We recently spent four days on Rhodes, a fascinating Greek island steeped in history. There are a lot of Greek islands I’d love to visit – Santorini, Crete, Zante. Weirdly, I’d never really thought of Rhodes.
However if it’s Greek history and lovely island towns that you want, look no further than Rhodes. Packed with historic sites and plenty of beaches, it’s the perfect island if you want a mix of things to do and doing nothing – sounds like my kind of place!
This trip came about from a collaboration with Jet2 Holidays. Jet2 are a company I’ve been really impressed with particularly during the pandemic watching how they’ve handled all the travel chaos and doing their best for their customers. A few of my friends use them a lot and swear by them, and I was excited to finally get to try them out.
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This was our first ever all-inclusive holiday too, and I’ll be writing about my thoughts below – we had a brilliant time, and really enjoyed exploring Rhodes.
Disclaimer: this trip was provided by Jet2 Holidays, but I was free to create my own itinerary, and all content, ideas and opinions are my own, as always.
This post contains affiliate links. Please note if you buy or book anything through my links, I may earn a little commission that helps keep this site running, at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
Day 1 – Rhodes Town
The top destination in Rhodes is the main port town, which boasts a plethora of attractions inside the historic old town.
We actually went to Rhodes town on our last day rather than first, and after a busy couple of days, we took it pretty easy rather than rushing around to see the sights. We decided to grab an early lunch at our hotel (one of the perilous advantages of all-inclusive) before heading into Rhodes for the afternoon.
This is the one thing we would have done differently if we hadn’t been at an all-inclusive. We’d wanted the morning to relax, but we would definitely have had lunch in town, and we found somewhere that would have been perfect, too.
Despite our shortened day, it’s really easy to get around Rhodes town on foot and see everything we wanted in a short space of time.
The site of Colossus of Rhodes
The first thing we did, instead of going in through the old town gate, was walk along the marina to Saint Nicholas fortress. We passed some peculiar windmills, cat shelters, and obscenely expensive boats, and beyond the fortress is where they believe the gigantic Colossus of Rhodes statue once stood, thousands of years ago, portraying the sun god Helios.
Nobody really knows, but you could just imagine it there. It’s thought to have been a whopping 33 metres tall – a pretty impressive structure to have been built almost 2,500 years ago!
Side note: Cats are everywhere in Rhodes – we even had some wandering around our hotel! In Rhodes town, there were lots of these wee shelters for them which was lovely, along with collection tins for food. The cats seem to be very well looked after!
Palace Of The Grand Master
Perched above Rhodes town is the Palace of the Grand Master, probably the best attraction in Rhodes, if we’re talking about something that’s real.
The palace itself is really impressive, although despite everything I’m about to say, there’s not a lot to look at that’s very palace-y. Yes, palace-y. Bear with me on this though, because there are two things that made this very worth the visit.
Firstly, the Ancient Greek museum. This had tons of artifacts from ornate pots to full blown statues, thousands of years old. It’s a really interesting museum and we spent a while in there while a really loud American explained everything (and pondered everything he couldn’t) to the person he was with.
We were a little confused after that (not because of the American) because we weren’t sure if we were able to go up the stairs from the main entrance or if that was part of another ticket. Anyway, we ventured up and it was all part of the same place. This is where you get to see a lot more of the palace itself, and while impressive, it does feel like it’s lacking something.
This is made up by the fact they have ancient mosaics EVERYWHERE!
They are so impressive. I liked this one of Medusa.
It turned out that there’s a multi ticket you can buy that includes the palace, the Archaeological Museum and a couple of other places. Entrance to the palace alone is 8€ but the multi ticket costs 10€, which is extremely worth it.
Unfortunately we didn’t have a lot of time and decided just to do the palace, but I’m kicking myself that we didn’t head up there first because the Archaeological Museum is supposed to be excellent.
Street Of The Knights
The street of the knights is one of the most popular “attractions” in Rhodes, as it’s a well preserved cobbled street where the Knights of St John used to live, with each “inn” representing a different country that the knights were from. The street leads up to the Grand Master’s Palace, so it’s pretty much a guaranteed route to take when in Rhodes.
It basically hasn’t changed since medieval times, so you can really feel the history here. In fact, apparently Rhodes is the oldest medieval town in Europe?!
I would never have guessed that if you’d asked me!
Rhodes town is a nice place for a wander, with lots of little streets threading the old town together. We grabbed an ice cream from the most Instagrammy place ever – they stuck on a tiny wafer cone hat, a big marshmallow and a load of sprinkles – and we sat in Hippocrates Square taking it all in before we had to head back.
We also managed to visit the mad shell shop on a boat. We’d passed it on the bus and I immediately made a mental note to try and go there if we had time. It’s really cool!
