Teleporio™ — Greek Island Travel Intelligence

TUI Rhodes Marathon

The TUI Rhodes Marathon runs past the UNESCO medieval old town of Rhodes in late April. Hotels, access guide, and race planning for the Dodecanese.

TUI Rhodes Marathon — Run the Dodecanese Capital in Late April

The TUI Rhodes Marathon is the flagship annual road race of the Dodecanese — Greece's island chain closest to the Turkish coast. The course runs through Rhodes city along coastal roads and through the modern city streets before finishing at Eleftherias (Liberty) Square, with the walls of the UNESCO-listed medieval old town visible throughout the race. The 2026 edition ran on 26 April 2026; the 2027 edition will typically be held in late April — verify the current year's exact date at rhodesmarathon.gr.

Rhodes International Airport (RHO) is one of the best-connected island airports in Greece, with direct low-cost and charter flights from major European cities. Late April on Rhodes is warm (20–24°C), with the famous Rhodian rose season in full bloom and the old town fully accessible before the summer cruise-ship rush. The medieval old town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988, walled and intact in a way virtually no other medieval town in the world is — deserves at least two full days of exploration alongside the race.

Rhodes After the Race

Beyond the old town, Rhodes offers the ancient site of Kamiros, the Valley of the Butterflies (Petaloudes), the hilltop castle town of Lindos with its acropolis, and a coastline alternating between calm pebble bays and the more exposed Atlantic-facing western shore. The island is large enough that a rental car is worthwhile for the days around the race.

The Medieval Old Town

The Rhodes medieval old town — enclosed within 4 km of Hospitaller walls, built by the Knights of Rhodes in the 14th and 15th centuries — is one of the most complete medieval cities in the world. The Street of Knights, where each "langue" (national language group) of the Knights Hospitaller had its inn, is intact in its original form. The Palace of the Grand Masters was rebuilt after a gunpowder explosion in 1856 and partially restored by the Italians in the 20th century. The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes — housed in the Knights' Hospital, a 15th-century building — contains one of the finest collections of Hellenistic sculpture in Greece, including the Aphrodite of Rhodes. Late April access means no summer cruise crowds and comfortable temperatures for walking the full circuit of the walls.

Lindos, 50 km south of Rhodes town, is the island's second major cultural site: a Doric acropolis on a 116 m headland above a Crusader castle above a whitewashed Aegean village above a perfect sheltered bay. The geometry of the site is extraordinary. April water temperatures at Lindos beach are around 17–18°C — cool but swimmable for those who run warm. The drive from Rhodes town via the east coast road passes through the Kalithea spa ruins (a 1920s Italian-built thermal bathhouse in a stunning coastal setting, now used as an arts venue) and several coves with good swimming.