Marmaris Rhodes Roundtrip Ferry Tickets

The crossing: how to get to Rhodes from Marmaris

How to get to Rhodes from Marmaris? The simplest way is the passenger ferry from Marmaris port, which crosses the narrow stretch of sea between the Turkish coast and the island in roughly an hour, depending on the vessel and the weather. With this booking our driver collects you from your hotel, takes you to the port in good time for passport control, and is waiting again when you return in the evening.

From the deck you see the green headlands of the Bozburun peninsula fall behind as the island rises ahead. Because you leave Türkiye and enter Greece, there is passport control on both sides, so every traveller needs a valid passport and, depending on nationality, a Schengen visa. Port taxes are not included and are paid separately.

Rhodes Old Town

Rhodes Old Town is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988. It was fortified by a crusader order of knights in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and its honey-coloured walls, deep moats and gates still enclose a maze of cobbled lanes, arched passages, fountains and small squares. Later centuries added domed Ottoman mosques, hammams and wooden balconies, so the town mixes Gothic, Byzantine and Ottoman layers.

Is Rhodes worth visiting on a day trip from Marmaris? The Old Town alone fills several happy hours: walk part of the walls, explore the quieter residential lanes, and stop for lunch in a shaded square. Most of the sights are within a short stroll of the harbour gates, so you can see a great deal without transport.

Street of the Knights and the Palace of the Grand Master

The Street of the Knights climbs gently from the harbour to the upper town, lined with stone inns where knights from different regions of Europe once lodged, each with carved coats of arms above the doors. At the top stands the Palace of the Grand Master, a massive fortress-palace rebuilt in the early twentieth century, with grand halls, mosaic floors brought from older sites, and a courtyard of ancient statues.

The palace usually opens daily from morning to late afternoon, with shorter hours in winter, and an entrance ticket is bought at the door. Nearby, the old knights' hospital houses the Archaeological Museum with finds from ancient Rhodes. Allow an hour for the palace and another for the museum if history is your focus.

Mandraki Harbour and the New Town

Mandraki Harbour, just outside the walls, is where the island's legendary giant bronze statue is said to have stood in antiquity. Today two bronze deer on tall columns guard the harbour mouth, and a row of old stone windmills lines the breakwater. Boats, cafés and the covered New Market, with its fruit stalls and pastry shops, give the waterfront a lively feel.

North of the harbour, the New Town has wide streets, shops and the long Elli Beach, where you can swim in clear water with a view of the Turkish coast on the horizon. The best time to visit Rhodes is from May to October, when the sea is warm and the ferries run most frequently. Keep an eye on the clock and be back at the port at the time given with your ticket.