What to Do in Rhodes, Greece (The Perfect 5 Day Rhodes Itinerary)
Rhodes was a place that I only had mediocre expectations for and it blew them all out of the water! Rhodes was absolutely awesome and I’m kicking myself for not going sooner. Rhodes’ appeal lies in their spectacular turquoise beaches, beautifully preserved medieval towns, gorgeous mountains, awesome food, and more cats than I have ever seen anywhere! Basically, Rhodes was complete bliss! After spending a week there, I put together this blog post to highlight What to do in Rhodes, Greece so you don’t have to worry about panning your trip!
When to Visit Rhodes
Rhodes stays unbelievably warm even through the fall! I went in mid October and it was sunny and 75-78 degrees every day! The “season” in Rhodes ends October 31st (a little longer than most Greek islands). That means a lot of the day tours and ferries are still running daily.
This was a great time to visit because it was at the tail end of the season and the crowds had gone and the prices had dropped tremendously, yet everything was still open.
I would avoid July and August due to high crowds, prices, and intense heat.
Rhodes, Greece 5 day Itinerary
Day 1: Anthony Quinn bay, Lakido beach, Tsambiki beach, Kalithea springs.
Day 2: Symi day trip
Day 3: Lindos, St. Paul’s bay
Day 4: Kritinia, Monolithos, Prasonisi, Glystra
Day 5: Rhodes town
What to do in Rhodes, Greece
Day 1: Anthony Quinn bay, Lakido beach,Tsambiki, Kalithea Springs
Tsambiki beach: long sandy beach with many bars and restaurants. It’s framed by the mountains on each end. If you want a beach with a lot going on, this is the beach for you! In terms of beautiful beaches, the others I visited while on Rhodes were much more impressive.
Kalithea Springs: Gorgeous Italian architecture that’s a great place for weddings. There are sun beds and a little cafe on the water to just relax. It’s less than 15 minutes from Rhodes. While the hot springs are no longer in use, I still really enjoyed my time here.
There is a 3€ entrance fee, but i think it’s definitely worth it.
Anthony Quinn Bay: tied for prettiest beach on Rhodes island, this is an absolute must! As you can see below, Anthony Quinn Bay is a small coved bay that has the most beautiful clear blue/green waters. I can imagine this place being super popular in the summer, but it was very calm and unpopulated when I went. I LOVED this place.
There is a little cafe overlooking the bay with the best view that you must go and experience, not for the food but for the view!
Lakido Bay: a gorgeous bay right across the parking lot from Anthony Quinn Bay. If you have time, definitely stop here for a bit also.
Day 2: Day Trip To Symi Island
Symi is a short 50 minute catamaran ride away (or 1.5 hours by ferry) and definitely the one day trip you should take when visiting Rhodes.
I read online that you could take a taxi boat to the beaches, which was my plan when I arrived. But I soon realized that the taxi is more like a bus in that it has a schedule so you can’t just randomly arrive and get a taxi boat (which is what I thought). The taxi boats cost about €10-12 each way.
There was only one taxi boat that leaves in the morning, hits up all the popular beaches, and then returns at around 4 or 5pm, but it wouldn’t give me much time to see the beautiful port of Symi or walk up to Chorio so I decided to pass and hope to get a taxi at Pedi Bay.
What to Do in Symi
Walk up the 400+ steps to Chorio
Chorio is the main town that sits perched up on top of a hill overlooking the gorgeous marina and surroundings. From Chorio you can walk another 20 minutes to Pedi Bay, and then to 2 other beaches from there.
Stop at Olive Tree Cafe for a healthy brekkie/brunch of Greek yogurt, honey, and fresh fruits. The setting is super cute as well with a view of the town below.
Visit the Beautiful Beaches
The 2 beaches I was able to visit were Agia Marina and Agios Nikolaos.
Agia Marina has gorgeous turquoise waters and a little island with a monastery you can visit.
Agia Nikolaos has is a small pebbled beach with a few beach shacks selling food and drinks but it’s pretty secluded.
How I got to these beaches:
I missed the morning taxi but I got really lucky and met these amazing locals who offered to take me for free! They first took me to Agia Marina just for pictures and then dropped me off at Agia Nikolaos. They even picked me up later to bring me back! The Greek hospitality is unmatched. So you could try your luck in Pedi Bay or make sure to get on the morning taxi boats when you arrive in Symi harbor.
