Cycling holiday Dodecanese Islands

Dodecanese Islands

The most beautiful islands of Greece

Starting at € 898,-
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Summary
  • 11 Days Every day
  • 35 km average per day
  • Arrival Kalavarda Rhodes Airport
  • Departure Rhodes City Rhodes Airport
Highlights
  • Asclepeion on Kos: birthplace of modern medicine
  • Sail on Greek-Turkish waters chance of seeing dolphins
  • Rhodes City: cultural and culinary highlight
  • Isle of Leros, a green jewel
Characteristics
  • Self-Guided Tour
  • Individual Tour
  • Bike & Hotel
  • Cycling level 2

    Distance: 40-60 km average per day Altitude: 100-500 hm average per day. Not too steep and not too long slopes on not very difficult terrain. 
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The 3 most beautiful cycling islands

This 11-day cycling holiday Island Hopping Dodecanese takes you to three beautiful cycling islands in the southeast of Greece: Rhodes, Kos and Leros, with a stop-over in Kalymnos.

You will become familiar with the Greek islands of the Colossus and the Asclepeion, the crusaders and the sponge fishermen. The islands are each little paradises of their own, with both Italian and Turkish influences. You will enjoy a balance of cycling, cultural heritage excursions and boat trips on azure blue waters. The unknown Leros is the real surprise of this cycling holiday: a green jewel. This is the least physically demanding trip that Cycletours offers in this part of Greece. You will cycle along stretches of coastline, only encountering a real incline very occasionally.

Daily Program

  • Day 1 Arrival on Rhodes

    You will fly to Rhodes. You will be picked up at the airport and brought to your hotel. Kalavarda has been our cycling village of choice on Rhodes for more than 20 years now. You will stay at the Hotel Vouras, just 900m from the sea. If you arrive in the morning, you can already go for a little warm-up cycle ride, or visit the beach. Alternatively, go to Kameiros (3km from your hotel) to see the ruins of an ancient city.

  • Day 2 Kalavarda, roundtrip, 39 km

    Before you start the tour, you have a free day to go on a daytrip. You will do a round trip following the coast, which is completely uninhabited and unspoilt here. You can limit yourself to a trip of around 20 km, at which point you will see Chalki and the surrounding islands. Or you could carry on cycling until you reach the fishing harbour of Kameiros Skala (33 km). If you want to extend the trip even further, you could visit the castle ruins of Kritinia, making a trip of 38km in total. If you didn’t already do it yesterday, you can visit the ruins of ancient Kameiros (1 km extra).

  • Day 3 Kalavarda – Rhodes City, 40 km

    This stage, leading to Rhodes City, follows a trajectory that runs largely through the island’s interior. Here you will encounter beautiful villages such as Theologos and Maritsa. Pastida is a large village and a very suitable place to stop for lunch. A particularly wooded route will bring you to the steepest incline of the day, which will lead you into Rhodes City through the back door. After climbing a hill scattered with ancient ruins you will make your descent to the centre. This route comes very near to the butterfly valley of Petaloudes (2 km extra, certainly recommended in the butterfly season (June to September).

  • Day 4 Rhodes City – Mastichari, 28 km

    The expected time of departure of your boat is 8.30am. You will arrive a little before 11am on Kos where you will start off with some sightseeing in the capital, which is well worth the visit. Ruins from ancient times snake through the city. Mosques remind us of the island’s Turkish period and other buildings betray the many years of Italian influence. While on Kos you will pass by the Asclepeion. This ancient sanctuary is the birthplace of modern medicine. You will stay in Mastichari, the smallest and most intimate beach resort on Kos.

  • Day 5 Mastichari, roundtrip to Plaka, 29 km

    Today you will discover a beautiful part of central Kos. Again you have many options in terms of the length of the route. Whichever route you choose, you will get to see Andimachia, with its restored windmill, and Plaka, a forest in a ravine where semi-wild peacocks roam freely.
    The basic 29 km route can be extended if desired, with a visit to Magic Beach, for example, the first in a series of wonderful beaches on the south coast (5km extra) or to the castle of Andimachia, a gigantic complex perched on a hilltop (7km extra). You can even explore the whole peninsula of Kefalos, although this will add up quickly on the odometer.

  • Day 6 Mastichari - Leros

    The boat to Kalymnos usually departs at 9am from the pier opposite your hotel. By 10am you will already be in Pothia, the capital of Kalymnos and the epicentre of the sponge fishing industry, even though the fishermen now travel far for their catch. You should have a couple of hours to spend on Kalymnos before you take the next boat around noon. On Leros it’s a 4 km ride to your hotel in Lakki, starting with a short but steep climb. Tour hotel is near the sea and has some nice restaurants just around the corner.

