Rhodes Island is the fourth biggest island in Greece. Visiting Rhodes Island, this place has a mix of ancient attractions and beautiful beaches.
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A popular travel destination filled with small towns and beaches, it is located in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The entire Rhodes Island is very mountainous, with villages up on the mountain. If you love Kos, you may love Rhodes Island even more.
Please do not mix it up with the Rhodes in America. This island in Greece is the original Rhodes.
When I was researching Kos, I thought that I would love Kos. Until I visited Rhodes Island in Greece. I have to admit that Rhodes Island is very touristy. Every corner of the Old Town seems to be catered to tourists and there are TONS of tourists.
Because their government is trying to preserve as much of the old town, cars cannot drive around. Only residents who stay inside the Old Town to drive inside. From the outside, Old Town looks like a fortress, like it’s located inside a palace.
Rhodes Island food portions are so HUGE that we ordered 2 mains for the 4 of us to share. Considering that we have 2 kids and they don’t eat much. Taste is also very touristy, and a lot of meat. I love the homely food in Kos. Therefore if you want to have a more localise taste where locals visit, go out of Old Town. You can visit taverns at the edge of the old town, or you can see New City.
One of the most popular towns has got to be Lindos with its famous Acropolis. If you love Santorini, Acropolis at Lindos is equally mesmerizing.
Table of Contents
- Ways to enter Rhodes
- Where to stay?
- How to travel around the island
- Day 1 Activities
- Day 2 Activities
- Day 3 Activities
- Day 4 Activities
- Ending
Ways to enter Rhodes
We took a ferry in from Kos. The journey took us about 3 hours on the Blue Star Ferries. It was comfortable and not overcrowded. You can purchase food and drinks at the bar, then sit on their sofa chair overlooking the sea.
If you are based in Athens, you can also fly into their international airport. There are various countries to which Rhodes Island has direct flights such as Zurich, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Berlin.
However, even though they are located next to Turkey, there is strangely no direct flight from Istanbul even to other parts of Greece.
But I would say that taking the ferry is the most convenient way to reach Rhodes Island. The pier is located about 15 minutes to Old Town by walking.
Where to stay?
If you like the bustling crowd and convenience of the Old Town, I would recommend the Zacosta Villa Hotel. They have less than 10 rooms and is a very cosy hotel. They are inside a quiet alleyway that is 1 minute away from the main stretch of Old Town.
They have 2 staff on duty serving simple yet delicious breakfast and basic room cleaning. For the 4 nights we were there, we would have breakfast in the morning while chatting with Nikolas as he went around serving coffee for us.
As this is a small place, there are no facilities such as the gym, or swimming pool.
Another boutique that we had considered was the S. Nikolis Historic Boutique Hotel. The whole setting and decor made you feel that you have been transported to the Medival times. But unfortunately, no rooms were available when we were about to make a booking, talking about the fastest fingers first!
They also provide breakfast for their guests. As an additional add-on, they have a rooftop garden. How lovely!
If you prefer somewhere outside of Medival Town, try the New Town instead. Athineon Hotel is a very popular and polished hotel that is fitted with all the necessary amenities such as a full-size swimming pool, children’s swimming, gym, and even a billiard room. This 4-star hotel is suitable for both couples and families with their family apartment.
For friends who enjoy hitting the beach every day and like to have the luxury of a beach resort, try Blue Sea Beach Resort. This 4-star resort is near Faliraki Beach and a 5-minute drive to the nearby waterpark.
How to travel around the island
Like Kos, both Rhodes Old Town and New Town are very walkable. Of course, Old Town has been preserving the medieval way. Therefore, expect cobbled stones as well as up and down slopes, just like an ancient city. Whereas theNew Town is just like your modern cities with tarred roads for cars and cement pavement for walking.
If you have plans to go to other towns such as Lindos or wineries such as Kournakis or Ebonas, it’s best to rent a car to drive. There are public buses. However, most depart hourly and only go to popular beaches or towns. If you have to go to off-the-beaten-track places, renting a car is the way to go. There is also Uber available for the local taxi, however, if you are going to more than 1 place, your travel expenses will go up exponentially.
We rented our car with City Car Rental. We are very pleased with their services. We get to conduct car checking together before embarking on our journey to ensure that everything is functioning.
Day 1 Activities
We reached Rhodes about lunchtime. So after checking in to the hotel, we headed out for lunch first before starting our sightseeing.
We passed by the Medival Clock Tower. Visitors can go all the way up by paying 5 euros. We didn’t because to climb all the way up with 2 kids under the scorching sun was unbearable. Therefore we decided to skip this.
