Rhodes
A walled city of the Knights of St John at the tip of the island, Ottoman minarets among its Gothic houses, and a long runway twenty minutes down the west coast.
- Arrival
- Rhodes Diagoras · RHO
- To the city
- About 20 minutes to Rhodes Town
- Private jets
- Same airport, runway of 3,305 m
- Best time
- April to October
The city
The Knights’ town, and a long season.
The Knights of St John arrived in 1309 and made Rhodes their fortress, enclosing it in some four kilometres of ramparts. The Upper Town is entirely theirs: the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Great Hospital finished in 1489, and the Street of the Knights, lined with the inns of the Order’s national tongues. Below it, in the Lower Town, Gothic façades stand beside the mosques, baths and houses of the Ottoman centuries, and UNESCO has listed the whole medieval city since 1988.
The season is long. April already reaches 20 °C, the sea is warm enough for swimming from June, and in August it touches 27 °C. October is still at 24 °C in the air and in the water; the rain comes back in November and peaks over the winter.
- The Street of the Knights A cobbled street of Gothic inns, each built for one of the Order’s nations, climbing to the Grand Masters’ palace.
- The ramparts Four kilometres of walls and gates, reworked over three centuries to meet the age of gunpowder.
- Lindos A white village under an acropolis on the east coast, a day out from the town.
Arriving
Down the west coast to the old town.
Diagoras Airport stands at Paradeisi on the island’s west coast, fourteen kilometres from the city. Fraport Greece runs it under a forty-year concession, and it handled just over seven million passengers in 2025.
- Beirut 1 h 20
- Amman 1 h 30
- Almaty 5 h 45
- Hong Kong 10 h 50 long-range jet
- New York 11 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
April to October.
Rain on Rhodes is a winter affair: December and January each bring more than 160 mm. Highs climb from 20 °C in April to 31 °C in July and August and are still 24 °C in October, while between May and September barely a shower falls.
- 14° J 167 17°
- 15° F 129 17°
- 17° M 82 16°
- 20° A 30 17°
- 24° M 18 19°
- 29° J 6 22°
- 31° J 1 25°
- 31° A 2 27°
- 28° S 10 26°
- 24° O 68 24°
- 20° N 99 21°
- 16° D 168 19°
Where to stay
Inside the walls, and on the shore.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
Where to dine
Where to book on Rhodes.
The MICHELIN Guide does not cover Rhodes. These tables are rated in Greece’s Golden Caps awards, recommended by Travel.gr, or the high-end restaurant of a hotel on this page.
- Noble Golden Caps 2026, 15.5/20 Progressive Rhodian Elysium Resort, Kallithea, about 10 km south of Rhodes Town
- 12 Nissia Travel.gr Greek and Mediterranean Rodos Palace, Ixia, about 5 km from Rhodes Town
- Ammades Taste Signature restaurant, Ammades All Suites Tasting menu Ammades All Suites, Faliraki, east coast
Elsewhere in Greece
More reasons to come.
-
Athens
The Parthenon, the Plaka, and the seaside hotels of Vouliagmeni.
-
Mykonos
Windmills, beach clubs, and a runway that takes private jets.
-
Santorini
Villages on the rim of a sunken volcano.
- Corfu A Venetian old town and the green coves of the Ionian.
- Elounda Resorts on the Gulf of Mirabello, in the east of Crete.
- Costa Navarino Golf courses and resorts in the south-west of the Peloponnese.
Flying to Rhodes?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.