galleon i have to agree with you ,once we got through the doors everyone was very polite from the baggage scanners to passport control and even the duty free.all the staff we encountered seemed to enjiy their work

i travelled to rhodes july 2006 and getting through the airport was brilliant cases first off coach outside nice and quiet at 3.00am however coming home was a nightmare the airport was full to bursting we had to wait outside there was no seating there were people lay all over the floor it was hot and the food cost a fortune!! glad we never got a delay!!

Hi all,

I am flying into Rhodes for the first time for my honeymoon on May 6th (land at 1am) I have spoken with people who I work with who have been before and reckon that the transfer could be a nightmare as I am staying in Lindos and we could end up visiting numerous other resorts before actually reaching Lindos. Having recently being involved in a car crash I'm not looking forward to the flight anyway but couldn't cope with a couple of hours then on a coach transfer. How much would a taxi be from the airport to Lindos and would this be advisable?.
I could have arranged it with Thomsons but have been messed around too much by them already with a change of resort and hotel and then departure airport without now having to pay them more money!!.

Any help greatly appreciated

Tommy

Hi
Last year the taxi from the airport to Lindos cost 35 Euros. I have not yet seen the prices for 2007 but I do not think that they much higher. It takes up to one hour

Many thanks Maegi, the taxi is looking the best option!

I depart rhodes at 2am. will the duty free shop be opened?

Yes duty free shop, bars, etc will be open as normal

i never like to get too caught up about airports as they are a tiny slice of what is usually a lovely holiday in greece-having said that...last year we had the ''zante experience''(!) we are flying into rhodes on a wednesday which i believe is the busiest day of the week, what shall we expect then?

It depends on how many flights land around the same time greek kitty. I've arrived, gone straight to the carousel and picked up my bag within minutes and i've arrived to a sea of confused tourists not knowing which way to turn! Either way arrivals is 'fairly' organised and doesn't normally take too long to clear.

Though the airport has been extended you'll often find queues trailing out of the terminal building for check in. Some of this is down to added security, some just down to sheer volume of people. Once you're through passport control it tends to be a bit more civilised as they have two areas for departures both with shop, bar, etc so the mass of people are a little more spread out than they used to be!

Rhodes Airport is not the best or the worst airport i've been to but i tend to think of it as a necessary evil to a great holiday

Hi Greek Kitty, If you have done Zante airport then Rhodes is a breeze by comparison! Have a great trip.

I travel from the airport at least once a month, and I find it very discriminating that all the seats at the tables of the cafeteria landside of handbaggage-screening are a designated smoking area.
My wife and kids often come along to say goodbye, when I am leaving. Although our money is welcome, we have to leave the area and stand around, or find a bench somewhere, because all the tables are for smokers.
Way to go lads till you arrive in the 21st century and in Europe...

we flew back last Wednesday from the new extension, it opened that day!

No queueing outside, loads of room inside, BUT we then had to go through to the old bit for passport control and departtures. Th new part is not far off though and should be open in the next couple of weeks.

There were only 2 flights going from the new part, but it does look so much better, the room in front on the check in desks is huge, there are still onlt 2 x-ray machines so there may be some queues there, but we did not experiance any.

Dawn

We flew back from Rhodes last Saturday.. and a word of warning if you want to shop in duty free.
We checked-in in the old building but went through passport control into the new building. Trouble is that duty free is in the old building (which you could see through a glass window)you then have to take your chances that you will be allowed back through passport control to shop. We had a rather unpleasant guard who liked to shake his finger and shout.It was a very nice new building though that will be lovely when it's finished.
x

I fly to Rhodes about once a month.
Here is my latest experience, after I departed from the new building for the first time.
Arrived at the airport by private car. Parked in the official parking lot.
No signs outside the buildings, as to where my flight departs. If you are on organized travel though, your tour operator should know, and guide you correctly.
Entered the old building, asked at the info desk, and was directed to the new building.

Entering the new building was a nice surprise:
More space, so no more queuing in the sun. Well functioning and effectice air conditioning.
Only one electronic board , where check-in gate assignments are shown. Board showed only one counter for my flight, although
2 adjacent counters were assigned.
Queuing for check-in I noticed, that there is no indication yet of the flight number and destination served by each counter.
Just a printed board with numbers. However there are attachment points and power supply, as well as signal lines for future
screens over the individual counters.

Check-in was normal, they are printing the new boardingpasses with barcode.
After check-in you take your labeled baggage again, and queue again, to have it screened.
I just hope this is a temporary thing, because it is pretty poor for a new building. Baggage-screening is normally done at a later stage . However this method will allow screeners to tell you, if there is a problem with your baggage, while you are still around.

Walked up the stairs for security check. Cannot remember if there was a passport checkpoint at this spot, but there sure were signs
stating directions for Schengen and Non-Schengen passengers.
Once past security, the new building connects to the old one. (Can't tell if this is also the case for extra-Schengen departures.Will have a look next month).
At this stage, directions were poor, my boarding pass was not stating a gate. The (temporary) lack of info screens on that side, caused me to walk to the old building, read the gate number, and return back.

Upon arrival, I have not found out yet, if the new building has arrival-facilities.
The old arrival hall is still very chaotic. Belt assignments are not always on the screens.
Waiting times are varying from a quick 10 minutes to over an hour. Depends on the workload of the company doing the handling at the time. At least now it is not a monopoly anymore, so competition has improved that bit as well.

As for using a taxi: Taxis are generally available, when scheduled flights are expected. As these flights tend to bring more individual travelers, that have no hotel-transfer arranged with any package.
There are times, when a shortage of taxis is observed, mainly when the taxi-drivers figure the expected arrivals will have no individual travelers that might need their services.

In the last weeks, a dispute between airport-authorities, and the neighboring municipality over unpaid fees for garbage collection, has led to big piles of uncollected garbage. This must have been an ugly sight, and a smelly nuisance for some of you.
As a local, I really apologize for that situation. Meanwhile the garbage collection has resumed, and the situation is back to normal.

The new building is not a 100% finished yet (lack of electronic info-boards), however using it as it is , is a big improvement, compared to waiting outside in the sun.

Rhodian John,

Interesting reading about your report.

It seems like they have been working on the new Airport extension for years. I cannot believe the time it has taken to complete. I hope it iwill quickly be up and running to full strength as Rhodes Airport is not a brilliant introduction upon arrival to the island or and is not a good final memory of Rhodes when departing!!!!

My son's going to Faliraki (Sun Palace) on Wednesday. Does anybody know how long the transfer is from airport to resort. Thanks!

Should be no longer than 20 to 30 minutes.
Could be a bit longer if other travellers get dropped off at other hotels first.

we are travelling to Rhodes this saturday with just hand baggage. On our return do we have to queue as we do not have to check in?

not really sure what you mean about not having to check in,you might not any hold luggage but you still have to check yourselves and your hand luggage in as you do at any airport