Rhodes International Airport to Rhodes Old Town
About 14 km from RHO; the KTEL airport bus costs around €3 and takes half an hour, while a taxi is €27–29 on the day tariff.
The largest inhabited medieval town in Europe, walled by the Knights of St John — the Street of the Knights, the Palace of the Grand Master, and a warren of lanes inside the moat that still houses several thousand people.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Rhodes Old Town, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €32). Travelling light on a budget? The bus is cheapest (from €3) 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 | €3 | €32 | Bus |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €6 | €32 | Bus |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €12 | €32 | Bus |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Bus | From €3, 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
Around €3 for a half-hour ride, which makes it one of the better-value airport buses in Greece. The terminus is a few minutes' walk from the Gate of Freedom — but note that vehicles cannot enter most of the walled town, so the last stretch is on foot whatever you take.
Where to catch it: The stop is outside the arrivals terminal to the right. Buy from the driver or the small kiosk; the coach ends at the KTEL station on Averof, just outside the old walls.
Best for solo & budget travellersTaxi
Tariff 1 applies by day at roughly €27–29, with the night rate higher. If your hotel is inside the walls, the driver will drop you at the nearest gate — Agios Athanasios or the Gate of Freedom — because the lanes are too narrow for cars.
Where to catch it: The rank sits directly outside the arrivals hall; drivers work to a published tariff rather than negotiating.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
Priced per car, so three or four travelling together beat separate tickets. Say if you're staying inside the walls and the driver will pick the right gate rather than circling the moat road.
Where to catch it: Booked ahead the fare is agreed in advance, which matters here because a large share of Rhodes arrivals are late-evening charters landing well after the bus has finished.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
A liability for an old-town stay: no cars inside the walls and the parking around the moat fills by mid-morning. Hire later in the week for Lindos, Kamiros and the interior instead of from the airport on day one.
Where to catch it: Counters in the arrivals hall with collection lots a short walk away.
Best for travellers who want to exploreRhodes Old Town & 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 Rhodes Old Town
Fourteen kilometres from the terminal to the walls, and then you walk. That is the one fact that shapes every arrival in Rhodes Old Town, because no taxi, coach or hire car gets you to your door — the medieval city inside the moat is closed to traffic, and whatever you arrive in stops at a gate. Sorting out which gate, and how far your room is from it, matters more than the fifteen euros between the bus and the cab.
Three euros gets you to the Gate of Freedom
The KTEL airport coach leaves from outside arrivals — turn right as you exit — and runs into the city for about €3, taking around half an hour with stops. It terminates at the KTEL station on Averof, just beyond the walls near the Gate of Freedom and the New Market. For a fare that small it is genuinely good value, and for anyone staying in the northern half of the old town it puts you within a five-minute walk. Buy from the driver or the kiosk beside the stand. Services run roughly hourly, more often through the summer, and thin out considerably in the evening.
Blue buses and green coaches are different companies
This trips people up all week, not just on arrival. Rhodes runs two separate bus operations: RODA handles the blue urban routes in and around the city, KTEL runs the green intercity coaches that cover the island. Your airport ticket is a KTEL one and it buys you nothing on a RODA bus, and the two use different stands at the Averof terminal. If you plan to reach Faliraki or Lindos later in the week, you want the KTEL side; if you are hopping to Rhodes Town's beaches or the aquarium, that is RODA. Nobody signposts the distinction clearly and it costs visitors a fare or two before it clicks.
The rank is fixed-tariff, and worth it with luggage
Taxis wait immediately outside arrivals and work to a published tariff rather than a negotiation — reckon on €27 to €29 into the city on the daytime rate, more once the night tariff starts. Twenty-five minutes. Where this earns its money is the drop-off: tell the driver your hotel and they will take you to the closest gate rather than the terminus, which on the far side of the old town can save you fifteen minutes of dragging a case over cobbles. Agios Athanasios gate serves the southern lanes, the Gate of Freedom the northern ones, and the difference between them is most of the walled city.
Late charters are the reason people book ahead
Rhodes takes a lot of evening flights, and the coach finishes long before the last of them lands. A pre-booked car runs €32 to €45 for the vehicle, agreed before you fly, and three or four sharing beat both the meter and separate tickets. The practical extra is knowledge of the gates — a driver with your hotel on file already knows whether to approach from the moat road or the harbour side. Give the property name rather than a street; the old town's addresses mean little even to people who live there.
Cobbles, wheels and a piece of advice about luggage
Everything inside the walls is stone, much of it uneven, and a fair amount of it slopes. Hard-shell cases with small wheels have a bad time here. If you have a choice, pack something you can carry up a few steps rather than something you must drag, because even a two-minute walk from a gate involves surfaces laid in the fifteenth century. Several small hotels will send someone to meet you at the gate with a trolley if you tell them your arrival time — worth asking when you book rather than discovering afterwards.
Skip the hire car for the first few days
Desk rates run €25 to €55 a day, and a car parked outside the walls does nothing for you while you are inside them. Parking around the moat is metered and full by mid-morning in season. The island genuinely rewards driving — Kamiros, Monolithos, the Valley of the Butterflies, the whole empty west coast — but pick one up on the day you want it. Arriving by coach or cab and hiring midweek costs less and spares you three days of parking hunts.
So: daylight arrival and a room in the northern lanes, take the €3 coach. Anything else — late landing, southern gate, real luggage — the rank at €27 or a booked car is money well spent, because the walk starts wherever the wheels stop.