There are plenty more things to do in this small medieval town, including a 9D (9D?!) cinema that a few people had mentioned, but I feel like we hit most of the highlights.
Day 2 – Day tour to Lindos
Our highlight of Rhodes was a day trip over to the other side of the island, to historic Lindos.
The main attraction is the Acropolis towering over the town, but I quickly fell in love with the town itself. It was busy – in fact, it was probably busier than Rhodes town – but there are lots of little alley ways and streets to get away from the crowds. It’s a fascinating layout and easy to get lost, but we loved climbing up the cobbled streets and finding familiar sites where we accidentally double backed on ourselves, and we really enjoyed the atmosphere. It felt almost like a market town, except with a lot of souvenir shops.
It actually had this paradoxical feeling of being both fake, with all the perfect, quaint alleys rising up with bright white shops, and authentic, with the history seeping through the streets from the Acropolis above. It’s also set on a beautiful bay, so it really does feel like a magical, historical Greek island destination.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that the weather wasn’t great, as per my usual luck with weather. Typically, it kept trying to rain, but as soon as we put our rain coats on, it would stop and then be too warm while were walking around. The whole day was a constant repeat dance routine of putting coats on, taking them off, putting them on, taking them off.
Lindos Acropolis
We walked up to the Acropolis, which really doesn’t take as long as it looks, though it’s hard to say just how long because it depends where you’re counting it from! We’d already wandered up through the town, so by the time we came out, it was only about ten minutes to the entrance of the Acropolis, and then there are a few steps up to the very top. From the bottom of the town, it’s maybe twenty minutes.
Lindos is also famous for its donkeys but I hate the idea of them carrying people all the way up there. Kids, maybe.
The Acropolis is well worth a visit regardless. It’s 12€, which is the most expensive attraction we visited on the trip, but it’s worth it to see the temple to Athena Lindia up close, as well as the views over the town and coast. In fact, it’s probably the best thing to do in Rhodes overall!
We got really lucky too, because the weather got better as we headed up there, but because people had been avoiding it during the rain, we literally got straight in. When we left, there was a huge queue!
Lunch at the Village Cafe
After making our way back down into the town, we had come down a different path which meant we were in a different area. It didn’t take long to find familiar streets though, and we happened to pass somewhere I’d read about – the Village Cafe!
We popped in for lunch and had some delicious gyros sandwiches. They were so good – and another reason to get out of the hotel for a meal!
We visited Lindos on a tour, which is much better than taking public transport as the buses can take forever and the tour companies offer pick up from your hotel. It was already close to an hour and a half each way with the tour, and that was with a handful of hotel pick ups along the way. However it’s definitely worth the trip, and although it’s a “tour”, you’re completely left to your own devices once you arrive. You just have to be back at a certain time, giving us about four hours to explore. This was actually the perfect amount of time really, as Lindos is so tiny and compact.
Do the tour we did through Get Your Guide! (affiliate link)
Fun anecdote: we bumped into a couple of my Mum’s friends in Lindos!! Small world, eh?
Day 3 – A day in Turkey
Now, I didn’t strictly spend four days on Rhodes… or even in Greece. When I found that Rhodes is only an hour-long ferry ride from a completely different country, you bet that it went STRAIGHT on my list.
To be honest, I was in two minds about doing this. For one thing, it seemed like a disservice to Turkey to only spend a day there.
Secondly, it was to Marmaris. I knew nothing about Marmaris except that it’s full of resort hotels and from that, I assumed that there would be little else.
Ultimately, I decided to go, if anything, to see what it was really like and whether it was worth the trip. It would make a good story regardless, and it’s a new country for me!
I am pleased, and pleasantly surprised, to report that Marmaris is in fact more than just a resort town! Don’t get me wrong, it’s touristy. It’s one of the most touristy places I’ve been, really, in terms of everything catering towards tourists including ridiculous, novelty boats – but that doesn’t mean there’s no culture of its own.
I had a fantastic day exploring the old town – possibly one of the biggest surprises I’ve ever had on my travels (say what?!). I loved Marmaris Castle and even the Grand Bazaar ended up chucking some charm my way (in between the £5 shops – yes, pounds – and fake designer tat stores). Overall, would highly recommend!
I’ve written a whole blog post about my day in Marmaris as there’s quite a lot I want to say, not to mention all the bazillions of photos of Marmaris old town that I’m trying to narrow down.
Plus this is primarily a post about Rhodes, not “here’s some things to do in Rhodes and one of them isn’t even in the same country”.
Interested in more Marmaris? Click here to read my post about how to spend a day there from Rhodes!
