Rhodes International Airport to Afandou
Roughly 30 km away; the KTEL east-coast coach reaches it via Rhodes Town for about €6, and taxis run €35–45.
A long pebble beach backed by the island's main golf course, with the old village set back inland — quieter than Faliraki next door and popular with returning visitors who want the coast without the strip.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Afandou, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €38). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €5.5) but slower, with a change in the city.
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Bus (per person) | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €5.5 | €38 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €11 | €38 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €22 | €38 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €5.5, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Bus / shuttle
About six euros total. The coach stops on the main road above the beach, and the walk down to the seafront hotels is a good fifteen minutes — worth knowing before you commit with luggage.
Where to catch it: Airport bus to the KTEL station, then the Lindos-bound coach which calls at Afandou on the way down the coast.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Be clear whether you want Afandou village, the golf course or the beach — they are three separate places a few kilometres apart and the fare differs.
Where to catch it: Across the island and south; about thirty-five minutes on the day tariff.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Fixed price per car, which also solves the village-or-beach question because the driver has the address rather than a resort name.
Where to catch it: Golf bags are worth declaring at booking — the course here draws them and they don't fit every vehicle.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Worth having here. The beach is long and thinly served, the village is inland, and Epta Piges — the Seven Springs — is a short drive into the hills behind.
Where to catch it: Thirty-five minutes; parking is easy at both the village and the beach outside August.
Best for travellers who want to exploreAfandou & Rhodes in photos
Buying tickets in Rhodes
Rhodes has no rail and two separate bus companies, which is the thing to get straight on day one. KTEL runs the green intercity coaches covering the island — the airport line into Rhodes Town (about €3), the seasonal direct service to Faliraki, and the east-coast route to Lindos (roughly €5.50 onward from town). RODA runs the blue urban buses in and around Rhodes Town only. A KTEL ticket buys you nothing on a RODA bus and the two use different stands at the Averof terminal. Pay the driver or the kiosk in cash; there is no island travel card. The airport stop is outside the arrivals terminal to the right, and services thin out considerably in the evening.
Taxi scams & safety in Rhodes
Rhodes taxis work to a published tariff rather than negotiation, which removes most of the usual friction — reckon on €27–29 into Rhodes Town on the daytime rate and a fixed fare near €75 for Lindos. Two legitimate charges catch people out and are not scams: the night tariff, and the fixed pricing on long runs like Lindos and Pefkos. Use the rank outside arrivals rather than accepting an approach inside the hall. The genuine risk here is car hire: photograph the vehicle from every angle before leaving the lot, read what the excess actually is, and be wary of a very low headline rate attached to a large deposit. One practical point rather than a safety one — no vehicle enters Rhodes Old Town or Lindos village, so every journey to either ends on foot over cobbles.
Getting from RHO to Afandou
Ask for Afandou and the driver will ask you back: village, golf course or beach? They are three separate places a few kilometres apart, and confusing them is the classic mistake on this thirty-kilometre run from the airport. The village sits inland on the old road, the golf course occupies the flat ground between, and the beach is a long pebble sweep down at the water with a scattering of hotels behind it.
Get the destination right before the fare is agreed
A taxi runs €35 to €45 on the daytime tariff and takes about thirty-five minutes. That figure assumes the driver knows which of the three you mean; being taken to the village square when your hotel is on the beach road leaves you a couple of kilometres short with your luggage in the sun. Say the property name, and if it is a small apartment complex rather than a named hotel, have the street written down. Rhodes taxis work to published rates so the price will not shift, but the destination needs to be unambiguous from the start.
The coach stops on the main road, well above the sand
Public transport means the airport coach into Rhodes Town, about €3, then the Lindos-bound KTEL service which calls at Afandou on its way down the coast, roughly another €3. Around six euros and ninety minutes all in. The stop is up on the main road, and the walk down to the seafront hotels is a solid fifteen minutes on a road with no pavement in places. Fine unencumbered on a spring morning; not something to attempt with two suitcases in August.
Golf is the local specialism, and the bags are a problem
Afandou has the island's main eighteen-hole course, which brings a particular kind of arrival — people carrying golf bags that do not fit in a standard saloon. If that is you, book a transfer at €38 to €52 and say what you are carrying, so an estate or a van is sent. Turning up at the rank with clubs and hoping is how people end up waiting through three cars. The same applies on the return, which is worth arranging at the same time.
The beach is long, stony and mostly empty
Worth calibrating expectations. Afandou beach runs for several kilometres of coarse pebbles and shelves steeply into deep, clear water — excellent for swimming, uncomfortable for lying on without a mat, and never crowded because there is so much of it. There are a couple of tavernas and a beach bar at the access points and long empty stretches between them. People who want a sun-lounger strip find it bleak; people who want to swim without negotiating for space love it.
Seven Springs is fifteen minutes inland
Epta Piges, the Seven Springs, sits in a wooded valley behind the resort — a set of streams feeding a small lake through a tunnel you can wade, with peacocks wandering the picnic area. It is the standard excursion from this stretch of coast and it is a short drive rather than an expedition. Without a car it means a taxi each way, which is most of the argument for hiring.
The hire-car case, briefly
Around €25 to €55 daily, and parking is straightforward at both the village and the beach. Afandou spreads out enough that a car makes the difference between a self-contained holiday and a slightly isolated one — the village tavernas are two kilometres from the beach hotels, the golf course is somewhere else again, and Tsambika and Kolymbia are ten minutes down the coast. If you are here for more than a few days, take one.
A seasonal note: the golf course stays open year-round and is one of the few things on this coast that does, which is why Afandou sees a trickle of visitors in February when the beach resorts either side are shuttered. Green fees are modest by northern European standards and booking a day ahead is usually enough.
To summarise: name the exact place, not "Afandou". Then it is €35–45 in a taxi, €38–52 for a booked car with room for golf clubs, or six euros and roughly ninety minutes if you are happy with a walk down from the main road.
