If you’ve arrived a little late to this year’s Eurosummer, you’re probably thinking lounging by the beach and going for early-evening dips in the Med is already off the table. But is it?
We’re fast approaching fall, suuuure, but having been to over 40 European countries at this point, I’ve learned how to trick the passing of the seasons and extend my beloved summer for a few weeks longer when it’s already drizzling down and chilly in my Paris nook.
That’s why this October, I’m heading back to one of my favorite Mediterranean islands, where it’s sunny most days, a balmy 82°F out, and booking a coastal room with a view won’t cost an arm and a leg:
The Greek Island You Didn’t Know You Desperately Needed Visiting
The fourth-largest island in Greece, Rhodes is a lot more than your usual Greek island getaway where it’s mostly about slow harborside dinners and endless beach-hopping. Nothing wrong with that, mind, but I like my Mediterranean islands with a little more culture on the side.
Rhodes is best known for its namesake capital, Rhodes Town, and I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it as many times as it takes to hammer it home: this is everything you wish Dubrovnik still was in 2026.
We’re talking a picture-perfect city surrounded by ancient stone walls, dotted with Gothic palaces that look like they were airlifted straight out of France, and a maze-like Old Town criss-crossed by cobblestone lanes. Better yet, it’s one of Europe’s largest inhabited medieval centers.
Emphasis on inhabited.
Unlike Croatia’s godforsaken, King’s Landing-fied coastal fort, Rhodes hasn’t been entirely converted into seasonal B&Bs, with locals pushed out beyond the walls.
Don’t get me wrong, this is no hidden gem waiting to be discovered—it’s actually one of Greece’s busiest cruise ports in summer—but it still feels lived in, and that makes all the difference.
Once the humdrum of daytime cruise visitors dies down, it’s mostly local pappou gathering in those beautiful fountain-anchored squares, families pulling up chairs at tavernas, and young lovebirds strolling hand-in-hand down by the harbor.
Prettiest, liveliest medieval city in Europe? Hands down, if you ask me.
I’d say Rhodes is worth the detour for the capital alone, but wait until you see Lindos, that stunning whitewashed town spilling down a coastal hillside:
The Prettiest Acropolis In Greece Is Not In Athens
The town that made me fall in love with Rhodes, Lindos is your typical traditionally Greek cluster of cubic white houses climbing a hill, with the turquoise seas of the Eastern Mediterranean below, and an imposing Acropolis at its highest point.
You read that right:
This lesser-known gem tucked away in one of Greece’s easternmost islands is home to a roughly 2,500-year-old Acropolis, developed around the same broad period as the one in Athens, except for this one, you won’t be standing in line for endless hours, nor battling your way through selfie-stick armies:
High or low season, there are far fewer tourists climbing up the steep hill that leads here, and though they’re difficult to compare, if you held me at gunpoint and asked me to name the most beautiful of the two Acropolises, I’d probably stutter Lindos.
It’s right by the sea, you guys! The Parthenon’s iconic, but I never actually felt particularly inspired staring out at the sprawling urban jungle that is Athens from up there. I’d go with Lindos’ sweeping panorama of turquoise bays any day.
How Safe Is Greece This Fall?
Greece is a Level 1 destination according to the U.S. Department of State, which means Americans are not discouraging from visiting, and may ‘exercise normal precautions’ when doing so.
As for travelers themselves, their impressions on the safety levels in Greece leaves the Hellenic state with a score out of 91 out of 100 on the Traveler Safety Index:
How Warm Is Rhodes In The Fall?
Tucked away in the Dodecanese, Greece’s most remote archipelago, and at only 11 miles across from Turkey, Rhodes stays pretty warm in the off-season.
Even as late as October, you can comfortably walk around in shorts and go swimming in most beaches, particularly the sheltered east and southeast coast.
I’ve been to the Dodecanese both in peak summer and in mid-October, and I could honestly hardly tell the difference as far as water temps went. In Lindos specifically, home to the sheltered St. Paul’s Bay, it ranges from 75 to 78°F.