Walk: from Pedi Bay you can walk 30 minutes to Agia Nikolaos or about 50 or so minutes to Agia Marina. To be honest, the path to Agia Marina looked extremely rocky and like there wasn’t a distinct path. Good sturdy hiking shoes would be required.
Some Symi day tours take you to Panormitis Monastery on the south side of the island. However, I decided to skip this because they leave you there for about 1.5 hours which is so long. I decided to go to the beaches instead of the monastery because you won’t really have time for both.
The other beach I didn’t have time for but was on my shortlist is Nanou beach (I heard random goats come on the beach and try to steal your food here so beware).
If you don’t care to go to the beaches the day tours offer plenty of time to see the monastery and then around 3 hours in Symi to explore (which is plenty).
Visit Nos Beach Near the Port
There is a beach called Nos beach in Symi and is only a 7-8 minute walk from the harbor (where the ferry drops you off). It’s gorgeous and there are many cute cafes along the water in that area.
There are also many cute little boutique shops with unique things to buy in Symi.
They are also famous for Symi shrimp, but I didn’t have time to sit down to try them.
Play with the cute little kitties swarming the island
How to Get to Symi Island
The catamaran from Rhodes to Sými took 50 minutes and costs 30€ round trip with Dodecanese pride. I bought the tickets the day before online and then picked up the tickets at the little booth in front of the boats. Make sure to arrive early to get your paper tickets and find your boat!
Tip: They had some day tours they were selling at Mandraki port that were as cheap as 15€, however, they all had a stop at Panormitis Monastery, which like I mentioned above, I didn’t have that much interest in visiting.
You may also enjoy: Why Milos Should Be on Your Greece Bucket List | The Perfect 4 Day Milos Itinerary
Day 3: Day Trip to Lindos & St. Paul’s bay
St Paul’s Bay: this is the other prettiest beach I saw in Rhodes and you cant beat the view of the Lindos Acropolis in the backdrop.
As a bonus, the summer crowds had long gone and it was pretty empty when I went. I could have spent all day relaxing here lounging and sipping drinks.
Lindos Acropolis– while the 12 € entrance fee is pretty steep compared to most ancient ruin sites I’ve been to, you can get the best aerial view of St. Paul’s Bay and Lindos Beach on each side. You can also see the beautiful white Lindos town below (although I flew my drone there and had the same view honestly).
It takes about 20 minutes to walk uphill from St. Paul’s Bay to the entrance of the acropolis. There is free parking right next to St. Paul’s bay.
There is one restaurant at St. Paul’s Bay that’s pricey but you can’t beat the views! There are also hanging day beds and lounge chairs available to relax all day.
On your way up to the acropolis, stop at Lindian Apollo bar for a nice rooftop view of the acropolis. And make sure to order a cappuccino freddo! Yum.
Day 4: Kritinia, Monolithos, Prasonisi, Glystra
Day 4 will bring you to the west and south of Rhodes Island, the less busy part of the island.
Stop in Kritinia castle (free entrance) for amazing views over the sea. Also stop by the little cafe at the bottom of the castle. It’s super cozy and cute. They also do free wine, honey, and oil tastings.
Kritinia is 1 hour from Rhodes by car.
Leave Kritinia and drive 35 minute to Monolithos Castle. It’s a beautiful windy drive through the mountains, so take your time and enjoy the scenery.
Monolithos castle (free entrance) is perched upon a steep hill overlooking the coastline and it is stunning!
There are many unique openings in the ruins in which you can take some cool pictures (see below).
Prasonisi is at the very tip of the south of Rhodes island. It is very unique in that it is where the Mediterranean Sea and Aegean see meet and makes up a double beach in the summer (a peninsula). In the winter when the waters rise, Prasonisi becomes an island.
Prasonisi is a also very popular spot for wind surfing due to the winds.
Definitely stop at Glystra beach on the way back, which has golden sands and turquoise waters. It’s a little coved beach off the coastal road. There is a little beach shack for drinks
Glystra Beach from above
Day 5: Rhodes Town
There are SO many things to see in Rhodes town so if you only have a day, get an early start!
Inside the old city walls of Rhodes
In case you don’t know, Rhodes is surrounded by a walled city, with many grand entrances to this Medieval town. You will also notice many Turkish mosques throughout the city that are interesting to see and beautiful to photograph.
