Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days gives Athens, Crete and Rhodes two nights each and joins them with two flights. Find more trip ideas on Greece Tours. The plan below covers the Athens walks, the Heraklion day, the flight to Rhodes and the Old Town, then the months, the hotel areas and the booking rules.
What is Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days?
The route joins the capital of Greece with the islands of Crete and Rhodes in seven days and six nights. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days gives each stop two nights and uses two flights between the stops.
Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days is a trip with three bases and no return to the start. You land in Athens on day 1 and fly home from Rhodes on day 7. Private tours, transfers and cruises for this route sit on our Greece VIP packages hub.
Each base does a different job in the plan:
- Athens: the capital of Greece, where the Parthenon stands on the Acropolis hill.
- Crete: Heraklion, the administrative capital of the island and the home of the Palace of Knossos, a centre of Minoan civilisation.
- Rhodes: the largest of the Dodecanese islands, with a medieval Old Town that is a World Heritage Site.
Rhodes is the stop to size up first. The island is shaped like a spearhead, 79.7 kilometres long and 38 kilometres across at its widest. Its area is about 1,400 square kilometres, and its coastline runs about 220 kilometres. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days gives that space two nights, so the plan picks the town and one outing.
Wikipedia places Rhodes 363 kilometres east-southeast of the Greek mainland and 18 kilometres from the southern shore of Turkey. That distance is why the route flies between its stops.
The three stops differ in kind. Athens holds classical monuments, Heraklion is the gateway to Minoan sites, and Rhodes keeps a medieval Old Town. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days therefore touches classical, Minoan and medieval Greece in one week.
How are the seven days split between three stops?
Each stop gets two nights. Athens takes days 1 and 2, Crete days 3 and 4, and Rhodes days 5 and 6. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days ends on day 7 with the flight home from Rhodes.
- Day 1: land in Athens and check in.
- Day 2: a full day in Athens.
- Day 3: fly from Athens to Heraklion.
- Day 4: a full day around Heraklion.
- Day 5: fly from Crete to Rhodes.
- Day 6: a full day on Rhodes.
- Day 7: leave from Rhodes.
The week holds three full days, which are days 2, 4 and 6, and four part days. A flight day still has a free morning or afternoon, so place one small stop on it.
The planning site kimkim sells a nine-day Rhodes and Crete route with a different balance. Its table gives one night in Athens, four in Rhodes and three on Crete. It ends with a return to Athens.
The blog The Wanderlust Effect spent three nights in Rhodes Old Town and two in Lindos on a ten-day trip. This plan has no spare nights, so each stop needs a clear choice.
The car-hire firm Rhodosrent publishes a seven-day plan for Rhodes alone, with the Lindos trip on day 3. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days gives Rhodes one full day. Choose one outing there and leave the rest for a longer trip.
The order has a reason. Rhodes goes last because its airport lists Aegean Airlines flights to Athens, Heraklion, Munich and Thessaloniki, with no seasonal tag. That gives you four ways to start the journey home.
Which months suit Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days?
The warm, dry months from April to October suit the route. Rhodes port records 393.5 hours of sunshine in July and 153.7 in December. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days gets more than twice the sun in July.
The figures come from Wikipedia’s climate tables, which give one station per stop: downtown Athens, Heraklion airport and Rhodes port. Highs are in degrees Celsius.
- April: highs of 21.1 in Athens, 20.1 at Heraklion airport and 20.2 at Rhodes port. Rhodes port gets 19.2 millimetres of rain.
- End of spring: highs of 26.5 in Athens, 24.3 at Heraklion airport and 23.9 at Rhodes port. Rhodes port gets 6.5 millimetres of rain.
- Summer: Rhodes port gets 0.1 millimetres of rain in July and 0.3 in August. The Athens UV index is 10 in both June and July. July humidity is 42 percent in Athens and 58 percent at Heraklion airport.
- October: highs of 24.4 in Athens, 24.0 at Heraklion airport and 25.6 at Rhodes port.
Autumn turns wet quickly. Rhodes port records 22.3 millimetres of rain in October, 89.4 in November and 144.1 in December. In December the Athens UV index falls to 2, and Heraklion airport logs 105.4 sunshine hours.
Flights follow a calendar too. Wikipedia’s Rhodes airport table marks Aegean Airlines routes to Chania, Mykonos, Naxos and Santorini as seasonal. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days uses only routes without that tag. The flight legs do not depend on the season.
