Transport on Rhodes: Basic information

Transport in general

Rhodes is a very simple and pleasant island in terms of transport. It is not tricky and there are no demanding mountain roads; you can get in a common vehicle almost anywhere. There is also public bus transport on the island, yet buses often don´t go to up to the tourist resorts (besides the well-known resorts like Rhodes, Faliraki, Pefki, Lalyssos or Kolymbia, a resort can also be a hotel complex built somewhere amidst a desert area on the coast, named according to a nearbyy village - which is the case of Genadi, Lardos, Lothiarika or Afandou). And some of the beautiful places and beaches like Fourni, Agia Agata or Mavos Kavos can´t be reached by bus at all.

Basic road network

The road network on Rhodes is very practical. There is a main road passing all around the island which is wide enough and has good quality so that you could drive comfortably from one end of the island to another within 45-50 minutes. In the places with the main resorts, the road passes about 2 or 3 km fro mthe coast and then you continue to the resort or beach using side roads. Which is perfect because everything is really close and at the same time, the resorts are not burdened with excessive noise or traffic. The only exception is the capital of Rhodes often blocked by cars, just like the road passing through the resorts of Ixia and Lalyssos to the airport. This region is very lively and so the traffic is dense. It can happen that driving 10 km around the capital will take you the same time like the rest of your journey to the other side of the island. In the north-west, there is a ring road almost on the coast, yet there are no resorts or interesting places in this part, with the only exception of the area between Apolakia and Kritina that is very hilly and you will find there the beautiful beaches of Fourni, Glyfada a Paleochora. Yet since the road here passes 5 km from the coast, the most amazing places are often deserted. If you want to visit some of the beaches mentioned above, be prepared for a descent from about 200-300 metres of height. The small roads thread a lot, passing mostly through beautiful wooded slopes. From Kritina to the north, there is a road leading again to the coast.

So, that would be the road all around the island. Yet Rhodes interior is also very nice: you will find there beautiful charming villages, green slopes, deep valleys, dense forests, brooks and rivulets. All that can be reached very simple - there are roads passing through the island interior with regular distances between them, connecting the south-east and north-west side of the island. If you are not staying in Rhodes, you can get basically anywhere on the island within 30-45 minutes. In the widest point (Lindos - Monolithos), it takes about 25 minutes to drive across the whole island. If you want to travel a lot and enjoy not only your hotel but also the beauties of other places, the perfect points of departure are especially the resorts of Kolymbia, Lindos, Lardos a Afandou. To get a better idea, see Rhodes road map.

Road traffic

Road network

Driving a car on Rhodes is not really tricky. The roads are clear, their surface is mostly not broken, and they are generally in a good state. Near some of the dangerous places, you will find road signs indicating a reduced speed limit (50 or even 30 km per hour). You will mostly find them on bridges, in urban areas or at the exists of petrol stations or supermarkets (usually there is not a road sign cancelling this limitation, so then it is up to the driver - Rhodes drivers usually speed up once passing through the dangerous stretch of road).

In some places, the road in the south-east is wide enough even for more cars and you can overtake a truck or a bus comfortably. Yet overtaking in places where it is prohibited as well as exceeding the speed limit is not really recommended. There can be policemen measuring your speed, usually in the stretches of the road where it is meaningfull and higher speed would be really inappropriate. 

Dusty and mountain roads

There are not many mountains on Rhodes, in fact the only mountain is Ataviros which can be reached by car - there is a tarmac road approximately up to the half of the way, and then a dusty path. Otherwise you may be driving on dusty roads in two cases - if you want to drive through the natural territory of Kalamafka and its surroundings (the beaches of Mavos Kavos, Saint George), or when driving through the island interior with no road signing. It should be noted though that the unpaved roads in the interior should be accessed only by experienced drivers with good sense of direction. The paths often pass through hilly landscapes and they can be so steep that a normal car won´t make it. At some point, your wheels will start spinning. Some paths also have deep ruts on them. It can also happen that you drive down a steep slope and then encounter a rutted path or another slope, and you get stuck. You should never drive through places from where you won´t be able to drive back. 

Parking

Apart from classical road signs, you will see yellow lines on the ground. This is where stopping your car is prohibited. Even if it seemed pointless to you, never park your car there, you are risking a fine.

Filling stations

There are relatively lots of filling stations on Rhodes. And, given the small distances, the closest filling station will be always located within maximum 20 km.