  • Day 7 Leros, rest day

    A day to relax: visit a nice café or the beautiful small beach of Merikina (2 km, near the interesting War Museum). Leros is also good for snorkelling! If you want te be more active we have a tour of 25 km to the remote beach of Blefoutis.

  • Day 8 Leros, roundtrip, 37 km

    During this cycling trip you will visit both the remote church of Maria of the Crabs in Xirokampos, the big castle of Leros overlooking the whole island, and the little church on the micro-island of Agios Isidoros. This trip will allow you to see all the beautiful bays of this amoeba-shaped island.

  • Day 9 Leros - Rhodes City

    The boat, a swift catamaran, should leave at 2.30 pm, in which case you will be back on Rhodes at 6.30 pm. On the way you will again encounter Leros, Kalymnos and Kos, and probably Symi too, where you will dock in the especially photogenic harbour.

  • Day 10 Rhodes City, rest day

    Use your rest day in Rhodes to get a closer look at this magnificent historical city. You can do this with a city walking tour that will not only take you to the highlights (such as the knight’s castle, the well-restored mosques and the Turkish bathhouse, the squares and the city gates) but also to the back streets and even the double city walls where you will find an unexpected oasis of quiet. The rich history of Rhodes goes back to the time of the crusades.
    If you were quite taken by Symi yesterday it is possible to make a return trip to the island today.

  • Day 11 Rhodes City, departure

    You will be cycling back to Kalavarda today, via the sea route, a route of secret paths that follows the coastline as much as possible. Just before arriving in Kalavarda you will briefly cut through the old part of Fanes, which in 2010 received a make-over with colourful frescoes painted by a local artist. You will be taken from Kalavarda to the airport for your return flight. If you are leaving early in the morning then a taxi will take you from Rhodes City to the airport.

Cycling in Greece

Rhodes, Kos and Leros

Our carefully selected routes will lead you along the most beautiful spots of the country. The average daily distance is around 45 kilometers. A road book is included (1x per room). GPS-tracks can be provided by e-mail.

What else do you need to know?

Prices in 2025

Supplements:
Reservation costs € 25,- per booking
Contribution Dutch Guarantee Fund € 5,- per person (Insolvency Protection)

Per person in a double room

  • Every day from April 20 - May 29 € 898,-
  • Every day from May 30 - June 16 € 955,-
  • Every day from June 17 - July 2 € 995,-
  • Every day from August 21 -  Sept. 7 € 995,-
  • Every day from Sept. 8 - Sept. 30 € 955,-
  • Every day from October. 1 - October 23 € 898,-

Per person in a single room (when travelling with at least 2 people)

  • Every day from April 20 - May 29 € 1.275,-
  • Every day from May 30 - June 16 € 1.300,-
  • Every day from June 17 - July 2 € 1.355,-
  • Every day from August 21 -  Sept. 7 € 1.355,-
  • Every day from Sept. 8 - Sept. 30 € 1.300,-
  • Every day from October. 1 - October 23 € 1.275,-

Surcharge solo-traveler € 159,-

No departures between July 3 - August 20

Rental bikes:

  • Hybrid bike € 55,-
  • E-bike € 110,-

Included

  • 10 nights at hotel, 2-person room with shower or bath and lavatory
  • Breakfast (10x)
  • Dinner (2x; on day 2 and day 10)
  • Transfers to/from airport on Rhodes
  • Luggage transportation
  • Cycle routes and maps
  • GPS-tracks
  • Local Dutch representative and technical support (English speaking)

Not Included

  • Reservation costs
  • Contribution Dutch Guarantee Fund (Insolvency Protection)
  • Bicycle rent
  • All other meals and refreshments
  • Ferry boats (day 4 to Kos, day 6 to Leros and day 9 to Rhodes), approx. € 126,- (to be paid on spot)
  • Tourist tax between € 1,50 and € 4,50 per room per night (to be paid on spot)
  • Excursions (entrance fee for museums/gardens/parks)
  • Rhodes to Symi excursion, around € 30,-
  • Personal insurances

Special details

  • This tour is operated in cooperation with local partner
  • Please take good notice of our Terms & Conditions
  • No bike insurance available for this tour
  • The program is subject to change without notice
  • Help/service line and local co-worker (speaking English)

Arrival Information

Upon arrival at the airport of Rhodes, the representative of Cycletours on Rhodes welcomes you. The transfer takes place by car, taxi or bus and takes about 15 minutes. He/she has a Cycletours-sign.

