If Santorini is Greece's poster child, Rhodes is its storybook. The largest island of the Dodecanese packs a UNESCO-listed medieval city built by the Knights of St John, the whitewashed village of Lindos crowned by an ancient acropolis, long sandy beaches and a valley that fills with butterflies each summer — all on one island that is easy to explore in four or five days. For travellers from Surat and the rest of Gujarat, Rhodes pairs beautifully with Athens or the Cyclades on a longer Greek itinerary, and because Greece sits inside the Schengen area, one visa covers the whole trip. This guide walks you through getting there, what to see, what vegetarians can eat, and how to plan it sensibly.
Getting to Rhodes from India, and when to go
There are no direct flights from India to Rhodes, so the standard route is to fly from Mumbai or Delhi to Athens — usually one stop via the Gulf — and then take a short 55-minute domestic hop to Rhodes Diagoras Airport; ferries from Piraeus also run, but they take 12 to 16 hours and suit slow travellers more than holidaymakers. Since you will likely spend a night or two in the capital anyway, read our Athens and Acropolis guide to make the stopover count. Rhodes enjoys one of the sunniest climates in Greece: May, June, September and early October are the sweet spots, with warm seas and thinner crowds, while July and August are hot, busy and at their most expensive; our month-by-month guide to Europe's seasons helps you match dates to weather. Remember that Greece is a Schengen country, so you will need a Schengen visa for Greece — apply four to six weeks ahead and verify current rules before booking, as requirements and processing times change. Our visa desk in Surat handles the paperwork, appointments and documentation end to end.
The medieval Old Town and the Street of the Knights
Rhodes Town's Old Town is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — a walled maze of cobbled lanes, Gothic gates, Ottoman minarets and hidden courtyards where around 6,000 people still live. The showpiece is the Street of the Knights (Odos Ippoton), a remarkably intact 14th-century avenue lined with the inns of the crusading knights' different 'tongues', leading up to the Palace of the Grand Master, restored in grand style and now a museum of mosaics and medieval halls. Give the Old Town at least a full day: walk a stretch of the walls, visit the Archaeological Museum housed in the old Knights' Hospital, and come back after dinner when the day-trippers have left and the lanes glow under lamplight. Entry fees for the palace and museums are modest by European standards, but check current timings and combined-ticket options locally, as they change seasonally.
Lindos village and the climb to the acropolis
About 50 minutes south of Rhodes Town, Lindos is the island's most photographed spot — a huddle of sugar-white houses beneath a rocky headland topped by the ancient Acropolis of Lindos, where the columns of the Temple of Athena Lindia stand above a blue horseshoe bay. The climb takes roughly 20 to 25 minutes on foot up stepped lanes; you will see donkey rides offered at the bottom, but we gently suggest skipping them — the animals work long hours in serious heat, and honestly, walking up in the morning cool with water and a hat is more comfortable, lets you stop for the famous rooftop views, and sits easier on the conscience. Go early (before 9 am) or late afternoon to avoid the midday sun and cruise crowds, and leave time for a swim at St Paul's Bay below the village. Lindos works as a day trip by local bus, hire car or taxi, or as a romantic overnight stop.
Beaches and the Valley of the Butterflies
Rhodes has two coastlines with two personalities: the east coast is calm and sandy — Tsambika's golden crescent, family-friendly Faliraki, laid-back Stegna and the bays around Lindos — while the windier west coast draws kitesurfers and windsurfers to Prasonisi, where two seas meet at the island's southern tip. Anthony Quinn Bay, a small emerald cove near Ladiko, is the snorkelling favourite; arrive early in summer because it fills fast. Inland, the Valley of the Butterflies (Petaloudes) is a shady gorge of streams and wooden walkways where thousands of Jersey tiger moths gather between roughly mid-June and September — visit quietly, as clapping to make them fly stresses the colony. A hired car is the easiest way to string these together, though public buses cover the main east-coast beaches cheaply.
