Rhodes Shore Excursions

Across Greece — laws & safety

National rules and risks that apply anywhere in Greece — relayed from official sources, not our verdict. We pass on what the authority says and leave the judgement to you.

Laws that catch visitors out

• Police will arrest you for behaviour they consider rowdy or indecent, especially where excessive drinking is involved.
• Always carry your passport to show police on request — a copy may not be accepted.
• Illegal drugs, including cannabis, carry severe penalties.
• Restaurants must by law issue an itemised bill — make sure you get a receipt.
• Some fancy-dress costumes may be regarded as offensive and against decency laws.

Dress code

Some fancy-dress costumes may be regarded as offensive and against decency laws.

Photography

It is illegal to approach or take photos or videos of military installations, vehicles or buildings; border areas are also restricted.

Drones

Drone flying in Greece follows the common EU rules (EASA — Regulation (EU) 2019/947, Open category). You must register as a drone operator before flying any drone that has a camera and is not a toy; a single registration is recognised across the EU/EEA. Label the drone with your operator ID, keep within the Open-category limits (subcategories A1/A2/A3), and check the national “geographical zones” that restrict or ban flying near airports, over crowds and at sensitive sites. Register and check the zone map through Greece’s civil aviation authority (HCAA) before you travel.

via EASA — EU civil-drone rules (Regulation (EU) 2019/947), Open category · 24 Jun 2026

Scams to watch

Thefts of passports, wallets and handbags are common on the metro and in crowded tourist places, particularly central Athens.

Relayed from UK FCDO travel advice — Greece · checked 18 Jul 2026

Traffic drives on the right. Look left first when you cross the road.

Docking & terminals in Rhodes

Ships dock alongside berths at the main cruise (Tourist) pier, with Akandia pier used as overflow on congested days

• Tourist Port (main Pier) — Close proximity to the town (Easy access to public transport and taxi companies)
• Akandia Port

Mobility & step-free access

Getting around between the pier and town:

• Bus — Two operators: city routes covering all areas of Rhodes city, and island routes (Western Side, Eastern Side incl. Lindos/Faliraki) departing from Mandraki/New Market area or Averof Street station
• Taxi — Multilingual drivers, fixed-rate fares from Rhodes city centre to various destinations
• Motorcoach — Fleet of 250+ modern 20-55 seater coaches, used for cruise turnarounds with luggage trucks available

Step-free options vary by pier and by the day — confirm the specifics with your operator and the ship’s guest-services desk before booking.

Heading back at the end of the day: Cruise ships normally use the main Pier, with Akandia used only as overflow on busy days; both are within the same port area near town, so wrong-terminal risk is minimal but passengers should confirm which pier their ship used before returning.

Cruise lines don’t always tell you which pier you’re on, and it’s easy to forget once you’re ashore. As you leave the ship, note or photograph your pier’s name — then give your taxi that exact pier (or your ship’s name) for the trip back.

Your exact pier is assigned per sailing — confirm it on the ship’s daily programme or gangway signage before heading ashore.

Getting around & must-sees in Rhodes

Getting around

Rhodes is served by local buses (city and island-wide routes), taxis, and motorcoaches; the medieval Old Town is walkable once in the city.

• Bus — Two operators: city routes covering all areas of Rhodes city, and island routes (Western Side, Eastern Side incl. Lindos/Faliraki) departing from Mandraki/New Market area or Averof Street station
• Taxi — Multilingual drivers, fixed-rate fares from Rhodes city centre to various destinations
• Motorcoach — Fleet of 250+ modern 20-55 seater coaches, used for cruise turnarounds with luggage trucks available
• Walk

Must-see sights

• Medieval City of Rhodes (Old Town) — Walled medieval city from the Knights period 1309-1522, UNESCO World Heritage site, largest inhabited medieval town in Europe
• Palace of the Grand Master — Located within the Medieval City
• Acropolis of Rhodes (Monte Smith Hill) — Restored ancient stadium, marble theatre, Temple of Apollo columns, temples of Athena and Apollo
• Lindos — Captain's Houses (16th-18th c.), Church of Our Lady with 15th-c. frescoes, Acropolis with Temple of Athena Lindia
• Knights Street — Described as the most well-preserved street in Europe

Getting back to the pier

Return options are licensed taxis with fixed-rate fares or public buses departing from central stations in Rhodes town.

• Taxi — Over 400 licensed taxis; fixed-rate fares set by municipal tariff
• Bus — City and Western Side routes; central bus station on Averof Street, Mandraki
• Bus — KTEL Rodou serves Eastern side incl. Lindos and Faliraki

Key facts only — confirm times, fares and seasonal openings locally.