Of course, if you wanted to stay in Greece, you could do a bit of island hopping too – Symi looks absolutely divine, and if we’d had perhaps a week in Rhodes, we would have definitely gone there as well. I do recommend getting out on a boat regardless; you’re on a Greek island, after all! There are plenty of boat tours around Rhodes itself, but I think Symi looks like the best option to see a different island.
However, it’s a fun adventure to say you’ve gone to a different country for the day, isn’t it? As soon as I found out it was so close, it was one thing I was looking forward to the most, which I think is a selling point for Rhodes itself, really! Or is that just me?
Day 4 – aaaaand… relax.
We actually did this in a totally different order – our relaxing day came first, not last! We spent our first full day sitting in the sun with cocktails and a book, and we didn’t set foot outside our hotel.
It was bliss, and while I’ve never understood the appeal of staying in your hotel for an entire trip, I’m certainly coming round to the idea of why people do holidays like this.
Jet2 Holidays are also a fantastic choice, not only in terms of price, but their reliable and solid service from take-off all the way to the hotel, where you can then keep them as involved as you like in your holiday.
Although we didn’t end up specifically booking our excursions with them, they do offer all the same ones.
There are more things we could have done in Rhodes – there’s a butterfly valley which is meant to be amazing, but it really starts coming alive in June so we were a little early for it. We missed Anthony Quinn bay, one of the best beaches in Rhodes. But being totally honest, I don’t feel like we missed anything. We did the main things we wanted to do, and we managed to relax.
And if you’re going to a Greek island, you SHOULD find time to relax and just enjoy it!
(Yes, I’m speaking to myself there, Mrs How-Do-I-Relax-On-Holiday.)
Looking for a hotel in Rhodes? Look no further than Jet2 Holidays’ offerings!
Our hotel – Avra Beach Hotel
Avra Beach Hotel with Jet2 Holidays was a brilliant introduction to all-inclusive hotels for us.
Set right on the beach, this sets it apart from a lot of hotels along the coastline up to Rhodes town, which are mostly on the other side of the busy main road so you have to cross over to get to the beach. Instead, we could grab a drink from the bar and we were already there.
It’s a very family friendly hotel, and I think if we ever came here with kids, it would be a brilliant choice for that. They hold events for kids and have activities during the day too.
Our room was nice and really spacious, although I had to laugh when we arrived and we went, “ooh, we have a balcony” – then stepped “outside” and realised we were in the corridor! It was like a little terrace rather than a balcony, but luckily it was on a side where there were only two rooms, so it was relatively private. Couldn’t really fault the room itself!
There’s also a small shop on site for essentials, although there are a few shops close by as well.
It’s also in a great location for getting around – I think the bus only took about fifteen minutes to drop us in Rhodes town. Our excursions picked us up right from the hotel and Lindos was about an hour and a half away, but to be fair staying in Rhodes wouldn’t exactly cut off much of that time.
It was also brilliant knowing that everything was included, and we drank many a cocktail during our stay. All the food was really good too – you never quite know what you’re going to get with buffet food, but it was all brilliant, and they did a different themed dinner every night, so it was great to have a variety. (I did eat feta cheese during every single meal though, I think!)
Overall, we were really impressed with Jet2. We’ll definitely be using them again, but we knew that before this trip because so many of our friends use them.
They also offer loads of options from Edinburgh, which is great as there tends to be much less choice from Scotland – in fact they fly to over 35 destinations across Europe with Jet2 flights from Edinburgh Airport connecting Scots with some much-needed sun.
Have I whet your appetite for a Mediterranean escape? Here are few more of my blog posts from the sunny Med:
⭐ A Relaxing Five Days In Malta: Our Itinerary
⭐ Visiting The Algarve: Why You Shouldn’t Skip Faro
⭐ Exploring The Best Beaches On The Algarve
⭐ A Mediterranean Adventure: Gibraltar & Morocco
⭐ Surviving Dubrovnik – And Falling In Love With It
Discover more from An Orcadian Abroad
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Feta at every meal? I’m in!!
What a great tour of this lesser known island of Greece! Love all the history 🙂
Ohh great post! I love Rhodes and Greece in general. I used to work in Lindos or close, at Vlycha Beach. In Lindos Mare and Lindos Blu Hotels. I have fantastic memories from that time. I try to come back there almost every year for a vacation.
I’ve heard of Rhodes, but I’ve never been– how fortunate you got to go with an all-inclusive travel deal! From what you wrote, Rhodes seems like the perfect blend of historical ruins like in Athens while also having a chill, beachy vibe like in Santorini and the smaller Greek islands. And it doesn’t seem as packed as the rest of Greece! Putting Rhodes on my list of places to hit up when I return to the country!
very nice post
I absolutely loved my road trip exploring the west coast of Rhodes! The stunning landscapes, historical sites, and charming villages made for an unforgettable adventure. Happy travels!
Thanks for Sharing