A Lindos day trip from Rhodes takes you to a white village below a hilltop acropolis on the east coast. You climb the hill, walk the lanes and swim or eat by the bay. This page covers the road, the sights, the tour formats and the season. The homepage lists more Greece Tours like this one.
Each tour card below opens a live GetYourGuide booking. Dates and group sizes are shown there.
What is a Lindos day trip from Rhodes?
A lindos day trip from Rhodes takes you to a village on the east coast of the island. Whitewashed houses sit in an amphitheatre shape beneath a hilltop acropolis. One day joins the journey, the climb, a village walk and time for a swim.
Picture the setting before you book. Lindos lies on the east coast of Rhodes, in a large bay. The village faces Charaki, a fishing village and small resort. The acropolis of Lindos is a natural citadel above the modern town. A lindos day trip from Rhodes brings you into this setting for one day.
If you plan to cross into Turkey as well, the homepage also lists Turkey tours.
The village is built in the shape of an amphitheatre on a hillside. Its houses are whitewashed, and their courtyards are paved with pebbles. Chapels stand among the houses, and the lanes between them are narrow alleys. Seen from the citadel, the white houses and chapels lie stacked below it.
A lindos day trip from Rhodes joins a journey, a climb, a village walk and free time. The journey comes in two forms. Listings sell a bus tour by road and a boat cruise by sea. Another listing sells a round-trip bus ride with free time in Lindos.
The acropolis crowns the rock above the village and was the centre of the settlement. A cobbled path winds up through the village to the hilltop. Visitors reach the top on foot or with a donkey. The village itself is the starting point of that climb.
A Rhodes travel site tells visitors to walk for hours in the alleys and browse the shops that sell souvenirs. The official Greek tourism site adds a swim in the blue waters and fresh seafood in the tavernas. These are the ways to fill the free time on a lindos day trip from Rhodes.
The trip suits visitors who want history, a village walk and the sea in one day. The official Greek tourism site lists the ruins, the cobbled path, a swim and fresh seafood at Lindos. All of them sit in one village.
One Rhodes travel site calls Lindos the island’s top archaeological site and one of its top tourist spots. The island around it ranks second in Greece for visitor arrivals, behind Crete. A lindos day trip from Rhodes aims at the site that this page rates first on the island.
Lindos in numbers: the community had 1,096 residents at the twenty twenty-one census. The wider municipal unit had 4,496 residents and covers 178.9 square kilometres. Since the local government reform, that unit belongs to the municipality of Rhodes. Among the Dodecanese islands, Rhodes is the largest, at about 1,400 square kilometres.
A lindos day trip from Rhodes visits a settlement with a long past. Myth says the Dorians, led by King Tlepolemus of Rhodes, founded Lindos in about the tenth century BC. The same Rhodes travel site adds that societies lived there as early as the Neolithic years. The settlement’s heyday was the seventh and sixth centuries BC.
Lindos was one of six Dorian cities known as the Dorian Hexapolis. In the sixth century BC, Cleobulus ruled it, and he was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. In 408 BC the three important cities of Rhodes, Lindos among them, united. Lindos declined in importance after the city of Rhodes was founded in the late fifth century BC.
How do you get from Rhodes to Lindos on a Lindos day trip from Rhodes?
Lindos lies 47 kilometres south of the city of Rhodes, about 55 minutes away by car. A lindos day trip from rhodes runs by coach with hotel pickup. You can also go by public bus, by car, or by boat from Mandraki harbour.
On the road, a lindos day trip from rhodes follows National Road 95. It runs between the city of Rhodes and Lindos and passes through Vrysia and Kolymbia. Between Rhodes and Kolymbia the road is mostly a dual carriageway, with one grade-separated interchange at Afantou.
Resorts on the east coast sit at set distances from the city of Rhodes. Kallithea is 10.5 kilometres away and Faliraki is 14 kilometres away. Afandou is 21 kilometres away and Archangelos is 29 kilometres away. Rhodes International airport is 55 kilometres from Lindos, and that trip takes about one hour.
Coaches take about one hour to reach Lindos. One listing gives the ride as one hour each way. Hotel pickup points differ by listing.
