A Lindos boat trip is either the run down the east coast from Rhodes Town to the village under the acropolis, or a local cruise out of Lindos itself to St Paul’s Bay, Navarone Bay and the coves towards Pefkos with swim stops at each. Plan the rest of the island with Greece Tours.
This guide covers both: how long the crossing from Mandraki takes, what the day boats and the express boats cost, which bays the local caiques reach, the boats that run them, how long you get in the village, what to bring for the acropolis climb, how the wind changes the day, and when to book.
What is a Lindos boat trip and where does it go?
Two different days share the name: the boat down the east coast from Rhodes Town to Lindos, and the local boats that leave Lindos itself for St Paul’s Bay, Navarone Bay and the coves towards Pefkos, with swim stops at each.
A Lindos boat trip runs the east coast below the acropolis. The long version leaves Mandraki harbour in Rhodes Town and runs 50 km of coast, passing Kallithea, Faliraki, Anthony Quinn bay and Tsambika before the acropolis comes into view above the village. It is the arrival that sells it: Lindos appears as a white village under a floodlit rock rather than at the end of a bus ride. Children pay roughly half on every Lindos boat trip format. Captain’s houses line the medieval lanes below the acropolis. Sailing cruises carry eight to twenty with lunch aboard. A Lindos boat trip reaches coves the road does not.
Glass-bottom boats add a viewing well for children. The short version starts on Lindos main beach or Pallas beach and works the bays either side for two to three hours. That is the swimming day, and it reaches water the road does not. The village itself is covered at Lindos. Navarone Bay and Vlycha lie north of the village. Mandraki harbour is where the Rhodes Town boats leave from. August puts two thousand visitors a day into the village. A Lindos boat trip costs less than the sailing cruise version.
How long does the boat from Rhodes Town take?
An hour and fifteen minutes on the high-speed boats and about two hours on the slower day boats, each way. The full-day trips leave Mandraki between nine and half past and return between five and six.
Mandraki harbour is where the Rhodes Town boats leave from. The express boats run direct and give five to six hours ashore. The day boats build in a swim stop on the way down or back, which trades an hour in the village for a swim in clear water off the headlands. August puts two thousand visitors a day into the village. A Lindos boat trip costs less than the sailing cruise version. Five to six hours ashore comes with the express day trip. Anthony Quinn bay and Ladiko sit further up the coast.
Sailing cruises carry eight to twenty with lunch aboard. Evening trips run in high summer, leaving in the late afternoon and returning after dark with the acropolis lit above the village. Those are three to four hours and skip the swim. A Lindos boat trip reaches coves the road does not. The high-speed boats cover the crossing in an hour and fifteen. Booking a Lindos boat trip ahead holds the seat and the transfer. The east coast is the sheltered side of the island.
What does a Lindos boat trip cost?
From about 35 to 60 euros for the full-day boat from Rhodes Town, 25 to 45 euros for the express one-way, 45 to 70 euros for a three-hour all-inclusive swimming cruise out of Lindos, and 90 to 130 euros for a full-day sailing cruise with lunch.
The high-speed boats cover the crossing in an hour and fifteen. The Rhodes Town fares cover the crossing and nothing else; lunch, the acropolis ticket and the donkey up the hill are settled ashore. The Lindos swimming cruises are all-inclusive with drinks and a snack, and the sailing cruises include a cooked lunch. Booking a Lindos boat trip ahead holds the seat and the transfer. The east coast is the sheltered side of the island. The climb to the acropolis takes twenty minutes on stepped lanes. Wooden caiques work the short Lindos boat trip from Pallas beach.
Five to six hours ashore comes with the express day trip. Children pay roughly half on every format. Hotel transfer from Faliraki, Kallithea and Kolymbia is bundled into part of the fleet, which matters because Mandraki has no parking worth the name in August. Anthony Quinn bay and Ladiko sit further up the coast. Slower day boats take about two hours each way. Cancellation runs free to twenty-four hours with most operators. A southerly puts swell into St Paul’s Bay and Navarone.
Which bays do the local boats visit?
St Paul’s Bay under the acropolis, Navarone Bay and Vlycha to the north, the coves towards Pefkos and Lardos to the south, and on the longer cruises Anthony Quinn bay and Ladiko back up the coast.
Slower day boats take about two hours each way. St Paul’s Bay is the set piece. The water is enclosed by rock with a narrow mouth to the sea, the little white chapel stands at the head of it, and the acropolis sits directly above. It is covered at St Paul’s Bay. Cancellation runs free to twenty-four hours with most operators. A southerly puts swell into St Paul’s Bay and Navarone. Donkeys work the lower half of the route up the rock. Glass-bottom boats add a viewing well for children.
The climb to the acropolis takes twenty minutes on stepped lanes. Navarone Bay sits on the other side of the headland with a gravel shore and clear water, and it fills from the road in August. Reaching it by boat at ten in the morning is a different experience from walking down to it at one. Wooden caiques work the short Lindos boat trip from Pallas beach. St Paul’s Bay sits enclosed by rock under the acropolis. A Lindos boat trip runs the east coast below the acropolis. Children pay roughly half on every Lindos boat trip format.
What kind of boats run the trips?
High-speed catamarans and hydrofoils on the Rhodes Town run, traditional wooden caiques and glass-bottom boats out of Lindos, and sailing yachts on the full-day cruises with lunch.