Palace of the Knights
What not to miss in Rhodes town:
- Palace of the knights/Grandmaster’s Palace (6€ entrance)
- Knight street
- Walk the ancient city walls (2€ entrance)
- Discover all the epic entrances to to the walled city
- Church of the Virgin of the Burgh (pictured below)
- Mondraki port
- Windmills of Rhodes (there is a kitty sanctuary near the windmills, an added bonus!)
Windmills of Rhodes
- Shopping! The street shopping was pretty good inside the city walls.
- Acropolis of Rhodes has amazing view of the coastline just across the street (free entrance)
- Elli beach is only 6-7 minute walk from the old town and a nice way to cool off during the day
- Ronda Rhodes is a swanky beachside cafe on Elli beach with amazing decor and view. It’s pricey but well worth the view!
Ronda at Elli Beach
- Mama Sofia Rhodes has awesome food! The dolmades were the best I ever had and also the lamb kleftiko was bomb.com (i.e. good AF). This was the best restaurant I found in all of Rhodes.
How to Get Around Rhodes Island
Rent a car and ATV from Zeus cars. The owner is super chill and nice and very helpful. The prices are pretty good. A 50cc ATV was 25€ per day and an automatic car (on the spot) was 30€ per day. They won’t rent you a scooter without a motorcycle license but you can rent a 50cc ATV with a regular US license. An international license is not required.
How to Get to Rhodes
Rhodes is one of the furthest Greek islands in the east, near the coastline of Turkey.
Fly
The direct flight was 50 minutes from Athens and cost $75 2 months in advance or $90 the night before.
Ferry
The ferry from Athens takes 11-24 hours (depending on the company) so you might as well fly. The water tends to be choppy on Greek ferries so being on that thing for 11+ hours sounds like hell to me. Just fly.
Where to Stay in Rhodes
7 Palms Hotel
My plan was to take a bunch of day trips from Rhodes town so I stayed in the new town (which was a 20 minute walk from the old city). This location provided a better starting point for all my day trips.
The hotel had the best host who was super positive, energetic, and helpful! She gave me good restaurant recommendations and helped me add some secret spots to my itinerary that I would have never known about.
I stayed in a studio apartment at the hotel, which had a little stove and refrigerator. It also had an outdoor pool (seasonal). The hotel was spacious, comfy, quiet, and I highly recommend it! They also provide free bikes which came in handy.
I booked this place for $267 for an entire week on booking.com. You can view the listing here. It got a review score of 9.2! And if you’re new to Booking.com, you can use my $20 OFF coupon here (I will get $20 off too, so it’s a win-win, thank you!)
Rhodes Tours
If you don’t really want to lift a finger and have everything planned out for you, I would recommend the tour company Get Your Guide. I usually like to do thing on my own, but when I do a tour, I usually choose this company and have been pretty satisfied. You can check the Rhodes Tours below.
MY TOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRAVEL GEAR
1.Sony Alpha 6000 Mirrorless Camera: I made the switch from my huge DSLR and I wouldn’t go back. It’s light, compact, and takes amazing photos!
2. Sony 10-18mm Wide Angle Zoom Lens: this wide angle lens is the key to landscape shots. I use this lens more than the original and am super happy with it. It’s not cheap, but super worth it if you want to get those special nature shots. Honestly, I would purchase the Sony alpha 6000 camera body only and save up for this lens to go with it.
3. E Bags Packing Cubes: the biggest life changer to keep me packing light! This is my biggest travel gear obsession and I have NO idea how I traveled without them before.
4. Anker Portable Charger: this helps me recharge my iPhone several times a day when I travel. It also has dual ports so you can also charge your camera or other electronics simultaneously. I couldn’t travel without it.
5. GoPro Hero 11 Black: I am a proud GoPro ambassador and obsessed with GoPro selfie pics if you didn’t notice! The Gopro cameras are the best for action and underwater shots, and of course for taking those selfies when you’re traveling solo. It’s super small, compact, and easy to travel with. Plus it’s so much fun to use! 🙂
Travel Insurance for Greek Islands
I would never travel without travel insurance anymore. I learned my lesson. Too many bad things can happen (and they have unfortunately). Travel insurance is especially important when traveling to islands, as you may need to be air-lifted to the mainland in the worst case scenario. Do you know how much air-lifting costs? Think at least 5 digits (I.e. Expensive AF!).
My favorite travel insurance that I have been using for the past 4 years is World Nomads. I have made 3 claims so far and have been fully reimbursed for all 3 without any hassle. I highly recommend them.
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