How do you travel between Athens, Crete and Rhodes?
You fly both legs. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days uses Aegean Airlines or Sky Express from Athens to Heraklion, then from Heraklion to Rhodes. Wikipedia’s airport tables list both airlines on each route.
Sky Express has its headquarters at Heraklion airport and keeps a lounge there, according to Wikipedia. Its bases are Athens, Heraklion and Thessaloniki. Both legs of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days leave from one of them.
Both airports serve more than their city. Wikipedia says Heraklion airport serves Agios Nikolaos, Malia, Hersonissos and Elounda as well as Heraklion. Rhodes airport lies on the west side of its island, near the village of Paradeisi.
A boat is possible. Wikipedia says travellers can take ferries from Heraklion to Rhodes, and that daily ferries run from Heraklion to Piraeus. Its Rhodes article says Akandia port handles domestic traffic. No source gives a crossing time for the Rhodes route, so check an operator first.
Book the legs as one multi-city search, with Athens in and Rhodes out. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days then needs no backtrack to the capital. The guide on how to get to Rhodes covers the airport, the ferries and local transport on the island.
The travel firm Greca packages the same idea. Its three-day, two-night Rhodes trip from Athens includes flight tickets from Athens to Rhodes and back. A travel blogger who landed at Rhodes airport wrote that the Old Town lies about half an hour away.
What happens on day 1 in Athens?
Day 1 is a landing day with one short walk. It opens Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days at an easy pace. No ticket waits to be scanned, and no early alarm rings.
Athens gets two nights in Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days, so nothing has to be seen on arrival. Land, drop the bags and go for a walk. Day 2 holds the long Acropolis morning, and day 3 starts with a flight. The first evening stays light for that reason.
Monastiraki is the easiest place to start. It is a flea market neighbourhood in the old town, named after the Church of the Pantanassa on its square. The metro station there serves Lines 1 and 3, so the walk can start and end on a train.
The first evening of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days links four stops on foot:
- Monastiraki Square, with Pandrossou Street and Adrianou Street as the main shopping lanes.
- Hadrian’s Library, a ruin north of the Acropolis that Emperor Hadrian built in AD 132.
- The Tower of the Winds in the Roman Agora, an octagonal marble tower 12 metres tall with eight sundials.
- Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, the pedestrian street on the south slope of the Acropolis.
The last stop holds three more sights. Dionysiou Areopagitou Street passes the Theatre of Dionysus entrance and the Acropolis Museum. It ends near the entrance to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. Look from the street tonight and enter on day 2.
The Areopagus lies northwest of the Acropolis. Its name means Hill of Ares, and the council of ancient Athens met there. The hill also appears in Acts 17 as the setting of the Apostle Paul’s sermon. It is a short stop on the Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days walk.
A guide turns the same loop into a story. The listing Athens First Walk: Highlights & Local Tips runs 2.5 hours for a small group. It carries a free cancellation label and asks for a booking 9 hours ahead. On Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days it fits day 1 because day 2 stays free.
A third Athens night changes the shape of the trip. The plan for Athens for first-time visitors spreads the sights over three days,.
How do you spend day 2 in Athens?
Day 2 is the only full day in Athens. It pairs an early Acropolis visit with a food market and a cooking class. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days keeps the afternoon indoors and out of the heat.
Start early at the rock. A First Access guided tour takes you straight to the Parthenon among the first visitors of the day. It includes the Theatre of Dionysus. The listing runs 2 to 4 hours, with a skip the line label and a private option.
Free cancellation applies, and the booking cut-off is 10 hours. The Acropolis one-day itinerary lists every monument in order. Here the rock fills only the morning, so take the tour and leave the rest.
The afternoon moves to food. Athens: Food Market Visit and Cooking Class with Wine takes 4 hours. The class begins with a trip to the market. It ends with a meal of the dishes you cooked, served with wine.
The listing shows free cancellation and a booking cut-off of 10 hours. Check its start time before you choose the Acropolis slot. The two bookings then sit on the same day without a clash.
The market is the Varvakeios Central Municipal Market. It sells meat, fish, vegetables, sausages, herbs and spices, and the New Market was completed in the late 19th century. Walking its halls explains the class menu before the first knife comes out.
A coastal swap is possible. Replace the class with a sunset half-day trip to Cape Sounion. The listing runs 5.5 hours, with an optional audio guide and free cancellation. The cape lies 69.5 km southeast of Athens.