St Paul’s Bay sits enclosed by rock under the acropolis. The express boats are enclosed with an open sun deck and take two hundred passengers. The Lindos caiques carry thirty to sixty with a canopy and a ladder, and the glass-bottom boats add a viewing well that entertains children for the first twenty minutes. A Lindos boat trip runs the east coast below the acropolis. Children pay roughly half on every Lindos boat trip format. Captain’s houses line the medieval lanes below the acropolis. Sailing cruises carry eight to twenty with lunch aboard.
Donkeys work the lower half of the route up the rock. The sailing cruises carry eight to twenty and anchor longer at each bay. They cost twice the caique fare and give a quarter of the passengers, which is the trade every boat market on the island runs on. Glass-bottom boats add a viewing well for children. Navarone Bay and Vlycha lie north of the village. Mandraki harbour is where the Rhodes Town boats leave from. August puts two thousand visitors a day into the village.
How long do you get in Lindos village?
Five to six hours on the express day trips and three to four on the slower boats. The acropolis needs an hour, the village lanes an hour, and lunch on a roof terrace another.
Navarone Bay and Vlycha lie north of the village. The climb to the acropolis takes twenty minutes on foot up stepped lanes with no shade, which is why the boats that arrive at ten give a better day than those that arrive at noon. Donkeys work the lower half of the route. Mandraki harbour is where the Rhodes Town boats leave from. August puts two thousand visitors a day into the village. A Lindos boat trip costs less than the sailing cruise version. Five to six hours ashore comes with the express day trip.
Captain’s houses line the medieval lanes below the acropolis. The lanes below are medieval and captain’s houses line them, with pebble-mosaic courtyards behind the doors. The acropolis and its temple of Athena sit at Lindos acropolis. Sailing cruises carry eight to twenty with lunch aboard. A Lindos boat trip reaches coves the road does not. The high-speed boats cover the crossing in an hour and fifteen. Booking a Lindos boat trip ahead holds the seat and the transfer.
What do you bring on the day?
Swimwear under your clothes, a towel, high-factor sun cream, a hat, water, cash for the village and closed shoes or sandals with grip for the acropolis steps and the boat ladder.
A Lindos boat trip reaches coves the road does not. The stone at the acropolis is polished by four thousand years of feet and the steps are uneven. Flip-flops are the wrong footwear for that climb and the right one for the boat, which is why most passengers carry both. The high-speed boats cover the crossing in an hour and fifteen. Booking a Lindos boat trip ahead holds the seat and the transfer. The east coast is the sheltered side of the island. The climb to the acropolis takes twenty minutes on stepped lanes.
A Lindos boat trip costs less than the sailing cruise version. Shoulders and knees covered is the rule at the chapel by St Paul’s Bay. Cards work in the village restaurants and thin out at the beach kiosks, so twenty to forty euros in notes covers the day. Five to six hours ashore comes with the express day trip. Anthony Quinn bay and Ladiko sit further up the coast. Slower day boats take about two hours each way. Cancellation runs free to twenty-four hours with most operators.
How does the wind affect the crossing?
The east coast is the sheltered side of Rhodes and the meltemi blows from the north-west, so the Lindos run is calmer than the west-coast sailings. Rough days shorten the swim stop rather than cancelling the crossing.
Anthony Quinn bay and Ladiko sit further up the coast. The exception is a southerly, which puts swell straight into St Paul’s Bay and Navarone. On those days the local boats work the northern coves instead and the captains say so at the quay. Slower day boats take about two hours each way. Cancellation runs free to twenty-four hours with most operators. A southerly puts swell into St Paul’s Bay and Navarone. Donkeys work the lower half of the route up the rock.
The east coast is the sheltered side of the island. Cancellations are decided in the morning and refunded in full. Passengers prone to seasickness do better on the enclosed express boats than on an open caique in a chop. The climb to the acropolis takes twenty minutes on stepped lanes. Wooden caiques work the short Lindos boat trip from Pallas beach. St Paul’s Bay sits enclosed by rock under the acropolis. A Lindos boat trip runs the east coast below the acropolis.
When does the season run and how far ahead do you book?
April to the end of October, daily in high summer and three or four days a week in the shoulder months. Book two to three days ahead in July and August, and on the morning outside them.
Wooden caiques work the short Lindos boat trip from Pallas beach. May, June, September and October give the best days: the acropolis is walkable at midday, the village is not shoulder to shoulder, and the boats have room. August puts two thousand people a day into a village of eight hundred. St Paul’s Bay sits enclosed by rock under the acropolis. A Lindos boat trip runs the east coast below the acropolis. Children pay roughly half on every Lindos boat trip format. Captain’s houses line the medieval lanes below the acropolis.
A southerly puts swell into St Paul’s Bay and Navarone. Booking online holds the seat, the transfer and the price. Cancellation runs free to twenty-four hours with most operators here. The rest of the island’s boat days sit in Rhodes boat trips, and the island overview at Rhodes. Donkeys work the lower half of the route up the rock. Glass-bottom boats add a viewing well for children. Navarone Bay and Vlycha lie north of the village.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the boat from Rhodes Town to Lindos take?
An hour and fifteen minutes on the high-speed boats and about two hours on the slower day boats. Full-day trips leave Mandraki between nine and half past and return between five and six.
What does a Lindos boat trip cost?
From about 35 to 60 euros for the full-day boat from Rhodes Town, 25 to 45 euros one way on the express, 45 to 70 euros for a three-hour all-inclusive swimming cruise from Lindos, and 90 to 130 euros for a sailing cruise with lunch.
Which bays does a Lindos boat trip visit?
St Paul’s Bay under the acropolis, Navarone Bay and Vlycha to the north, the coves towards Pefkos and Lardos to the south, and Anthony Quinn bay and Ladiko on the longer cruises.