Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Rhodes

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Beaches

Unorganised sand and the sea are open to her under law 4830/2021, on a lead whenever she's out of the water, and on Rhodes that's a long list: Anthony Quinn Bay and Ladiko north of Faliraki, Traganou north of Afantou, Stegna below Archangelos, Agia Agathi near Haraki, Glystra south of Lardos, Pefkos, Fourni on the west coast below Monolithos, and Prasonisi at the southern tip, which is the big open one for a dog who wants to run. Most of those are rock and cove rather than sunbed, which is part of why they stay quiet. On an organised beach, meaning one with a licensed sunbed and concession operation, it's the operator's posted sign that decides, so the sign is the rule and no sign means no. The other thing to check is whether the sand in front of your hotel is a certified section, because Blue Flag certification carries a no-dogs condition, and Rhodes has 28 of those in 2026 including Vlicha, Ammoudes, Ialyssos, Ixia, Lachania, Reni Kalathou, Afantou 2 and the Kiotari, Kolymbia and Lardos frontages, with assistance dogs excepted throughout.

Walking the medieval town

The walled city is a living UNESCO town of open streets, shops and tavernas rather than a ticketed site, so a dog on a lead walks it freely. The dry moat that rings the fortifications is the best walk in Rhodes Town, flat, shaded, free, car-free for most of its length and well over two kilometres round. The cobbles hold heat long into the evening in July and August, so make it an early or after-dark walk in high summer.

Archaeological sites

The Palace of the Grand Master and the Acropolis of Lindos are both ticketed sites run by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Dodecanese, and neither publishes a pet rule anywhere we could find. Article 21 of law 4830/2021 gives assistance dogs a right of entry and creates nothing for a pet dog, so plan for assistance dogs only and ring ahead rather than turn up. The Lindos donkey path is a separate no in summer: worn smooth stone that bakes, and constant donkey traffic.

Getting there

Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2 and TUI carry no pets at all, and those are the carriers that dominate Rhodes. Aegean and Olympic Air take small dogs in the cabin and connect Rhodes to Athens and a wide European network, so Athens is the realistic route. Cabin weight limits and routes change season to season, so confirm directly with the airline. Under the UK's own rules there's no cabin option from the UK at all, so a UK traveller comes via a European hub or overland and by ferry.

Ferries to Symi

Dodekanisos Seaways runs the fast catamarans and pets travel on their own ticket, with the health booklet or ID number given when the ticket is issued. Its terms put pets in pet areas outside the ships under the owner's supervision for the whole crossing, so the dog is on deck, not in the cabin. Blue Star, on the long Piraeus route, has designated pet cabins for up to two pets and a free pet ticket, with carriers up to 10 kg only on its high-speed vessels. In July that means a big dog crosses in a kennel in the sun, so take an early sailing or go in the shoulder season.

Vets

No practice on Rhodes publishes a 24-hour walk-in emergency service, but two do round-the-clock inpatient care. Vet Center, Ioannis Michellarakis, at Konstantinou Ydraiou 5 in Rhodes Town, on +30 22410 35551 or mobile +30 6944 905036. Animal Care at Nireidon 36 in Kremasti, ten minutes from the airport, on +30 6934 134942. The mobiles are the out-of-hours route in both cases, and it's worth confirming on arrival rather than at two in the morning.

Best walks

The dry moat around the medieval walls is the one to build a stay around, over two kilometres of flat, shaded, car-free circuit under the fortifications, with Rodini Park south of the Old Town for a longer morning. From Mandraki the Elli seafront runs north for another easy kilometre. On the west coast the Ixia and Ialysos seafront path gives several kilometres of open walking with the meltemi off the water, and the pine-covered hill of Filerimos with its cypress avenue sits above it. Out on the coast, Anthony Quinn Bay and Ladiko are rocky unorganised coves where she can get in the sea, and Prasonisi at the southern tip is the big open sand spit for a dog who needs to run. On Symi, the Kali Strata is around 500 stone steps from Gialos up to Chorio and is the island's great early walk, with the quiet pebble bay at Nimborio twenty five minutes further on.

When to go

Late April to mid June, or late September into October. Rhodes sits in the far south-east Aegean and runs 33 to 38 degrees through July and August, hotter still inland, and the old town's stone and cobbles radiate into the night. In high summer nothing except an early morning or after-sunset walk is reasonable for a dog on this island, and Symi is worse because it's a bowl of rock with 500 exposed steps as its main street. The west coast at Ixia and Ialysos catches the meltemi and runs several degrees more bearable than the east. Almost every resort here is seasonal, typically May to October, with the Old Town houses most likely to run into November, so confirm opening dates before you book.