Day Trip to Lindos

Wherever you are staying on Rhodes island there really is no excuse not to take a day out from your busy beach and tanning schedule to take a visit to the beautiful village of Lindos. Its easy to get to and well worth the trip.

Getting to Lindos

We decided to go by bus and found that the bus departs from the mini bus station in the centre of Rhodes new town, opposite the tourist information office. Tickets are just five Euros each way and are purchased from the little booth at the bus station. The staff are really helpful and the bus number 32 will get you to Lindos in just sixty minutes, buses run about every half hour from 9am (see timetable in the gallery below).

If you want to take a more scenic trip there you can take one of the private boat tours that crowd the main harbour in the centre of Rhodes town. Depending upon the season you will pay anything from 15 to 30 Euros for the round trip by sea. The journey by water will also take you much longer, leaving you less time to explore Lindos.

The journey by road is not exactly breathtaking and you will spend most of your time on the main dual carriageway passing through boring little towns, with the occasional glimpse of the sea from on high as you wind up some of the hills which block the route south. It is not really until you are upon Lindos that you are treated to a spectacular view of a blue crescent coves along the coast.

The journey took just over an hour which was longer than I expected for the 45 km distance, but it’s hilly so we forgave the driver. The bus drops you of on the road just above the town and it is a rather steep walk down into the main town square, here you can find the tourist information office and you will smell the sweet smell of donkey droppings. Commonly known as the Lindos taxi station, or Donkey Park.

Four legs or Two?

For five Euros you can save your legs and tire out a donkey instead as they trot you up to the acropolis which overlooks the town from the hill above. We walked as we felt our weight on a donkey bordered n animal cruelty. Taken at a slow pace the walk isn’t too strenuous even in the heat, you do have to watch for two way donkey traffic and the little presents they leave on the polished stone lanes to make your chances of slipping even higher.

If you don’t know where you are going do what we did and follow the donkeys, the village is small but is made up of labyrinth like little lanes that can lead to many dead ends.

The walk gives you a much better chance to see the little white walled houses, streets, pebbled steps, alleyways and beautiful wooden doors that give this place its real charm. The lanes will wind you up to the acropolis entrance and give you some pretty splendid views out across the bays and down towards the sandy beach below. The acropolis is where you will get off your donkey taxi,if you are feeling particularly lazy, you can book for a return trip too.

We didn’t bother going in the acropolis, saving our budget for the big boys of Greek history when we hit Athens. We soon realised that the most treacherous part of your journey is to come as you descend from the castled walls down a stone inclined pathway polished to a high sheen by the tourists over the millennia. It’s a bit slidey and while we didn’t embassy ourselves with a complete arse over tit, we did have a few little near misses, others weren’t as lucky.

Back down into the village proper we wound our way through the tourist shops, cafes and bars that line this route back to the main square. We detoured off the route and wandered to the old amphitheatre and St. Paul’s Bay which is a wonderfully quiet little lagoon away from the main beach, perfect if you are looking for a little more peace and quiet.

We cheated on the way back to the bus and paid the 50 centimes fare to get the shuttle bus from the main square to the bus drop off point above the village, It was the height of the midday sun and we were already a little moist around the midriff so we felt fully justified in our decision.

All in all this was a great day out, easily accessible from any of the other resort areas you may be staying on Rhodes island. Despite the number of tourists at the place you can easily wander and find some deserted lane or set of stairs to take you to a place you can call your own.

Eating in Lindos

There are cheap pizza and gyro (Greek kebabs) on offer for two or three Euros and you can even get a freshly squeezed orange juice for one euro, If your budget can stretch there are a multitude of bars and rooftop restaurants to rest your weary legs. If you don’t like heights others have picturesque flower laden courtyards as a view while you sip a glass of wine or beer and chew on a moussaka.

If you are in a real rush you can do this trip from Rhodes to Lindos in about four and a half hours if you skip lunch and get your bus timings bang on. However we recommend taking your time and soak up the atmosphere of this beautiful little Greek gem