Greek island of Rodos is one of the most famous Greek islands, a tourist destination of excellence for thousands of tourists every season and this year also for you. Charming with its beautiful beaches, verdant landscapes, traditional villages, Greek taverns with excellent cuisine.
Rodos
You will be amazed by the beauty of the historic center of the old town of Rhodes, declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But also from the Greek atmosphere that reigns among the alleys of Lindos and many other peculiarities that will make your holiday on this wonderful island unique.
Rodos is like a paradise lying in the middle of the waters of the Aegean Sea with its archaeological sites, beautiful beaches and local traditions. Among all the islands of Greece, it is the most known, loved and also the most visited island. In fact, it offers magnificent beaches, superb hotels with excellent services as well as simple and inexpensive studios and apartments scattered throughout the island.
Island was the protagonist of famous novels but also of films such as the Battle of Navarone. Today it is proposed as a destination for your vacation. In addition to enjoying the sea and the beach, you will be happy to discover that the ancient Greek traditions are still intact and transmitted from generation to generation until today.
Island of the Sun
It is called the Island of the Sun, a beautiful nickname given to it by the Colossus of Rodos dedicated to Apollo the Sun. Diamond-like shape; with a length of about 80 km and a width of 38 km it is classified as the first island of the Dodecanese for the number of the population and for its size.
Climate
“Sun”, this is one of the main and most appreciated features of the island of Rhodes. From April to November, a period during which the rains are very rare, the island offers a Mediterranean climate of excellence. This favorable condition gives the possibility to fully enjoy the sea and days that are perpetually sunny, but at the same time caressed by the Meltemi that allows to make even the high summer temperatures more pleasant.
Capital town of Rodos
Homonymous capital of the largest island in the Dodecanese is precisely Rhodes town; a place that lives a double soul: the old city and the new city.
Old town coincides with the medieval city of Rhodes, and is enclosed within a mighty surrounding wall near the port of Mandraki. It is recognized by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage City of Humanity as well as one of the best preserved medieval cities. Like Carcassonne in France or Avila in Spain, this medieval city offers a unique and beautiful atmosphere. In addition to numerous shops, taverns, clubs and cafes. It houses numerous buildings and testimonies of different historical periods ranging from the occupation of the Knights of St. John to the Ottoman period and that of the Italian colonization of the Dodecanese.
The new city of Rodos, instead, is the administrative center of the island of Rhodes with many Italian palaces in Venetian and neo-Gothic style. parks, squares and wide streets, as well as hotels, restaurants, clubs and shops of all kinds complemented the beauty of the new city. The characteristic port of Mandraki, once the naval port of ancient Rhodes. Today is the main port of the island and is adorned by two statues of deer, a male and a female, which represent the symbol of the island.
Tourist resorts of Rodos
Planning to organize your vacation on Rodos, you will immediately realize the vast offer of tourist resorts that this island can offer. In fact there is not only the possibility to choose Rhodes city with its large super-equipped hotels or the medieval city that will make you immerse in a surreal atmosphere.
Between the airport and the city of Rhodes you will find the tourist resorts Ixia, Kremasti and Ialysos with numerous hotels, excellent tourist services and a long beach of sand and pebbles.
Heading along the south-east coast, you will meet the second most important tourist resort on the island: Faliraki. Known for the large number of hotel offerings, equipped and lively beaches, this town also offers a wild nightlife.
Walking along the eucalyptus road we arrive at the largest tourist resort in this area, Kolymbia. Here there are numerous hotels, clubs and beach bars along the main avenue.
Further south are located characteristic villages Stegna and Haraki, with a beautiful pebble-sand beach.
Lindos is the most popular and fascinating tourist resort in the south of the island of Rodos. Known for being a small Cycladic village in the Dodecanese, it offers accommodation in numerous hotels of all types.
Not far from Lindos, find the resorts of Vlycha, with its beautiful bay and large hotels, the village of Pefkos with a beautiful beach and plenty of apartments and small hotels. The continuation of Pefkos beach reaches Lardos, where the offer of hotels is more impressive.
Hinterland and villages of Rhodes
Largest island in the Dodecanese, and in addition to its capital, rich in history and interesting views, offers many other places that are worth visiting.
Among these, there are still inland villages, where customs and habits have been maintained in respect of traditions. In this regard, it is worth visiting the village of Koskinou, just outside the city, with the characteristic multi-colored facades of its houses. The villages of Maritsa, inland, from Pastida are also of similar tradition. But also the village of Afandou, which in Greek means “invisible to the sea”, one of the major traditional villages of the island.