Then we proceed to Path of God – Greek History Museum. It’s a very small museum talking about Greek History. Though small, it’s very well presented and there’s even a 20-minute video to explain to the kids. It’s very kids – friendly and there is a guide to help explain things to us as we walk around. There are even some kids’ activities such as puzzles and coloring. In all, we spent around 1 hour in the museum.
The next stop was the Street of the Knight of Rhodes. It’s filled with cobbled stone and it’s very steep. It’s best to wear proper shoes if you want to visit this. It’s an open street, open for all. This is also one of the ways to visit the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes.
We wanted to visit the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes on this day. However, we were left with about 30 minutes to close. So we decided to come back the next day.
Instead, we visited the Rhodes Windmills which was located near the pier.
Day 2 Activities
We started the day early with the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. The entrance ticket which cost us 10 euros allows us to visit 4 different attractions. However, we can only visit each once. The Palace is located at the same place as the Archeological Museum.
The second place with the ticket was a Church of Our Lady of the Castle and the Decorative Arts Collection. The church had a small exhibition and a garden at the back. Other than that, there was nothing. It’s pretty small. The Decorative Arts Collection was more interesting with home artifacts from the olden days in Rhodes.
All of the attractions are within walking distance of each other.
After lunch, we continue our way with the Church of the Virgin Mary of the Burgh.
The downside of visiting Rhodes Island in summer is the heat. By early afternoon, there aren’t many people on the street. We decided to head back to the hotel to cool down.
At about 5 pm we decided to go out again. Since we are on the island, why not some water activity? No, we aren’t good swimmers. And the kids can’t swim. Instead of jumping straight into the sea, we chose to take part in an underwater cruise.
Submarine Posoidon is not really with a submarine.
Day 3 Activities
On our third day, we rented to head out of the town area to visit another part of Rhodes. Like Kos and all the European countries, they are left-hand drive. We collected our car with City Car Rental. They pick us up from the entrance of Old Town before driving us to the office for a car check.
The first destination was the Ancient Stadium of Rhodes. If you are not a history enthusiast, this place is not in such a ruined state that you can’t recognize anything. Structure are still around and most of the steps are intact.
Then we drive 1.5hr to the Toy Museum of Rhodes which is very fun and interesting even for the adults.
After lunch, we head off to the Holy Monastery of the Virgin Mary Tsambika.
This is sadly not kid-friendly at all, especially during summer. You have to climb at least 15-20min up the stairs. About 300 steps per direction. And through the entire journey, there was no shelter and trees were very sparse. We opted to wait for my hubby to finish at the bottom while watching a few goats frolicking. The entire trip took him at least 45 minutes.
Then since we have a car, we should probably visit at least a beach on Rhodes Island. One of the more popular beaches was Tsambika Beach. Mind you, when we were there, it wasn’t the peak of summer and not summer holiday yet. But the beach was almost full.
The last stop of the day was the Acropolis of Lindos. If you love the Acropolis of Athens or Santorini, please come to this place.
I was seriously half grumbling inside me as I walked up the narrow and somewhat steep slope. Please wear proper walking shoes. I was only wearing slides, and it’s not a great choice for footwear.
The scenery at the top was amazing!!
I’m not a fan of all the ruins, to be honest. But the view, as the sun was setting, was breathtaking. It looks like Santorini except the buildings were camel/ Khaki and white in colour instead the blue.
If you do not intend to drive, you check out the Old Town and Lindos Day Tour. This 7 hour tour gives you a proper introduction to Rhodes Old Town, a drive along the scenic east coast of the Mediterranean coastline before heading to the Village of Lindos.
Day 4 Activities
On our last day in Rhodes, we visited the Honey Museum. It was very informative and a shop outside that sold a wide range of honey products. Inside the museum, they share about the process of honey extraction, a wide range of the different types of honey.
The last attraction that we visited was the Farma de Rhodes which is a petting zoo with a wide range of farm animals. The kids enjoy feeding the animals and you can be quite up close with the animals. As this is a private zoo, most of the staff will not really bother you. There are certain animals that require the zoo – keeper before visitors can interact with them. However, most of the animals are free to interact with.
Apart from the various places we visited, Rhodes also produce their own olive oil, wine, as well as honey. Greek wine is definitely on par with the other European wine, but is unfortunately often overshadowed by many countries.
Ending
If you are looking for a relaxing Europe destination for your next holiday, Rhodes Island is definitely one of them. There are ample things to do even for a weekend trip. Or you can just hit the beach to relax for the entire day.
If you like Rhodes Island, hop on below to another Greek Island, Kos.
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