- One listing counts 78 pickup and drop-off points, including major hotels in Rhodes and the Rhodes tourist port.
- A second listing picks up from Ialyssos, Ixia, Rhodes Town and Kallithea.
- A third serves select areas in North Rhodes.
Coaches also stop for views. One listing uses a minibus for up to 30 people, with stops to take panoramic photos of Lindos before arrival. A second listing has a panoramic Lindos viewpoint stop. A third adds a photo stop of 10 minutes on the way back.
Two coach listings give the length of a lindos day trip from rhodes as seven hours. One leaves the hotel at around nine in the morning and returns around four in the afternoon. The other sets the return meeting at the parking lot in Lindos for three in the afternoon.
Free time on a lindos day trip from rhodes changes with the format. A boat from Mandraki harbour gives about three hours in Lindos, which is 180 minutes. A boat from Kolymbia port gives 2 hours and 45 minutes, which is 165 minutes. Coach listings give four or five hours, which is 240 or 300 minutes.
The historic centre of Lindos is pedestrian-only, so there are no cars, taxis or buses inside. One coach listing drops guests at a central parking lot on arrival. From there, the village square is a five-minute stroll, or a two-minute ride on a shuttle bus. Another listing warns of a steep hill from the coach park.
Driving yourself on a lindos day trip from rhodes means parking outside the village. Taxis can only drop passengers at the village entrance. Outside the town there are three major parking sites. One source points drivers to the parking further down the hill, closer to the beach.
A self-planned lindos day trip from rhodes can use the public bus. The main bus station in Rhodes Town is in the New Town area. East coast buses leave from bays across the road from the bus company kiosk. One source puts the ride at about 1.5 hours. The bus company lists Lindos stops 46 and 47.
A boat is the other way to make a lindos day trip from rhodes. Boats leave from Mandraki harbour in Rhodes Town and from Kolymbia port on the east coast. The sail from Mandraki takes about two hours, and the whole trip lasts 8.5 hours. Guests arrive at least 30 minutes before departure.
What do you see on a Lindos day trip from Rhodes?
On a lindos day trip from rhodes you see the hilltop Acropolis and its Temple of Athena Lindia. You also see the village lanes, the village church and St Paul’s Bay. Tours that add Seven Springs or Kallithea Springs give you more stops.
The Acropolis of Lindos stands on a sheer rock 116 metres above the sea. In the past no other site on Rhodes was as strongly fortified. A lindos day trip from rhodes puts ancient Greek and medieval stone on the same rock. The temple, the stoa, the church and the Knights’ walls all stand on its top.
On a lindos day trip from rhodes you find the Doric Temple of Athena Lindia at the highest point. It dates to the fourth century BC and stands on the ruins of an older temple. One source gives its size as 22 by 8 metres. A monumental staircase and a gateway lead up to it.
Walls built by the Knights of St John surround the top. On the rock stand the thirteenth-century church of Saint John and the administrative building of the Knights. A large Hellenistic stoa, a covered walkway, also stands there. It dates to around 200 BC and had a front of 42 columns. Three more sights sit on and below the rock.
- A ship’s stern cut into the rock at the foot of the steps up to the acropolis, made by the sculptor Pythokritos in the second century BC.
- An ancient stadium, slightly lower than the top.
- A small open-air theatre, also slightly lower than the top.
Winter hours run from 1 November to 31 March, from eight in the morning to half past three. Last entry is at ten past three. Summer hours run until eight in the evening. These hours come from the official Greek tourism website. Check the closing time before you book a lindos day trip from rhodes in winter.
The Acropolis has its own entry ticket, and a tour price does not always include it. One tour page lists the entrance among its inclusions. Another lists it as an optional visit, paid on site. Read the Includes list of the lindos day trip from rhodes you pick.
The oldest houses in the village date to the seventeenth century. Visitors can photograph the captains’ mansions there. They can also photograph the Byzantine churches, which date to the eleventh century.
In the middle of the village stands the Church of Panagia. A stone bell tower rises above it. Inside, the floor is a pebble mosaic. Painted icons of Mary, Jesus and the saints cover the vaulted roof and the dome.