Towards the south of the island, it is important to mention the village of Embonas, which is located almost 850m high and is considered one of the most remote villages on the island of Rodos. His wine production is particularly famous, especially the suma, the typical grappa of the island of Rhodes. For those who want instead to get lost in the daily life of the Greeks taking a walk through the narrow streets of the town or having a coffee in the square, we recommend a stop in Archangelos.
Beautiful nature
A visit to the most naturalistic places on the island cannot certainly be missed. The 7 springs of Rodos, called in Greek Efta Piges, a forest located in the center of the island, with seven springs of fresh water. The springs belong to the Natura 2001 protected area along with the Profitis Elias mountain and the Valley of the butterflies. I petalùdes in Greek, the butterflies and the Valley of the Butterflies is a natural park, one of the rarest biosphere in Europe where a unique phenomenon occurs, the concentration of millions of butterflies of the species Panaxia Quadripunctaria from mid-June until the end of August.
At the extreme south, instead, we can observe the famous phenomenon of the meeting of the two seas. It is Prassonissi, an island-peninsula and is located at the southern end of the island of Rhodes. Its characteristic is that it is a promontory, joined to the island by a strip of sand, on which stands a lighthouse. The promontory separates from the island at high tide giving rise to that phenomenon known as “the meeting of the two seas.
Villages of historical interest
Of great historical interest, on the other hand, is the village of Monolithos, known for the eponymous Castle. It is located on Mount Akramitis, in the south-west area of the island of Rhodes. Castle was built on a steep cliff by the will of the knights of Venice and was considered one of the most imposing and safe fortresses in Rhodes. And speaking of medieval testimonies, we should mention the castle of Kritinia, on the peaks of Mount Atavyros, with a beautiful view of vineyards and citrus groves. Hamlet of Kritinia is a few kilometers from Kamirou Skala, the small port on the East coast, near the famous archaeological site of Kamiros, an outpost on the sea of the Hellenistic period.
Rodos of the artists
Green heart of Rhodes beats stronger in Lahania or Lachanià, a rural village in the far south of the island. In recent years it has become the most new and ecological place in Rhodes: here lives a community of artists and writers. Houses are perched on the edge of a verdant gorge, offering a panoramic view of the valley with blue-painted doors and windows and flat roofs.
Lindos
And then there’s Lindos. In ancient Greece, the small town of Lindos was one of the most important cities of Rhodes that prospered under the Knights of St. John. All the ancient charm of this city has been preserved up to the present day; along the narrow alleys of Lindos only pedestrians can circulate or at most donkeys, often used to transport tourists to the Acropolis. No structural change can be made to buildings, many of which date back to the 15th century.
Center of Lindos, despite the obvious narrow urban dimensions, is a lively town both day and night during which tourists flock to the beautiful typical taverns with tables set up on the panoramic terraces, in the numerous cafes and nightclubs or in the shops of souvenirs and in boutiques. Lindos has a beautiful beach of fine sand equipped with colored umbrellas that offer shelter from the scorching sun to the many tourists.
Getting to Rodos – flights and ferries
Rodos is located in the Dodecanese archipelago, squeezed between the Mediterranean Sea in the east and the Aegean Sea in the west, very close to the Turkish coast. It is connected with the port of Athens (Piraeus) and daily with the nearby Kos island. The Turkish coast, and more precisely the town of Marmaris can be reached in an hour by catamaran; service that operates every day during the summer season.
International airport is located in the north part of the island. It therefore guarantees numerous domestic flights and multiple daily connections with the capital Athens, with the important city of Thessaloniki. But also with the main islands, such as Crete, to which it is connected in high season directly with Heraklion airport.
But the advantage of having an island with an international airport is the possibility of having direct connections with European airports in the summer.
Where to stay
Inside the Old City it will not be uncommon to encounter charming boutique hotels, guest houses and hostels. New Town instead has an offer of hotels more “business”, they are the big city hotels overlooking the sea, but with all the services and comforts for the most demanding clients.
Moving towards Ialysos, the offer is more varied. Hotels, resorts, but also apartments and studios. Faliraki, on the other hand, you can really find everything: from studios and apartments to the needs of younger tourists who choose the destination mainly for the wild nightlife, to the more informal hotels for a target without great pretensions.
