Greece · South Aegean (Dodecanese)
Plan your Rhodes trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Old Town (Medieval City)
Best for first-timers prioritising history and atmosphereSleeping inside the walls, among the actual medieval streets — unmatched atmosphere, cobblestones underfoot, and everything within a short walk. Cars are restricted inside, so arriving with luggage takes some planning.
A boutique hotel in a restored Ottoman-era building near the Street of the Knights
Several of the Old Town's small hotels occupy genuinely historic buildings; book one close to a gate to minimise the luggage-over-cobblestones walk.
€€€A guesthouse tucked off a quiet Old Town side lane
Stepping even one street back from the main tourist thoroughfares buys real quiet after the day-trippers leave in the evening.
€€New Town / Mandraki
Best for travellers who want Old Town access without Old Town logisticsA short walk outside the walls, with harbour promenades, shopping streets, easy ferry access, and nearby town beaches — a more modern, convenient base without the cobblestone trade-offs.
A mid-range hotel near the Mandraki waterfront
Close enough to walk into the Old Town in minutes, with easier car access and parking than inside the walls.
€€Faliraki
Best for beach-and-nightlife package tripsThe island's biggest purpose-built beach resort, with a long sandy beach, water sports, and a nightlife strip that runs late — built for a lively beach holiday, not a quiet one.
A large beachfront resort hotel on the main Faliraki strip
Expect a resort-complex feel with pools, water sports and organised activities rather than village charm.
€€Kolymbia, Stegna & Haraki
Best for families and couples wanting beach quiet without total isolationA quieter stretch of the east coast past Faliraki — smaller hotels, calmer beaches, and a more family-oriented pace, while still close enough to Lindos for an easy day trip.
A smaller family-run hotel near Kolymbia's eucalyptus-lined main road
This stretch trades some nightlife for a genuinely calmer beach scene and easier parking.
€€Lindos
Best for couples and anyone prioritising scenery over central-Rhodes convenienceA whitewashed hillside village beneath its own acropolis, an hour from Rhodes Town — among the most photogenic bases on the island, and correspondingly busy with day-trippers through the middle of the day.
A traditional whitewashed guesthouse on a Lindos backstreet
Staying overnight means you get the village to yourself in the early morning and evening, after the day-trip coaches have gone.
€€€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Palace of the Grand Master
The fortified seat of the Knights Hospitaller's government, begun in the 1440s and finished by 1489 — a genuine Gothic castle with vaulted halls, a…
Tip Visit right at opening to see the upper-floor mosaic rooms before tour groups arrive; afternoons get crowded fast in summer.
Street of the Knights (Odos Ippoton)
A steep cobbled street running from the old Hospital up to the Palace, lined on both sides by the restored Inns of the Order's different language…
Tip Come early morning or after sunset, when the street empties out and the cobblestones and stonework actually photograph the way they look in person.
Mandraki Harbour
The old commercial harbour, its entrance marked by two columns topped with bronze deer that legend places as the site of the Colossus of Rhodes — no…
Tip Walk the harbour at golden hour rather than midday; the Fortress of St Nicholas and the windmills line up best in late light.
Lindos and its Acropolis
A whitewashed village beneath a dramatic rock acropolis holding the Temple of Athena Lindia and fortifications added later by the Knights — often…
Tip Go early or take the 15-minute climb rather than hiring a donkey; the site is at its best, and least crowded, before 10am.
Kamiros
One of Rhodes's three ancient city-states, its ruins laid out across a hillside amphitheatre about a kilometre from the sea — far less visited than…
Tip Pair it with the Valley of the Butterflies on the same drive down the west coast — they're a short distance apart.
Valley of the Butterflies (Petaloudes)
A shaded, stream-fed valley on the island's west side that fills with Jersey tiger moths (universally called butterflies locally) from roughly…
Tip Keep noise to a minimum; the moths scatter at the slightest disturbance, and a quiet approach is the only way to actually see them settled.
Kallithea Thermal Springs
A striking 1929 spa building on a small bay south of Rhodes Town, designed by an Italian architect during the island's period of Italian rule,…
Tip Go for the architecture and the small sheltered cove as much as the springs themselves — it's as much a photogenic stop as a wellness one.
Prasonisi
The sandy spit at the island's southern tip where the Aegean and Mediterranean meet, and one of Europe's best-known windsurfing and kitesurfing spots…
Tip Visitors who don't surf can still enjoy a calmer swim on the sheltered side of the spit while watching the kites work the windier side.
Anthony Quinn Bay
A small rocky cove south of Rhodes Town named for the actor who reportedly fell for it while filming nearby and later bought land around it — now a…
Tip Arrive early to claim a rock ledge before coach tours fill the access points by mid-morning.
Day trips from Rhodes
Symi
A pastel-painted harbour island reached by ferry from Mandraki in 50 minutes to just over an hour — one of the prettiest ports in the Aegean and an…
Day tripLindos and the southeast coast
Combine the acropolis and village with a swim at one of the beaches nearby, or push on to Prasonisi at the southern tip for the windsurfing scene.
Day tripKamiros, Petaloudes and the west coast
A single drive down the west coast road links the ancient ruins at Kamiros with the Valley of the Butterflies — a quieter, greener contrast to the…
Day tripBrowse tickets, tours and activities
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around
Rhodes Town itself is walkable, and the Old Town's narrow lanes are pedestrianised and largely closed to cars, so once you're inside the walls you're on foot regardless.
Flights
Compare fares into Rhodes and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.