The most beautiful drive on Rhodes

Knights, ancient cities and white villages in one day

Rhodes is the largest island of the Dodecanese and perhaps the most varied driving island in Greece: a medieval city of the Knights, three ancient cities, a green mountain heart of pine forest and vineyards, and one of the finest villages in the Aegean. This drive of about 180 kilometres strings together the eight finest places in a single loop, from the west coast via the interior to iconic Lindos and back.

Unique to Touren.app: you need not start in Rhodes Town. Tap "Drive this route from your location" and we rotate the loop so it starts at the point nearest your hotel and brings you back. Everyone drives the same round, but from their own front door.

The route on the map

A schematic overview by Touren.app, not a navigation map. The exact route opens under “Drive this route” or in Google Maps. Map orientation: north is up.

Plan your own route

The 8 places along the route

1. Rhodos-stad (oude stad)

Start · the city of the Knights

Rhodes Town has the best-preserved medieval city in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. Within four kilometres of walls and a broad dry moat stand the Palace of the Grand Master and the cobbled Street of the Knights, built by the Knights of St John. At the Mandraki harbour once stood the columns that carried the Colossus.

Practical: park outside the walls (by the New Market or the harbour) and walk in through a gate; the old town is car-free. Start early, before the cruise crowds.

2. Filerimos

the hill · Filerimos

On the flat top of Filerimos hill, above ancient Ialysos, stand a monastery and a Way of the Cross that ends at a large concrete cross you can climb from the inside. Peacocks wander among the cypresses and the columns of an ancient temple. You look out over the northern tip of the island and the sea.

Practical: ample parking at the top; a short walk along the Way of the Cross to the cross and the viewpoints. Cover your shoulders at the monastery.

3. Kamiros (antieke stad)

the ancient city · Kamiros

Kamiros was one of the three Dorian cities of ancient Rhodes, and lies like a little Pompeii against a green slope on the west coast. You walk the straight streets of a complete Greek town: houses, a bathhouse, a temple and a large water cistern, all with the sea as a backdrop.

Practical: car park at the entrance; ticket at the gate. Little shade, bring water and a hat.

4. Kritinia (kasteel)

the Knights' castle · Kritinia

Above the village of Kritinia, on a steep rock, stands a castle the Knights of St John built to guard the west coast. From the walls you look far out to sea to the neighbouring islands of Halki and Alimia. The ruin is modest, the view is grand.

Practical: the last stretch up is narrow; park at the bottom and walk the steep path. Free entry, no facilities.

5. Embonas

the wine village · Embonas

Embonas sits at the foot of Mount Attavyros, at 1,215 metres the highest on Rhodes, and is the island's wine village. The vineyards around it feed the local wineries; you can taste there, and the village tavernas are known for their grilled meat.

Practical: park on the edge of the village; several wineries have a tasting room. Drive on sober, or let someone else taste.

6. Profitis Ilias

the mountain heart · Profitis Ilias

The road climbs through pine forest to Profitis Ilias, the green mountain ridge at the heart of the island. Among the trees stand two Italian mountain hotels from the 1930s, built as Alpine chalets when Rhodes was under Italian rule. It is cool and quiet, a surprising contrast to the coast.

Practical: the mountain road is winding but good; park by the hotels or the little church and walk into the forest. Bring something warm in spring and autumn.

7. Epta Piges (Zeven Bronnen)

the oasis · Epta Piges

Epta Piges, the Seven Springs, is a cool oasis of plane trees and running water inland. Seven springs feed a stream that runs through a narrow, dark tunnel to a small lake; the brave wade through the tunnel (not for the claustrophobic). Peacocks and ducks wander around the taverna terrace.

Practical: free car park; a short forest walk to the lake. The tunnel is wet, dark and narrow: otherwise take the upper path.

8. Lindos

the jewel · Lindos

Lindos is the jewel of Rhodes: a bright-white village of stepped lanes beneath an acropolis on a rock, crowned by the temple of Athena and a Knights' castle. At its foot lies the round bay of St Paul, where the apostle is said to have come ashore. The classic view is from the acropolis or the road above it.

Practical: cars are not allowed into the village; park in the car park above Lindos and walk down (or take a donkey or shuttle in high season). The climb to the acropolis is steep and sunny.

Practical: for the rental car, convertible and motorbike

From which place: the route starts in Rhodes Town, but you need not start there. Tap "Drive this route from your location" and Touren.app rotates the loop to the point nearest your hotel, so you set off from your own front door and return to it. Many hotels lie along the north and east coast (Faliraki, Kolymbia, Lindos).

For which vehicle: Rhodes has no motorway. The coast roads are wide, but the mountain roads to Embonas, Profitis Ilias and Kritinia are narrow and winding; take it steady and watch for goats and oncoming traffic. A joy in a convertible or on a motorbike.

The southern tip as a detour: with more time, continue south from Lindos: the castle of Monolithos on its rock and Prasonisi, the sandspit where the Aegean and the Mediterranean meet (a kitesurfers' favourite). That makes it a long day.

Best time: May, June, September and October are ideal: warm water, a green interior and quiet roads. July and August are hot and busy; drive early then and save the mountains for the afternoon.

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