Rhodes Shore Excursion

A Rhodes shore excursion is a tour for cruise passengers on a day in port at Rhodes town, the principal city of the largest Dodecanese island. The walled Medieval City starts beside the harbours, and Lindos lies about 40 kilometres to the south. The trip is one of the Greece Tours on Greece Ville.

This post covers the cruise port, the tour formats, the Medieval City, the palace and museum, the acropolis on Monte Smith, the Italian waterfront, Lindos, the history of the island and the questions that come up before the ship docks.

What is a Rhodes shore excursion?

A Rhodes shore excursion is a tour for cruise passengers whose ship calls at the port of Rhodes town, the principal city of the island. It covers the Medieval City beside the harbour, the acropolis on Monte Smith or a drive south to Lindos.

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands and their historical capital. It is also the ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and its population had grown to 125,113 people by 2022.

The city of Rhodes is a popular port of call for cruise itineraries, above all in the summer months. It has a population of about 56,000, with nearly 90,000 in its metropolitan area.

A Rhodes shore excursion starts right at the walls of the Medieval City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. The old town stands inside a wall 4 kilometres long, next to the harbours.

The island carries the nicknames “the Island of the Sun”, after its patron god Helios, “the Pearl Island” and “the Island of the Knights”, after the Knights of Saint John who ruled it from 1310 to 1522.

• Port of call: Rhodes town, the principal city of the island.
• Cruise berth: The Central port, which serves cruise ships and international traffic.
• Next to the ship: The Medieval City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
• Further away: Lindos, about 40 kilometres south of the city.

The sections below cover the port, the tour formats, the old town, the palace, the acropolis, Lindos and the questions that cruise passengers ask before a Rhodes shore excursion.

Where does a Rhodes shore excursion start in the port of Rhodes?

A Rhodes shore excursion starts at the Central port, the harbour of Rhodes town that serves cruise ships and international traffic. In the same town, the Kolona harbour serves traffic within the Dodecanese, and Akandia handles domestic and cargo traffic.

Ferries link Rhodes each day with nearby Dodecanese islands, with the Cyclades and with Piraeus on the Greek mainland. Twice a week a ferry also sails to Heraklion on Crete.

The city also has two marinas. The municipal marina lies in downtown Mandraki, and a private marina stands next to the Akandia port.

The Marine Gate, also called the Sea Gate, was the main entrance to the town from the harbour. A Rhodes shore excursion on foot passes through one of the 11 gates that lead into the old city.

The Gate of Saint Catherine is also known as the Windmills Gate. It once led from the commercial part of the town to the grain mills that stood on the harbour mole.

• Central port: Cruise ships and international traffic.
• Kolona harbour: Traffic within the Dodecanese islands.
• Akandia port: Domestic and cargo traffic, next to a private marina.
• Mandraki: The municipal marina in the centre of the town.

Sea outings that leave from the same harbours are covered in the Rhodes boat trip post.

Which Rhodes shore excursion formats are on sale?

A Rhodes shore excursion comes as a small-group Old Town walk, a private tour of the acropolis, Kallithea Springs and the Old Town, a bus or high-speed boat trip to Lindos, or a private island tour by minivan or fully electric vehicle.

Old Town walking tours keep the day inside the walls of the Medieval City. A private format adds the acropolis on Monte Smith and Kallithea Springs, south of the city, to the Old Town.

Lindos tours leave from Rhodes town by bus, with free time to explore the village and its acropolis. A small-group format offers four hours of free time in Lindos itself.

A high-speed boat cruise reaches Lindos by sea with a hotel transfer. A 1-hour sightseeing cruise on an 18th-century boat stays along the harbour front of Rhodes town.

Private formats include a historical and scenic highlights tour and a fully electric private island tour with a Lindos option. Shore listings name Lindos and Rhodes highlights, a panoramic drive with a beach stop, and a deluxe tour for cruise passengers.

• Old Town walk: A small-group walk inside the medieval walls.
• Acropolis and springs: Monte Smith, Kallithea Springs and the Old Town in one private tour.
• Lindos trip: By bus or by high-speed boat, with free time in the village.
• Island tour: A private drive by minivan or a fully electric tour, with a beach or Lindos stop.

The tour cards and availability boxes on this page list live dates for each Rhodes shore excursion format, from walks to full island tours.

What does the Medieval City show on a Rhodes shore excursion?

