3 to 4 Days in Rhodes: Medieval Old Town, Lindos Acropolis, East Beaches and Symi

This itinerary organizes your days geographically so you explore the northern tip and Kallithea on Day 1, dedicate Day 2 to the landmark eastern coast, and spend Day 3 either sailing 50 minutes to pastel Symi Island or driving the wild western coast to Monolithos and Prasonisi. Read our Rimini Square bus and boat guide before Day 1.

Day 1: UNESCO Medieval Old Town, Palace of the Grand Master, Kallithea & Monte Smith

• Morning: enter through d'Amboise Gate to walk the silent, cobbled 14th-century Street of the Knights (Ippoton) and spend two hours inside the Palace of the Grand Master and the 1440 Hospital of the Knights (Archaeological Museum) using the standard fare Combined Ticket.
• Midday: wander through the Jewish Quarter, climb the 53 steps of the 1851 Roloi Clock Tower beside Suleymaniye Mosque, and lunch on crispy chickpea pitaroudia and melekouni in a hidden courtyard.
• Afternoon: hop a 15-minute bus or taxi 9 km south to Kallithea Springs to swim and snorkel beneath the 1929 Italian Art Deco rotundas and pebble mosaics.
• Evening: walk out past the three windmills and Deer Columns of Mandraki Harbour, watch sunset from the ancient Temple of Apollo on Monte Smith, and walk through the illuminated Old Town Dry Moat before dinner.

Day 2: Lindos Acropolis, St Paul's Bay, Tsambika Beach & Anthony Quinn Bay

• Morning: head 48 km south to Lindos; climb to the 300 BC Acropolis of Athena Lindia first thing in the morning while the rock is cool, then wander the 17th-century Captains' Mansions and take a mid-morning dip in heart-shaped St Paul's Bay.
• Midday: work your way north along the eastern coast: stretch out on the fine golden sand of Tsambika Beach (or wade through the 186m water tunnel at Seven Springs 10 mins inland) and finish the afternoon snorkelling in the emerald-green waters of Anthony Quinn Bay and Ladiko.

Day 3: Boat Trip to Symi Island

• Option A (Island Hopping to Symi): board the morning boat from Mandraki/Kolona Port to Symi Island and Panormitis Monastery, dining on whole fried Symi shrimp beneath the pastel neoclassical mansions of Gialos Harbour.
• Option B (West Coast & Two Seas): drive down the western Aegean coast via the peacocks of Filerimos and Ancient Kamiros to where two seas collide at Prasonisi, finishing with sunset atop the 236m pinnacle of Monolithos Castle.