Island-hopping the Dodecanese: a day trip to Symi
One of the joys of Rhodes is that it anchors the Dodecanese archipelago, and the essential excursion is Symi — a little over an hour away by fast catamaran. Sailing into Symi's harbour, an amphitheatre of ochre, apricot and terracotta neoclassical mansions stacked up the hillsides, is one of the great arrival moments in Greece; spend the day wandering Gialos harbour, climbing the Kali Strata steps to the upper town, and visiting the Panormitis monastery if your boat calls there. Ferries also connect Rhodes onwards to Kos, Tilos and beyond, so ambitious itineraries can hop for a week. If you are comparing Greek islands more broadly, our Santorini travel guide shows how the Cyclades differ in look and budget, and a combined Athens–Santorini–Rhodes route is very doable in 10 to 12 days for a first Europe trip.
What to eat in Rhodes — good news for vegetarians
Greek cuisine is genuinely vegetarian-friendly, which makes Rhodes an easy destination for Gujarati travellers. Look for gemista (tomatoes and peppers stuffed with herbed rice), fava (a silky yellow split-pea purée), gigantes (baked giant beans in tomato sauce), spanakopita, dolmades, briam (Greek-style roasted vegetables), saganaki and the ever-present Greek salad with local feta — plus Rhodian specialities like pitaroudia, the island's chickpea fritters that taste remarkably familiar to anyone who loves pakora. Confirm dishes are made without meat stock if you are strictly vegetarian, and vegans should ask for dishes 'nistisimo' (Lenten-style). Non-vegetarians will find superb grilled seafood in fishing villages like Stegna and Kamiros Skala. Taverna meals are relaxed, portions are generous, and a carafe of local Embonas wine or a souma at sunset rounds things off nicely.
Honeymoon or family holiday? Budgets and practical tips
Rhodes suits both moods: couples get candlelit lanes in the Old Town, boutique captain's-house hotels in Lindos and sunset sails — pair it with Santorini through our honeymoon packages crafted in Surat — while families get safe sandy beaches, a water park at Faliraki, and castles that feel like film sets to children. Budget-wise, Rhodes is generally kinder than Santorini or Mykonos: comfortable double rooms, taverna dinners and local transport cost noticeably less, though July–August pushes everything up; treat any figure you read online as indicative and verify current prices when you book. Practical pointers: carry a Schengen-compliant policy — our travel insurance desk arranges cover that meets embassy norms — book Athens–Rhodes domestic legs together with your international ticket through our flight booking service to protect connections, and let our hotel booking team lock in Old Town or Lindos stays early, as the best small properties sell out months ahead for summer.
Frequently asked questions
Do Indians need a visa for Rhodes? Yes — Greece is in the Schengen area, so Indian passport holders need a Schengen visa; if Greece is your main destination, apply through the Greek consulate's visa channel. Documentation, cover letters and appointment strategy are explained in our Schengen visa guide for Gujarat applicants, and always verify current rules before applying. How many days are enough for Rhodes? Four to five days covers the Old Town, Lindos, a beach day and a Symi day trip comfortably; add more if you want the south coast or extra islands.
Is Rhodes expensive compared with other Greek islands? It is mid-range — usually cheaper than Santorini and Mykonos for rooms and meals, with shoulder-season (May–June, September–October) offering the best value; exact costs vary by season, so confirm at booking time. Is Rhodes safe and easy for first-time travellers from India? Very — English is widely spoken in tourist areas, roads are good, and the island is well used to international visitors; the usual sensible precautions apply.
Ready to walk the Street of the Knights and swim in St Paul's Bay? Plan my Rhodes holiday with Explera Vacations and we will handle flights, visas, hotels and every ferry in between — or browse our Greece and Europe tour packages from Surat to see ready-made itineraries you can customise. From our full range of travel services in Surat to on-trip support, we make the Aegean feel closer to Gujarat than you would think.