The Temple of Poseidon there dates to 444 to 440 BC. Of its 34 original columns, 15 still stand. Choose this swap when your Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan needs a sea view before the islands begin.
Pack tonight. Day 3 of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days starts with the flight to Crete. A bag closed at dinner saves the morning.
How does day 3 take you from Athens to Crete?
Day 3 is a travel day with one flight and a light evening. It moves Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days from the capital to Crete. Heraklion Airport lies on the eastern side of the city.
Fix the flight time first, because it sets the morning of this Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days leg. An afternoon flight leaves room for a last walk in Athens. A morning flight turns the day into check-out, airport and arrival, with the evening kept for Heraklion.
The National Garden suits a free morning. Queen Amalia commissioned the 15.5 hectare park, and Friedrich Schmidt designed it. It lies directly behind the Greek Parliament. Inside you find a duck pond, a Botanical Museum and a small cafe.
Sky Express, a Greek airline headquartered at Heraklion Airport, and Aegean both fly the leg. The airport is named after the writer Nikos Kazantzakis and serves Heraklion and resorts such as Hersonissos, Malia and Elounda. Sky Express keeps a lounge there.
The next step is the ride into town. A private transfer listing for Crete ports and airports offers pickup, free cancellation and a booking cut-off of 10 hours. Book it once the ticket is in hand. On Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days the hotel sits in Heraklion, because day 4 stays around the city.
The evening belongs to the old port. The Koules fortress guards its entrance. Venice built it in the early 16th century, and it is still in good condition.
- The fortress has two parts: a high rectangular section and a lower semi-elliptical one.
- Its walls reach 8.7 metres thick in places, and it holds 26 rooms on two floors.
- A lighthouse tower stands on the northern part, and the fortress is open to the public.
Eat near the harbour and sleep early. Day 4 opens the Crete section of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days with a full day around Heraklion.
What fills day 4 around Heraklion?
Day 4 splits into a museum morning and a food or wine afternoon in Heraklion. The museum holds finds from over 5,500 years of Cretan history. This Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan gives it the freshest hours of the day.
No flight moves you on day 4 of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days. Day 3 brought you to Crete, and day 5 flies you out. That leaves one full day with no airport in it.
Wikipedia calls the Heraklion Archaeological Museum one of the largest museums in Greece. It holds the great majority of the finds from the Minoan palace at Knossos. See the objects here, and keep the palace for our Knossos in one day plan.
The morning booking is Heraklion Archaeological Museum Ticket & Audio Guide. The listing allows 1 to 4 hours and offers an optional audio guide. It carries a wheelchair accessible label and asks for a booking at least 2 hours ahead. Book it early, because Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days has no spare morning.
Wikipedia places these objects in named rooms, so aim for them first:
- The Phaistos Disc, in Room III.
- Snake goddess figurines and a bull’s head rhyton from Knossos, in Room IV.
- The Harvester Vase, in Room VII.
- Frescoes from Knossos and Hagia Triada, in Room XIV, and the fresco called La Parisienne, in Rooms XV and XVI.
Wikipedia lists the hours as 8 am to 7 pm from Tuesday to Sunday between April and September. Monday runs from noon to 8 pm. From October to March the doors open daily from 8 am to 5 pm. Air conditioning runs inside the building. Check the hours on the day.
The afternoon takes one food booking. The Arolithos cooking lesson lasts 4 hours, runs as a private group and includes lunch. The listing says you tour a small museum in the village, cook your own dishes and eat them. It needs 10 hours of notice and carries a free cancellation label.
The lighter choice is the Cretan wine tasting in Heraklion. It lasts 1 to 2 hours, runs as a small group and needs 2 hours of notice. Pick the tasting if the plan needs a rest before the flight. Pick the lesson if you want the whole afternoon planned.
How does day 5 take you from Crete to Rhodes?
Day 5 is a flight from Heraklion to Rhodes, then an afternoon in Rhodes Town. Rome2rio lists Sky Express and Aegean Airlines on the route. The Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan flies, because the ferry takes 11 hours.
Rome2rio counts 5 flights a day between the two islands. Aegean’s direct listing averages one hour, while a trip through Athens averages 2 hours 50 minutes. Book the direct flight, because a detour breaks the timing of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days.
The ferry exists too. Rome2rio says Blue Star Ferries runs Heraklion to Rhodes 4 times a week, with an average time of 11 hours. That day holds a boat and nothing else. Keep the ferry for a trip with more days than Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days.