Return Information

If you have booked the flight, we kindly ask you to ensure that our representative has received all the information about your flight (flight number, departure time, plus the airline that issued your ticket). The information regarding the return transfer and your return flight will be hung up in the hotel or you will get this immediately communicated by one of our representatives. Always compare this information with the information on your flight ticket and in case of ambiguities please contact our representatives. In general you are required to check out of your hotel room in the morning, also in case of an evening flight. Although in the event of an evening flight, you are still allowed to use the facilities of the hotel to take a shower / freshen up before departure. When you extended your holiday in Rhodes on your own, you must ensure the reaffirmation and transfer to the airport yourself.

(Please note that the hotels listed are only examples and are subject to change. You will find your final hotel in the hotel list, which you will receive before departure)
  • Kalavarda, Rhodes

    Hotel Maistraili is our home base in Rhodes, which also houses the bicycle workshop run by our Dutch staff. However, the Greek family-run hotel is small, so we sometimes have to divert to rooms in the area.

  • Rhodes City, Saint Michel

    Saint Michel is set in a 800-year-old building in the Old Town. The charming hotel offers accommodations in stone-built rooms with modern shower cabin. The stylish rooms combine modern comforts, such as air conditioning and a flat-panel TV set, with romantic iron beds and handcrafted details.

  • Mastichari, Kos

    Sea Breeze Hotel provides accommodation with a shared lounge, a garden and a terrace. Each room has a balcony. All units are equipped with air conditioning, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a fridge, a kettle, and a wardrobe. At the hotel every room comes with a private bathroom.

  • Lakki, Leros

    Hotel Bianco is located in the centre of Lakki, a small town packed with cosy local restaurants and a stone throw away from the sea. Bianco Hotel features a fitness center, bar, shared lounge, and free WiFi throughout the property. Each room includes air conditioning, a patio with a garden view, a private bathroom, a flat-screen TV, bed linen and towels. Bianco Hotel has certain units with sea views, and rooms have a balcony.

If you have reserved a rental bike, the specified size and type will be ready for you at the workplace (behind Hotel Vouras in Kalavarda). A repair kit, pump and spare inner tube are included. All bikes are equipped with a bike bag, bottle holder and a simple odometer. You need to bring a water bottle yourself (small bottles of spring water usually fit into the holder as well and are for sale everywhere in Greece). If desired you may bring your own card reading standard and mount it on your rental bike.

By this tour you can rent the following bikes:
  • Rental Bike Rhodes

    Trek 200

    • 24 gears, rear rack, light and mudguards
  • Rental Bike Rhodes ATB

    Trek 4500 with:

    24th gear,  luggage rack and front suspension

  • Rental E-bike Rhodes

    24 gears from TREK (type T200) converted by us into an E-bike with an FMH conversion kit.

Accommodation

All breakfasts are included. Breakfast will be served between 8 and 10.30 a.m. Lunches are not included. The tour guide can suggest a nice restaurant where you can have lunch. Dinner is included on 2 days. The tour guide will inform you the exact days.

Kalavarda

Kalavarda is located 15 km from the airport and 35 km from the capital Rhodes Town. It is located on the relatively cool north coast near sand beaches in a tranquil part of the island. In a little store and at the gas station you may buy a few supplies. In Fanes and Soroni (3.5 and 5 km on the way to Rhodes) you will find a supermarket, ATM, pharmacy, bakery and greengrocer. Kalavarda contains multiple dining facilities including seafood restaurants by the sea. The village square contains a variety of little cafes where you can drink an ouzo or coffee together with the old men from the village, or enjoy en nice diner or a Mezedes (a type of Greek tapas).

Greece is one of the countries where the euro is considered the legal currency. Besides the ATM’s mentioned above in Kalavarda’s surroundings, you will come across an ATM in Rhodes Town, Kos Town, Mastichari (Kos), Pothia (Kalymnos) and Leros.

In case of the use of medicines, you are allowed to take only the amount you need during the flight in your carry-on baggage. Also, bring along a statement from your doctor about your medication. Furthermore please check out the new EU security requirements. A pharmacy is located in Kalavarda. You will also come across many pharmacies on the way. Many medicines are available without a prescription. In Greece pharmacies also offer a limited first-aid service.

Luggage transport

This is a trip with luggage transport. We kindly but urgently ask you to take into account the following. For air travel luggage, a weight limit of 20 kilograms per person applies. This limit also applies to the carriage of luggage. In addition, the weight per suitcase / bag should not exceed the weight of 15 kilograms. Our preference goes out to a weight of approximately 10 kilograms each in regards to the health of our employees.
At every stage of the trip your tour guide will inform you about when and where the bag drop off will take place, and about your suitcases disposal in the next hotel.

Clothing and Luggage

Wearing a good helmet can prevent serious injury in the event of a crash. During cycling it is advisable to wear a well fitting cycling-shirt that quickly absorbs and dissipates perspiration. Bike shorts with padding are recommended depending on your bike. Furthermore: a bag for the road, head protection (helmet), sunglasses and a camera.