A Rhodes shore excursion enters the Medieval City, the walled old town of Rhodes listed by UNESCO in 1988. It divides into a high town to the north, built entirely by the Knights Hospitaller, and a lower town to the south-south-west.

The fortifications form a defensive crescent around the medieval town. They consist of a huge wall of earth faced with stone, with a scarp, bastions, a moat, a counterscarp and a glacis.

The wall that faces the harbour is a crenellated wall instead. Towers and defensive forts stand on the moles of the harbours, in full view of a Rhodes shore excursion arriving by sea.

After the Ottoman defeat in 1480, Grand Master Pierre d’Aubusson strengthened the city over the following decades. By his death in 1521, Rhodes had among the strongest fortifications of any Christian bastion in the world.

The Acandia Gate opened only in 1935, under the Italian administration. It linked the commercial harbour with the south-east part of the town beyond the medieval walls.

• UNESCO: World Heritage Site since 1988.
• Layout: High town to the north, lower town to the south-south-west.
• Walls: 4 kilometres long, with bastions, a moat and 11 gates.
• Newest gate: The Acandia Gate, opened in 1935.

A longer walk through these streets is the subject of the Rhodes old town tour post, for a longer visit.

What do the palace and museum show on a Rhodes shore excursion?

A Rhodes shore excursion in the high town reaches the Palace of the Grand Master, a Byzantine citadel of the late 7th century rebuilt by the Knights, and the Archaeological Museum, housed in the former hospital of the Knights of Saint John.

The palace is also known as the Kastello, from the Italian word for castle. The Knights repaired it in the first quarter of the 14th century and made major changes to the building.

Under Italian rule, architect Vittorio Mesturino designed the reconstruction of the palace and of the nearby Street of the Knights. The new palace also served the Italian authorities as a government building.

The Treaty of Peace with Italy, signed on 10 February 1947, transferred the Dodecanese Islands to Greece. A Rhodes shore excursion to the palace therefore crosses three eras of rule in one building.

Construction of the hospital that houses the Archaeological Museum began in 1440 and ended under Grand Master d’Aubusson. The museum holds the Crouching Aphrodite of the 1st century BC and the Head of Helios.

• Palace: Byzantine citadel of the late 7th century, later the seat of the Grand Masters.
• Rebuilding: Designed by Vittorio Mesturino under Italian rule.
• Museum building: The hospital of the Knights, begun in 1440.
• Highlights: The Crouching Aphrodite and the Head of Helios.

The palace and the museum both stand inside the walls, so a Rhodes shore excursion on foot reaches them without transport.

What does the acropolis on Monte Smith add to a Rhodes shore excursion?

A Rhodes shore excursion that leaves the old town reaches the Acropolis of Rhodes on Monte Smith, above the west coast. The site holds the Temple of Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus, the Temple of Apollo, a stadium, an odeon and a gymnasium.

The temples of Athena and Zeus and of Apollo are Hellenistic renewals of earlier classical temples. The stadium, the odeon and the gymnasium lie below the Temple of Apollo on the slope.

The Temple of Pythian Apollo saw extensive reconstruction after bombing and artillery damaged it during the war.

Kallithea, a municipal unit on the north-east of the island, lies just south of the city of Rhodes. It had 10,416 residents at the 2021 census and covers 109.75 square kilometres.

A Rhodes shore excursion in private format pairs Monte Smith with Kallithea Springs and the Old Town. The tour on sale names all three stops.

• Location: Monte Smith, above the west coast of the island.
• Temples: Athena Polias and Zeus Polieus, and Apollo.
• Sports and music: A stadium, an odeon and a gymnasium below the Temple of Apollo.
• Nearby: Kallithea, just south of the city.

Both stops lie close to Rhodes town, since Kallithea starts just south of the city and Monte Smith rises above its west coast, within reach of a Rhodes shore excursion.

What does the Italian waterfront show on a Rhodes shore excursion?

A Rhodes shore excursion along the Mandraki waterfront passes the Italian town planned in 1923. Architect Florestano Di Fausto planned a Garden City there, with the Market, the Cathedral of Saint John of the Knights and the Palace of the governor.

Italian troops took Rhodes and the rest of the Dodecanese in 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War. In 1923 Italy set up a possession called the Italian Islands of the Aegean.

Di Fausto is called the father of Italian Rhodes. With governor Mario Lago he wrote the city plan of 1923, which kept the walled town almost whole and removed the houses built on and around the walls in the Ottoman era.

The Italians preserved what was left from the period of the Knights and destroyed the Ottoman buildings. A Rhodes shore excursion on the promenade sees this choice in the contrast between the medieval walls and the new town.