Wikipedia puts Heraklion second among Greek airports by traffic, behind Athens. On day 5 of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days, leave the hotel early. Near the village of Paradeisi, on the western coast, sits the Rhodes airport. It sits 14 kilometres southwest of Rhodes Town. Land, ride that distance, drop the bags and walk out.
The afternoon belongs to the harbour. Wikipedia says the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue of the sun god Helios, stood near the harbour entrance. Other sources place it on a breakwater, and the exact spot is still disputed. The statue stood about 33 metres high.
The Colossus stood for 54 years before an earthquake in 226 BC snapped it at the knees. The remains lay on the ground for over 800 years, and visitors still travelled to see them. The Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan treats the harbour as a first look at the city. The Old Town waits for day 6.
Keep the evening free. Eat near the water and sleep early, because day 6 starts with a three-hour walk through the walls.
What fills day 6 on Rhodes?
Day 6 puts the walled Medieval City in the morning and the ancient Acropolis in the afternoon. Both sit in Rhodes Town. The Acropolis lies 3 kilometres southwest of the centre. The Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan therefore holds a medieval town and a Greek hilltop in one day.
Wikipedia splits the Medieval City into a high town in the north and a lower town to the south-southwest. A wall 4 kilometres long encloses it. The Hospitallers built the high town entirely. Our Rhodes Old Town page names the sights, so day 6 only needs the timing.
The morning booking is Rhodes: Old Town Walking Tour with Guide. A local, authorized English-speaking guide leads a small group for 3 hours. The listing names the Street of the Knights and the Grand Master Palace. Pickup is available and a free cancellation label shows. The tour needs 10 hours of notice.
- Morning: the 3-hour walking tour through the Medieval City.
- Midday: lunch inside the walls and a rest out of the sun.
- Afternoon: the Acropolis of Rhodes on Monte Smith.
- Evening: dinner back in town, with the bags packed for day 7.
Wikipedia puts the Acropolis of Rhodes on Monte Smith and dates it to the fifth century BC. Unlike other acropoleis, it never had a walled citadel. The monuments stand on stepped terraces above the west coast. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days spends this afternoon on the hill above the harbour.
Three monuments set the visit. The Temple of Pythian Apollo has re-erected columns that you can see from the harbour. A stadium and a small odeon sit below it. The odeon held about 800 spectators and is heavily reconstructed.
The Acropolis Archaeological Park covers 12,500 square metres, according to Wikipedia, and it is protected from new construction. That size fits a single afternoon. The Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan closes day 6 here, and the departure day follows.
What happens on day 7 in Rhodes?
Day 7 is the departure day, and your flight time sets the plan. The last morning of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days fits one short stop, or none. Rhodes airport lies 14 km southwest of Rhodes Town, just north of the village of Paradeisi.
Start from the departure time on your ticket and count back. Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days ends on that one number. Sky Express asks passengers to arrive at least 2 hours before departure. Its check-in counters close 40 minutes before departure from Greek airports.
Two ground options reach the terminal. The airport bus stop stands 300 m from the building. Buses link it with the central bus station on Averof Street. The World Travel Guide gives that ride as about 35 minutes. A bus leaves every half hour, with fewer at the weekend.
A taxi rank waits in front of the terminal. The guide puts the ride to Rhodes city at about 25 minutes. Fares, zones and booking steps sit in our guide to Rhodes airport transfers.
On the last day of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days, a late flight leaves the bags homeless after check-out. The listing Rhodes: Luggage Storage close to Old town stores them in the old town. It shows a validity of 1 day and the free cancellation label. Its text states that bags have no size limits.
An evening flight also opens a half-day trip. Lindos lies about 40 km south of Rhodes city on the east coast. The listing Rhodes: Small Group to Lindos with 4-Hours of Free Time lasts 6.5 hours. It offers pickup from hotels in select areas and needs a booking 10 hours ahead. Our Lindos guide covers the village and the acropolis.
Match the last day of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days to the flight like this:
- Morning flight: check out, ride to the airport and drop the bags.
- Midday flight: a short walk in the old town, with the bags in storage.
- Evening flight: the 6.5-hour Lindos trip.
Luggage lockers also stand inside the terminal, says the World Travel Guide. They suit a flight that leaves no time for either stop.
Which area suits each overnight stay on Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days?
