros, Petaloudes); and a half-day for the New Town and Mandraki. Three days covers the Old Town and Lindos but leaves the island largely unexplored.
When to visit. May–June and September–October are ideal: the Old Town is manageable, Lindos is doable without extreme heat, the beaches are warm, and prices are significantly lower than peak season. July–August: very hot (35–40°C), very crowded at Lindos and the Old Town main routes, and the island at its maximum tourist infrastructure. The Old Town is good year-round — November to April, with fewer crowds and the medieval city in a more reflective light, is excellent for the historical sites even if the beach season is over. See our best time to travel to Greece guide.
Rhodes vs other Greek islands. Rhodes is the right choice for travelers who want both medieval history at the highest level and good beaches in the same trip — no other Greek island combines these at comparable quality. For pure beach focus, Milos or Naxos are stronger. For Cycladic village character, Paros or Santorini. For variety at scale, see our best Greek islands to visit guide.
Plan your Rhodes trip
- Rhodes Travel Guide — complete Rhodes guide
- Rhodes Tours — guided tours and experiences
- Where to Stay in Rhodes — Old Town, New Town, or resorts
- Best Hotels in Rhodes — recommendations at every budget
- Best Restaurants in Rhodes — Old Town and beyond
- Things to Do in Kos — nearest major Dodecanese island
- Things to Do in Corfu — Ionian counterpart for medieval towns
- Things to Do in Crete — Greece's largest island, ferry connection
- Things to Do in Athens — gateway and gateway back
- Best Greek Islands to Visit — Rhodes in context
- Best Greek Islands for Families — where Rhodes ranks
- Things to Do in Naxos — Cyclades alternative
- Things to Do in Paros — Cyclades alternative
- Greece Itinerary 7 Days — one-week routing with Rhodes
- Greece Itinerary 10 Days — ten days including Rhodes
- How to Plan a Trip to Greece — complete planning guide
- Best Time to Travel to Greece — seasonal guidance
- Is Greece Expensive? — honest cost breakdown
Written by
Athens-born engineer · Coordinates a 5-expert Greek team · 50+ years combined field experience
I write every article on this site drawing on real, first-hand expertise — mine and that of four colleagues who live and work across Greece daily: a Peloponnese tour operator, a transfer specialist across Athens, Mykonos & Santorini, a Cretan hotel owner, and a Northern Greece hotel supplier. Nothing here comes from a single visit or desk research.
Informed by 5 Greek experts
Every destination we cover has been visited and vetted by at least one team member — not for a review, but as part of their daily work in Greek tourism.