Rhodes

Is Rhodes safe?

Rhodes is safe from crime, and its dangers are mostly the island's heat, wildfires and roads. Police recorded no homicides in the whole Dodecanese in 2024 and only 17 robberies, according to Eurostat. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's warning about pickpockets in Greece is aimed at the Athens metro, not the islands.

What changed the way many people see Rhodes was July 2023, when a wildfire in the south-east forced about 19,000 people out of villages and hotels. The island also sits in the Greek region with the second-highest road death rate in the country. We score Rhodes 74, a little below Heraklion and Antalya across the water, and above Athens.

This page covers the whole island: Rhodes Town with its walled Old Town and Mandraki harbour, the resort strips of Ialysos, Ixia and Faliraki, Lindos, and the quieter south. Crime figures are for the Dodecanese as a whole, of which Rhodes is by far the largest island.

The July 2023 wildfire

The fire started on 18 July 2023 in the hills of central Rhodes and burned for days on three fronts, pushed by strong winds towards the south-east coast. On 22 and 23 July it reached the resorts around Kiotari, Lardos and Gennadi and came close to Lindos. Local police said 16,000 people were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea from 12 villages and several hotels, with no deaths; six people were briefly treated in hospital for smoke. Greece's civil protection ministry called it the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country's history, AP reported.

Coastguard vessels and more than 30 private boats picked people up from the beaches, Al Jazeera reported. Several hotels in Kiotari were damaged.

The lesson for visitors is preparation, not avoidance. Wildfires are a risk across Greece from April to October. Switch on emergency alerts on your phone, as the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises, so that the Greek 112 messages reach you; they are sent by location and tell you when to leave. Keep passports, medicines and a charged phone in one bag, and know which road leads out of your resort. The FCDO says lighting fires is illegal in Greece because of the wildfire risk, so never toss a cigarette or light a barbecue outdoors in summer.

Floods and earthquakes

Rhodes also floods. When Storm Bora hit at the start of December 2024 it dropped three months' worth of rain in 12 hours, according to To Vima, and turned streets in Ialysos, between the airport and the town, into rivers. A bridge collapsed, schools shut and the island's leaders said a state of emergency would be declared.

Earthquakes are a background risk, as everywhere in the south-east Aegean. The US Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.9 quake at sea about 60 km south-east of Lardos in January 2023 and a 5.8 off Marmaris on the Turkish coast, across the strait from Rhodes Town, in June 2025.

Theft, scams and nights out

Police recorded 688 thefts in the Dodecanese in 2024, about a third of the rate in Attica per resident, and the real risk per visitor is lower still because the count ignores the summer population. Burglaries did rise, to 152 from 101 the year before. Lock your room and use the safe.

The Old Town gets crowded when cruise ships are in, especially on Sokratous Street and the Street of the Knights, and that is where to keep your bag zipped and in front of you. At Lindos, the path up to the acropolis is narrow and packed by mid-morning; go early. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary warns that car and quad hire firms usually sell only third-party insurance and may charge for damage, and that you can be arrested if you refuse to pay. Photograph the vehicle before you take it.

Faliraki is the island's party resort. The FCDO's advice for nights out in Greece applies there: watch your drink, do not let friends walk back alone, and use a licensed taxi. Greek police arrest people for rowdy or indecent behaviour, and courts can impose heavy fines.

Roads, sea and heat

ELSTAT counted 36 road deaths in the South Aegean in 2024, 11.0 per 100,000 people, against 6.4 for Greece. The region includes the Cyclades as well as the Dodecanese, and visitors driving unfamiliar roads add to the toll. On Rhodes the main coast roads are fast, scooters and quads mix with tour buses, and the roads in the hilly south are winding and poorly lit. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary notes that quad bikes cause deaths in Greece every year.

The west coast around Ialysos and Ixia is windy, with rougher water than the sheltered east coast. Swim on beaches with flags and lifeguards. July and August often bring temperatures above 35°C; plan the Old Town and Lindos for early morning or evening. The FCDO says hospital care on the islands may be limited, so take out travel insurance that covers evacuation.

How we scored it

Violent crime (91) is Rhodes' strongest factor. Walking at night (77) uses Heraklion's answer to the EU's 2023 survey, which we use for every European city, because Rhodes was not surveyed. Traffic safety (46) is the weakest factor, reflecting the South Aegean's road death rate, and natural hazards (60) reflect the 2023 wildfire, the 2024 floods and regular earthquakes.