You sleep in three bases for two nights each. Athens takes nights 1 and 2, Heraklion nights 3 and 4, and Rhodes Town nights 5 and 6. This route moves your bed only twice, so each stop needs one choice.
- Nights 1 and 2: Athens, on the Plaka or Monastiraki side.
- Nights 3 and 4: Heraklion, in the city centre.
- Nights 5 and 6: Rhodes Town, inside the Old Town or in the New Town.
Wikivoyage frames the Athens choice as one question: Plaka or not Plaka. Syntagma Square holds a major metro stop. It borders Plaka to the south, Monastiraki to the west, Kolonaki to the east and Omonia to the north. For athens crete rhodes 7 days, note that Monastiraki and Syntagma both sit on Metro Line 3, the airport line.
For the Crete nights of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days, Wikivoyage lists city-centre stays in Heraklion. They sit a 10-minute drive from the airport and a 5-minute drive from the port. Beach hotels sit outside town. Amoudara has a sandy beach west of the city. Karteros lies 7 km east, beyond the airport.
Wikivoyage splits Rhodes Town into four areas. They are the walled Old Town and the New Town, which lies north and west of it. The other two are the Mandraki waterfront and the old acropolis. The acropolis stands 2 km southwest of the Old Town.
Travel inside the walls is mainly on foot. The Old Town holds about 200 streets or lanes with no name, and getting lost is a distinct possibility. Pick one area for both nights of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days, so the bags stay put until day 7.
What are the booking and cancellation steps for the tours on this plan?
Book the three travel-day rides first, because airport transfers carry the longest notice labels. The airport searches for Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days show a 2-day label on 5 Athens tours. Heraklion shows a 3-day label on 2 tours, and Rhodes tops out at 24h.
The Athens airport transfer search returns 20 tours. All 20 show Free cancellation and a cut-off. The 10h label sits on 10 of them. The Heraklion search also returns 20 tours with Free cancellation, and 12 carry 10h.
The Rhodes search returns 20 tours, and 17 show Free cancellation. The one-way bus transfer shows neither a cancellation label nor a cut-off. The private transfer listing with 446 reviews asks for 14h.
Count back from each travel day to find the booking deadline for Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days:
- Day 3 ride to Athens airport, 2-day label: book by day 1.
- Day 5 ride to Heraklion airport, 3-day label: book by day 2.
- Day 7 ride to Rhodes airport, 14h label: for an 8 am pickup, book by 6 pm on day 6.
Format labels sort the rides of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days by group. Private group shows on 18 Athens tours, 14 Heraklion tours and 11 Rhodes tours. Pickup available shows on 16, 17 and 14. Read each listing before you pay, because a label is a summary and the tour page holds the terms.
What do travellers ask about this Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days plan?
Travellers ask about water, tips, check-in, mobility help, cards and entry rules. Each answer for Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days comes from Wikivoyage, the World Travel Guide or Sky Express. Read them before day 1.
Is the tap water safe to drink on this route?
Wikivoyage says tap water in the places tourists visit is drinkable. If you are in doubt, ask your hotel. A restaurant can bring a bottle of water and charge for it. Refuse a sealed bottle you did not order.
Do you tip taxi drivers and servers?
Wikivoyage says tipping in restaurants is not a Greek tradition and tipping taxi drivers is uncommon. No set percentage applies on Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days. The same page says a tip, when given, is left on the table.
Can you check in online for the flight home?
Sky Express opens online check-in 48 hours before departure and keeps it open until 3 hours before. For a day 7 flight, the window opens on day 5. Online check-in saves a queue at the Rhodes desk.
Who helps travellers with reduced mobility at the airports?
Sky Express asks travellers who need mobility assistance, and unaccompanied children, to reach the check-in counters 90 minutes before departure. The World Travel Guide calls the disabled facilities at Rhodes airport basic, with toilets for wheelchair users.
Do cards work, or do you need cash?
Wikivoyage says Mastercard, Visa and Maestro work in shops, hotels and travel agencies across Greece. Not every restaurant takes them. ATMs stand almost everywhere, and Rhodes airport holds ATMs, a bank and a bureau de change.
Do you need a visa for the seven days?
Wikivoyage says citizens of EEA countries and Switzerland need no visa in the Schengen area. They can stay up to 90 days with a valid ID card or passport. The seven days of Athens Crete Rhodes 7 days sit well inside that limit. Other passports need an entry check before booking.