Average Weather In Rhodes, Greece In The Fall
- Early October: around 79–82°F daytime, 66–70°F at night
- Mid-October: around 76–80°F daytime
- Late October: around 72–76°F daytime, 61–65°F at night
- Sea temperature: roughly 75–78°F
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Follow Travel Off Path on Google NewsUse This Tool To Avoid Getting Denied Entry To Europe
Before you pack your bags and head to Europe this season, though, make sure you check the entry and stay regulations in place in your country of destination.
The European Union now requires U.S. passport holders to undergo mandatory fingerprinting upon landing, on top of satisfying a bunch of short-term visit requirements. Due to not being aware of the recent changes and not preparing in advance, over 44,000 travelers got outright denied entry at the border.
Wanna avoid that same fate? Use the Entry Requirement Checker. It’s free to access.
What To See In Rhodes
From A Repeat Visitor To The Island
Rhodes has enough attractions to fill a whole two weeks of sightseeing and beach-hopping—it’s no wonder I’ve been 3 times now—but from a repeat visitor to the island, here’s the stuff you shouldn’t miss, beyond Rhodes and Lindos:
- Tsambika Monastery: a tiny hilltop sanctuary accessible via a strenuous pathway made up of around 300 steps, overlooking the golden sands of the east coast
- Ancient Kamiros: arguably the most fascinating archaeological zone out of Rhodes’ many, and an ancient Hellenic city, complete with temples and terraced ruins overlooking the sea
- Monolithos: a ruined medieval fortress perched atop a free-standing rocky outcrop I can only describe as the Greek daughter of Meteora
- Anthony Quinn Beach: Rhodes has countless sheltered bays and rocky coves, but this tiny inlet bathed by turquoise seas and backed by a laid-back beach bar is my favorite one
- Prasonisi: the wild sandbar wedged between the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas. They’re the same sea, after all, but geographers like to draw their lines
- The Valley of the Butterflies: the lushest, most atmospheric forest trail passing alongside cascading streams, wooden bridges, and little waterfalls. Best visited in summer, when thousands of Jersey tiger moths gather, yet it’s equally gorgeous in October with the emerging fall colors
The Thing About Kallithea Springs
No, you’ll be seeing me huffing and puffing up and down Tsambika’s steps before I ever willingly return to Kallithea Springs.
This is the one touristy recommendation that features on every mainline Rhodes brochure I can’t fathom why it’s so hyped:
The fact that it’s a Mussolini-era thermal complex with mosaics is somewhat interesting, I guess— for those who don’t know, Rhodes was occupied by the Italians during the first half of the 20th century, but beyond that, I found the whole place a bit underwhelming.
The architecture is grand, the gardens are pleasant, and the little cove out front is photogenic, but unless you’re particularly into interwar architecture, and you can stomach the busloads of tourists that get dumped here for the day, I wouldn’t go massively out of my way for it.
Is The Island Still Fully Open In October?
In general, Rhodes is very much full-on summer mode in early October.
Most beach bars and tourist facilities are still open, and if you don’t fancy renting a car, a majority of the main bus lines are still running between Rhodes Town and major resorts like Faliraki, Lindos, and Pefkos.
There’s not much of a difference heading into mid-October, with perhaps a slight decrease in tourist activity in more isolated, remote beach areas, like Prasonisi, to the far south, and Kamiros, on the lesser-explored west coast, but Rhodes Town, the resort zone in Faliraki, and Lindos are still running at full steam.
Things start dying down towards the end of the month, though, when many seasonal flights from mainland Europe cease and seasonal workers start returning home, but you can continue exploring Rhodes Town without restrictions or tumbleweeds rolling down the street.
Rhodes is a fairly large island, home to over 125,000 people, with proper infrastructure and services for year-round residents, so unlike much-smaller, tourism-dependent islands that effectively go into hibernation once November rolls around, it doesn’t exactly shut down.
If you’re hoping to experience Rhodes beyond just its UNESCO-listed fortified capital, and hit up a decent number of beaches without feeling like you’re the last tourist left behind before winter, going for a week anytime between early to mid-October is the sweet spot.
Less crowded, summer-warm without the brutal August heat, and still lively enough that you won’t feel like you’ve arrived after everyone packed up and left.
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