Rhodes Driving Information

Greece drives on the right. The east-coast main road is wide and straightforward; the west coast is more exposed to wind; inland routes are narrow and twist through villages where scooters appear from side lanes without ceremony.

Local drivers are quick but not aggressive, and slow-moving traffic often pulls onto the hard shoulder to let you past. Distances are short, so there is nothing to gain from hurrying.

Rhodes Town: park outside the Old Town walls — around the moat or near the harbour — and walk in. Marked bays fill by mid-morning in summer.

Lindos: the village is closed to cars. Use the car parks on the approach road and expect a walk down and a climb back.

Beaches: Tsambika, Anthony Quinn Bay and Prasonisi all have informal parking areas that are simply full by midday in August. Early or late is the answer.

Petrol stations are plentiful along the east coast and around Rhodes Town, and noticeably thinner south of Gennadi and on inland routes. Fill up before a long southern day rather than after it.

For electric cars, the practical pattern on Rhodes is to charge overnight where you are staying and treat public charging in the main towns as a top-up rather than a plan. Our electric page covers this in detail.

May to mid-June and September to mid-October are the best months to drive here: warm, bright and comparatively quiet. July and August are hot inland, with midday temperatures that make a convertible a morning-and-evening pleasure rather than an all-day one.

The meltemi wind picks up in summer afternoons, mostly on the west coast — pleasant with the roof down at the coast, noisy at speed.

Bring your driving licence, passport or ID and the payment card used for the booking; the licence and age requirements for your car are shown and confirmed while you book. Seat belts are compulsory, and phone use at the wheel is not tolerated.