Acropolis of Lindos

Getting there and getting up

From Rhodes Town the public bus to Lindos takes around 90 minutes because it threads through coastal villages on the way — it’s cheap (about €5–6 each way) but slow, so check the return times before you set off rather than getting stranded. A taxi or hire car cuts it to under an hour down the east coast. The bus and coaches drop at the edge of the village; you then walk in through the white lanes to the main square, and the stepped climb to the acropolis starts from there — a steep 10 to 15 minutes on polished cobbles and stairs.

This is where the donkeys come in. They wait by the square and cost a few euros, but they only carry you up the lower section and stop before the final steps, the animals work long hot days, and the walk genuinely isn’t far. Our take: do it on foot in trainers. Skip flip-flops — the old marble underfoot is slippery, and there is almost no shade once you’re on top.

Tickets, timing and the verdict

Entry is €20 (about £17), and as of 2026 it runs on timed-entry slots booked through the official site, hhticket.gr. In July and August the early 08:00–10:00 windows sell out first, so reserve a day or two ahead; off-season you can usually just buy at the gate. EU over-65s pay around €10 in the off-season, and under-25 EU and under-18 non-EU visitors go free but still need to book a €0 QR-code ticket online. Up top you’ll want roughly an hour and a half for the Hellenistic stoa, the Doric Temple of Athena Lindia on the cliff edge, and the view down onto the near-perfect horseshoe of St Paul’s Bay.

Honest verdict: it’s the best ancient site on Rhodes and worth the trip — but only if you take the first slot of the day. Go at 08:00, before the heat builds and the cruise and excursion groups arrive mid-morning, and you’ll have the cliff terrace nearly to yourself. Leave it until 11:00 in August and you’re queuing on a shadeless rock in 35°C, which is exactly when people decide it wasn’t worth it.