After the Rhodes Marathon: Lindos

The Route: Rhodes Town → Lindos → Rhodes Airport Logistics: KTEL bus or hire car, about 1 to 1.5 hours each way on the east-coast road. The village is on foot only, so a small bag helps. Marathon Month: April Duration: 1 night

Rhodes Town ──(1-1.5 hrs by KTEL bus or car)──> Lindos
     ▲                                             │
Rhodes Airport (RHO) ◄──(1-1.5 hrs, bus/taxi)─────┘

The TUI Rhodes Marathon finishes in Eleftherias Square on a Sunday in April. Lindos is the postcard on the other side of the island, a village on the east coast with a bay, a harbour and an acropolis above it. April is the quiet end of its season, which is the best reason to go now.

April in Lindos. The village is still waking up. Some restaurants and hotels open late in the season, so confirm that your chosen place is trading before you book. Daytime temperatures are usually around 20°C and evenings are cool, and the sea is cold. The streets are narrow and the shop doors are open, but the summer crowds are absent.

The KTEL operator runs a Rhodes to Lindos service, and the road journey takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half. Check the current April timetable on the KTEL Rhodes website, because summer schedules do not carry over. A hire car makes the return to the airport easier. Cars cannot enter the village itself, so the bus or a taxi will drop you at the edge and you walk in.

Night one: Lindos village

Lindos is a tight tangle of whitewashed houses and lanes paved in black and white pebble mosaic, rising from a small harbour towards the acropolis. The lanes are narrow and the paving is polished stone, so wear shoes with grip. There is no flat route into the heart of the village, but the main lane from the entrance is a gentle incline and short in distance, and benches and café terraces appear regularly.

The acropolis is the main climb. The site sits high above the village on a rock cliff, and the approach is by a stepped path of worn stone, with a steep final flight inside the walls. Donkeys carry visitors up part of the way, which is an honest option for legs that will not climb. The upper site includes a Doric stoa and the temple of Athena Lindia, with views down to the bay of St Paul. The Hellenic Heritage site lists April hours of 08:00 to 20:00 and admission of €20 (£17), or €10 reduced, with entry free on 18 April. The site is about a 10-minute walk up from the village. Check the current details before you go and treat the full climb as optional. If the legs say no, the village lanes and the bay below are enough.

The beach on the bay is a short walk down from the village, on sand. It is flat and a decent place to sit and watch the water.

Where to stay

Choose a small guesthouse inside the pedestrian lanes if you can manage stairs, or a hotel at the edge of the village, near where the taxis stop, if luggage is a worry. Ask about the number of steps to the room before booking and whether there is a ground-floor room.

Where to eat

The village is full of small tavernas with courtyards and roof terraces. Look for grilled fish, local cheese pies and the island's sweet pastries, and ask the staff what is in season. Prices are higher than in the city, and some places are closed outside the main season.

Getting to the airport

Take the bus back to Rhodes Town and a taxi to Rhodes Airport (RHO), or hire a car and drive straight to the terminal. The airport is about 14 km from the city and the full journey from Lindos is roughly 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Check the last bus before relying on it and leave a margin for the flight.