Going down towards Kolymbia, instead, we find the first large resorts, often offered with an all-inclusive formula. From Stegna to Haraki, instead, it’s easier to find rooms for rent, small family-run hotels or studios. Between Kalathos and Vlycha, on the other hand, there are again the large, sumptuous hotels, a little stretched by the centers of greatest attraction; the beach is also very beautiful.
Arriving in Lindos, the offer is rather vast. It is not unusual to find small hotels, a bit dated, but with an enviable position. But also small jewels like the Melenos, in front of the Acropolis or big hotels, but well inserted in the territory, just out of the city center.
Pefkos, on the other hand, there are still many small hotels and numerous studios, well-equipped and often with a swimming pool and relative pool bar. Finally, after Lardos and in the whole area of Kiotari you will find the largest all-inclusive resorts on the island, of different categories and all with a beautiful equipped beach.
Rent a vehicle in Rodos: better scooter or car?
It is unthinkable to have chosen an island as beautiful and large as Rodos and then not to rent a vehicle to visit it. It is therefore absolutely necessary to get a car or a scooter to discover the island. Main main roads are all paved and in most cases well lit.
If you choose to rent a scooter, the solution is excellent for staying near the location you have chosen or if you are staying at the Center of the Island. Scooter is also convenient for getting around Rhodes Town where parking in the center is often not so easy, especially in high season. Instead, to venture to the extreme south and reach the windy area of Prassonissi, we recommend a car instead.\4
To get a deeper idea of the available vehicles and the updated prices, you can consult the Rhodes Rental section.
Most beautiful beaches of Rodos
Difficult to find beaches not worthy of note on this large island. Island boasts more than 200 km of coastline of which more than half with accessible beaches. This allows to find some places that are not very crowded even in high season. Almost all the beaches of Rhodes have the blue flag for the exceptional clarity and beauty of the sea water.
Along the south-east coast, heading from Rodos town towards Faliraki, the equipped beaches are often crowded by the guests of the numerous hotels, while the free and quiet ones are difficult to reach. Don’t miss the beautiful Ladico beach and nearby is also the famous Antony Queen bay.
After Kolymbia you will find one of the most beautiful and famous beaches, Tsambika Beach, whose name derives from the small church of the Virgin built on top of the promontory.
Continuing towards Lindos is Agathi Beach, probably the most beautiful beach on the island of Rhodes. Agathi beach is of golden sand and is located in a sheltered bay with a Caribbean-colored sea.
Beach of Lindos is very wide and of fine sand; the whole bay is very scenic thanks to the beauty of the village that overlooks it.
Pefki, instead has several coves set among the rocks, an excellent alternative for those looking for a bit of intimacy or want to snorkel. Further on, the sandy beaches of Lardos are known as some of the wildest and most isolated of the island of Rhodes. While in Kiotari the beaches are almost entirely dedicated to the guests of the big resorts. In Gennadi instead there are many beaches free of gravel and sand.
Excursions
A more complete idea to discover the island is to explore it through an organized excursion.
To learn more about the history of Rhodes, for example, you can take a guided tour of the old city. To see the city from a different point of view and with a romantic light, instead, the ideal is to enjoy a sunset cruise.
Beautiful cruise is also the alternative solution to discover the most beautiful bays of the coast of Rodos with the blue day caique tour. Or to reach Lindos and Tsampika.
Another organized excursion in the area is the visit accompanied by the local guide to Kalithea, Filerimos and Valley of the Butterflies.
Nightlife and entertainment
Famous for its nightlife and is known as the most cosmopolitan island of Greece that has everything to offer in terms of entertainment.
Rodos town offers many nice places where to go out; you go for an aperitif at Eli beach, or in search of the wild nightlife, in the town’s Bar Street. Rodos town also offers a huge disco bar on two floors: the Colorado.
In Kalithea there is, instead, the Paradiso Disco Bar, the most famous club of the island where every summer the most famous DJs of the world alternate. In Faliraki there is the wildest Dodecanese bar street with bars, clubs, pubs, strip bars and night clubs for all tastes and budgets. While in Lindos the scene is dominated by the Disco Club Amphitheater with its breathtaking view of the Acropolis. In the Pefki area you will find more English-style bars, where you can sip a good cocktail and watch a football game, always projected on the big screen of the Jasmine for example. Finally, even further south, at Kiotari, we find a beautiful beach bar open all night: it’s the Shimba’s.