St Paul’s Bay has protected waters, sand, pebbles and rocks. You can dive from the rocks into clear water. A small chapel stands on the slope beside the sea. Reports say the apostle Paul landed here during a storm. You can walk to the bay from Lindos when your lindos day trip from rhodes leaves free time.
Seven Springs is a wooded place where seven springs run down a slope and form the Loutanis River. A tunnel carries the water to an artificial lake that the Italians built. Pines and plane trees cover the area, and peacocks live in the forest. A bus tour that pairs Lindos with Seven Springs adds this stop.
Kallithea Springs is an Italian-era spa in the Moorish style. The architect Pietro Lombardi designed it, with a rotunda hall, pebble mosaics, a terrace and a patio. Small coves with clear water lie below the spa. Tours that pair Lindos with Kallithea add this stop.
Which kinds of Lindos day trip from Rhodes are there and when is the right time to go?
Six kinds of lindos day trip from rhodes exist. They are coach with Seven Springs, small group, evening, private car, boat cruise and transfer only. The sea is warm enough for swimming from June to October, so match the format to the month.
The full-day coach adds Seven Springs to a lindos day trip from rhodes. One listing sets the stops as Seven Springs for 1 hour 15 minutes and Lindos for 3.5 hours. The guide talks about the history of Lindos during the stay. A 5-minute photo stop at Amphitheatre Hill comes on the way back.
That coach listing includes an air-conditioned vehicle, hotel pickup and drop-off, an English-speaking guide and a free map. The map covers Seven Springs and Lindos. Meals and drinks are not included. The listing asks you to bring comfortable shoes, a sun hat, sun cream, and a swimsuit with a beach towel.
A small-group tour is a second kind of lindos day trip from rhodes. One listing lasts about 5 hours and takes up to 8 participants. It stops at Kallithea Springs, Seven Springs and Lindos. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
An evening version of the lindos day trip from rhodes starts later in the day. One semi-private trip departs at 5 PM and returns by 11 PM. Dinner is at 7 PM in Charaki. It takes up to 11 participants. A bus version lists free time from 6 pm to 9 pm, without food or drinks.
A private car is the flexible lindos day trip from rhodes. One 5-hour listing is fully customizable. It sends a sedan for 1 to 4 people and a minivan for 5 to 8. Named stops are Panagia Tsampika Monastery, Agathi Beach and Lindos. The driver acts as an informal local guide but cannot enter museums or archaeological areas.
A boat cruise swaps the road for the sea. One 3-hour swimming and snorkelling cruise leaves from Vlicha Bay. It begins with 30 minutes of snorkelling in a cave. Then it goes on to Navarone Bay for 45 minutes of swimming. A fresh Rhodian fruit bowl, drinks and snacks are served on board. Arrive 15 minutes before departure.
The transfer-only ticket is the plainest format. It is not a guided tour, so you explore Lindos on your own. The listing recommends comfortable shoes, sun protection, and swimwear with a towel. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours in advance.
Heat sets the season for a lindos day trip from rhodes. The daily average on Rhodes runs from 12.5 °C in January to 27.5 °C in August. July highs average 30.1 °C and August highs 30.5 °C. Another source reports intense heat spells with highs of about 35 °C. A climate source says it basically never rains in summer.
Water and crowds also shape a lindos day trip from rhodes. The sea is warm enough for swimming from June to October. It reads 23 °C in June, 26.5 °C in August and 23.5 °C in October. A travel source calls August always fully booked. Tourists from abroad begin arriving in June. In October the tourist amenities gradually shut down.
For ruins, the climate source names spring as the time to go, because summer can be hot. Sunshine runs 8 hours a day in April, against 12 hours a day in June and July. A north-west wind called the Meltemi blows from late spring and cools the air. It is weaker than on the central Aegean islands.
- Children: the evening coach listing says infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and infants sit on an adult’s lap.
- Fitness: the same coach is not suitable for travellers with spinal injuries, poor cardiovascular health, or less than a moderate level of fitness.
- Mobility: the semi-private evening trip and the transfer-only ticket are not suitable for people with mobility impairments.
- Evening kit: the semi-private evening trip asks for comfortable shoes and a camera.
- Booking: one private group listing is non-refundable, so read the refund rule before you pay.