Being under Italian administration, the population of Rhodes was spared the exchange of minorities between Greece and Turkey. The islands passed to Greece by the peace treaty of 10 February 1947.

• Italian rule: From 1912, with the Italian Islands of the Aegean set up in 1923.
• Planner: Florestano Di Fausto, author of the city plan of 1923.
• Buildings: The Market, the Cathedral of Saint John of the Knights and the Palace of the governor.
• Return to Greece: By the peace treaty of 10 February 1947.

These buildings line the main sea promenade in the Mandraki zone, outside the medieval walls, and a Rhodes shore excursion along the waterfront passes them.

How does a Rhodes shore excursion reach Lindos?

A Rhodes shore excursion to Lindos travels about 40 kilometres south of the city by bus, private car or high-speed boat. Lindos is an archaeological site and fishing village whose acropolis rises above a large bay facing the village of Charaki.

Above the modern village stands the acropolis of Lindos, a natural citadel. The Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Knights of Saint John and the Ottomans fortified it in turn.

In the 14th century the Knights built a large fortress on the acropolis to defend the island against the Ottomans. The fortress partly covers the older buildings, which fell out of use in early medieval times.

The acropolis has views of the surrounding harbours and coastline. The fine beaches of Lindos make it a popular tourist and holiday destination.

Tours on sale reach Lindos by bus with free time to explore, by a small-group trip with four hours of free time, or by a high-speed boat cruise with a hotel transfer from the resort.

• Distance: About 40 kilometres south of the city of Rhodes.
• Transport: Bus, private car or high-speed boat.
• Acropolis: A natural citadel fortified by five successive powers.
• Knights: A 14th-century fortress on top of the ancient remains.

The village and its acropolis are covered in depth in the Lindos tour post, for visitors with a full day on the island.

Which history does a Rhodes shore excursion trace?

A Rhodes shore excursion traces the rule of the Knights Hospitaller from 1310 to 1522, the Ottoman siege of 1522 under Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Ottoman and Jewish monuments of the old town, among them the oldest synagogue in Greece.

The Knights moved to Rhodes from Kolossi Castle in Cyprus, where they had been based from 1302 to 1310. They ruled the island until 1522 and moved on to Malta in 1530.

The siege of 1522 was the second Ottoman attempt to drive the Knights from Rhodes. In December 1522 the two sides came to terms, and the Knights left with all the wealth they were able to carry.

The terms promised no reprisals against the people of the city and freedom to practise Christianity. The Suleymaniye Mosque was built after the conquest and is named after Sultan Suleiman.

The Kahal Shalom Synagogue stands in La Juderia, the Jewish quarter of the old town. Completed in 1577, it is the oldest synagogue building in Greece and houses the Jewish Museum of Rhodes.

• Knights: On Rhodes from 1310 to 1522, then in Malta from 1530.
• Siege: Suleiman the Magnificent took the city in December 1522.
• Mosque: The Suleymaniye Mosque, named after the sultan, rebuilt in 1808.
• Synagogue: Kahal Shalom, completed in 1577, the oldest in Greece.

Turkey lies only 18 kilometres away and can be seen from Rhodes. Day trips to nearby Greek islands are covered in the Symi day trip from Rhodes post.

What do cruise passengers ask about a Rhodes shore excursion?

A Rhodes shore excursion raises the same questions before the ship docks: which port the ship uses, whether Lindos fits into one call, whether the old town works on foot and whether Turkey is in sight. The answers draw on the port and walls.

Which port does a Rhodes shore excursion start from?

Cruise ships use the Central port of Rhodes town, which serves cruise and international traffic. The Kolona harbour serves ferries within the Dodecanese, and Akandia handles domestic and cargo traffic beside a private marina.

Can a Rhodes shore excursion reach Lindos?

Yes. Lindos lies about 40 kilometres south of the city. Tours on sale reach it by bus from Rhodes town with free time in the village, by a high-speed boat cruise or by private car as part of an island tour.

Does a Rhodes shore excursion work on foot?

Yes. The Medieval City stands next to the harbours inside a 4-kilometre wall with 11 gates. The Marine Gate was the main entrance from the harbour, and the palace and museum both lie inside the walls.

Can a Rhodes shore excursion see Turkey?

Yes. Turkey lies just 18 kilometres from Rhodes and can be seen from the island. The richness of Rhodes drew the Ottomans from this nearby coast, which led to the siege of 1522.