Operator policies we’ve checked in Rhodes

Before a tour earns its trust pills, we read the operator’s own site — their terms, cancellation and accessibility pages — and relay what they state. These are the operators’ own terms, not our verdicts; confirm when booking.

• Clio Muse Tours

  • Cancellation policy — The operator publishes no cancellation terms for this self-guided audio-tour ticket.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• Fishing trip captain manolis

  • Cancellation policy — The operator publishes no terms of its own that we could find; rely on the booking platform’s stated terms.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• Half Price Tours

  • Free cancellation — verified on the operator’s own site
  • Group size — Small group

• Mediterranean Sea Cruises

  • Free cancellation — verified with conditions: Full refund if cancelled at least 72 hours before the cruise; between 24 and 72 hours only a date or time transfer is offered, and within 24 hours neither refund nor transfer.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• NivaRanch

  • Group size — Max 19 guests

• Rhodes Sea Lines

  • Cancellation — varies across this operator’s tours. Free cancellation is verified on the operator’s own site for some of its tours. Separately: The operator publishes no cancellation terms on its own site.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 3 tours listed on this page

• SeaDreams

  • Free cancellation — verified with conditions: Full refund up to 24 hours before departure, 50% up to 12 hours, nothing later; tickets can instead be converted to an open-date ticket up to one hour before departure.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• SEBECO LINES

  • Cancellation policy — The product’s own booking site publishes no cancellation terms, and the company’s ferry-ticket terms are not confirmed to cover this bus tour.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• SEBECO LINES MARITIME COMPANY

  • Cancellation policy — The company publishes cancellation terms only for its ferry tickets, and those documents disagree with each other; no terms confirmed to cover this day tour are published.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 2 tours listed on this page

• SP CRUISES

  • Cancellation policy — The operator publishes no terms of its own that we could find; rely on the booking platform’s stated terms.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• Summer Breeze Cruises

  • Cancellation policy — The operator publishes no terms of its own that we could find; rely on the booking platform’s stated terms.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

• The Calypso Boat

  • Free cancellation — verified with conditions: Full reimbursement for cancellations made at least 48 hours in advance by email; inside 48 hours, cancellations or date changes may not be accepted.

  Checked 3 Aug 2026 · covers 1 tour listed on this page

How we check, and what “not stated” means

Local know-hows in Rhodes

Money

Currency

Euro (EUR)

Practicalities

Language

Greek

Tap water

Tap water in Rhodes Town is safe to drink. DEYAR — the Municipal Water Supply and Sewage Enterprise of the Municipality of Rhodes — describes what it supplies on its own site as among 'the best-quality water', alongside its public-health and wastewater-treatment work. Most of that supply is treated at the Rhodes Water Treatment Plant fed by the Gadouras Dam, a South Aegean Region infrastructure project: its official site states that the water 'produced in the Rhodes WTP and supplied to the city of Rhodes, is of high quality and within the strictest specifications defined by European and National Legislation', citing Greek Ministry of Health regulation Γ1(δ)/ΓΠ οικ.67322/19-09-2017 (which transposes the EU Drinking Water Directive), with round-the-clock monitoring and testing by the plant's own lab plus external accredited labs. No official source found advises against drinking it in Rhodes Town.

Key facts to know before you step off — confirm anything time-sensitive locally.

Port busyness in Rhodes

Moderately busy

A historic old-town destination whose port can accommodate up to 5 cruise ships and over 10,000 passengers at once, concentrating large numbers into a compact medieval city center.

Peak pattern: Historical data shows several hundred calls and hundreds of thousands of passengers per season, with capacity for up to 5 ships and 10,000+ passengers on a single peak day.

• compact medieval old town
• peak-day capacity up to 5 ships
• over 10,000 passengers possible in a day
• historic sights funnel foot traffic

This shows a typical day for the time of year — actual crowds vary on your date, and it isn’t a guarantee.

What we’ve checked in Rhodes — and when

We last checked the facts on this page on 3 Jul 2026. Live travel advisories refresh automatically from the official sources.

Docking & getting ashore

Verified by The Excursion Edit against official sources · 3 Jul 2026

Getting around

Verified by The Excursion Edit against official sources · 3 Jul 2026

How busy it gets

Verified by The Excursion Edit against official sources · 3 Jul 2026

Operator policies

From each operator’s own site and terms · 3 Aug 2026

Travel advisories

FCDO (GOV.UK) & US State Department · refreshed automatically

How we check, and what “not stated” means