The white houses of Lindos below the walls of its acropolis, in the last light of the day

Getting married in Rhodes & the Dodecanese

A walled medieval town built by the Knights, white Lindos below its acropolis, and small islands a boat ride away.

Rhodes, the largest of the Dodecanese, lies close to the Turkish coast. Its old town, walled by the Knights of St John and still lived in, is one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval towns and a UNESCO World Heritage site. On the sheltered east coast, white Lindos climbs to an ancient acropolis above the sea; the west coast is wilder and windier. Boats run to Symi, its pastel houses stacked around the harbour, and to Kos.

Weddings range from resort hotels with their own beach on the east coast to a ceremony in Rhodes town with portraits in the medieval lanes, or the small white chapel on the bay below Lindos, long a favourite place to marry. Some couples take a boat to Symi for a day of their own.

The cobbled Street of the Knights in the medieval old town of Rhodes

The turquoise water of St Paul’s Bay below the cliffs and acropolis of Lindos

Pastel houses climbing the hills around Symi’s harbour, with sailing boats at the quay

Through the year

When to marry in Rhodes & the Dodecanese

May, June, September and October are warm and bright, and from June to September it hardly ever rains. July and August are hot and busy, and the meltemi, the north wind of the Aegean summer, blows hardest then, more on the west coast than on the sheltered east. October stays warm, with the first showers; most rain falls from November to March, when many seaside hotels close.

January: Quieter
February: Quieter
March: Quieter
April: Good with planning
May: Best
June: Best
July: Good with planning
August: Good with planning
September: Best
October: Best
November: Quieter
December: Quieter

SpringGreen hills, wild flowers and Easter, the great feast of the Greek year, in every village; mild days, cool evenings and a sea still cool until June.
SummerLong, hot, cloudless days and warm nights. Lindos is busiest at midday, so ceremonies and portraits there move to the evening, after the day visitors have left.
AutumnThe sea still warm from summer, fewer visitors and a softer light on the old stone; the season runs on until late October.

In numbers

Hottest month, average high: August · 30.4°C; HNMS
Average high in the best months: May 23.8°C · Jun 27.8°C · Sep 28.0°C · Oct 24.5°C; HNMS
Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months: May 1.9 · Jun 0.5 · Sep 0.9 · Oct 4.5; WMO (NOAA)
Sunset on 21 June: 20:28 (Rhodes town); NOAA
UNESCO World Heritage: Medieval City of Rhodes (1988)

Temperatures: Rodos, normals 1991–2020 · Rain: Rodos, normals 1961–1990 · Checked 15 October 2026

Places

Where couples marry here

The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well.

The medieval town
Stone gateways, cobbled lanes and the Knights’ walls, for portraits in the low evening light; the palace and the other monuments need a permit for professional photography.
Lindos
The white village under its acropolis, with a small chapel on the bay below: a ceremony by the water, then portraits in the lanes once the crowds have gone.
Resorts on the east coast
Hotels along the long, sheltered beaches of the east coast, with terraces over the sea: the ceremony, the dinner and the rooms in one place.
Symi, Kos and the smaller islands
Symi’s pastel harbour, Kos with its beaches and the Knights’ castle, and quiet islands for a small wedding or a day of portraits by boat.

Towns

Towns and places in Rhodes & the Dodecanese

Each with a page of its own: where couples marry there, where to take portraits, the practical side.

LindosA white village of captains’ houses under an ancient acropolis, and a small bay below the cliff where couples marry on a jetty in front of a white chapel.

Light

How the light falls

Rhodes is one of the sunniest places in Europe, and its light is bright and clean. The east coast and Lindos face the sunrise; for the sun setting into the sea, go west. In the evening the old town’s stone turns honey-gold, and at midsummer the sun sets around half past eight — earlier than in western Europe, so golden hour can come before dinner.

Travel

Getting there

Fly into Rhodes, with direct flights from much of Europe in season and from Athens all year; Kos has its own airport. Lindos is about an hour’s drive from Rhodes town, and ferries link Rhodes with Symi, Kos and the other islands, though a strong meltemi can keep small boats in port.

Photographers