Rhodes

Rhodes , Mykonos, Santorini are great visit islands. And all very diff from one another. U will want to fly into one from Athens then poss look into ferrying in to another, then back to Athens for your departure. U will see that the ferry rides can be quite long and sometimes have many stops. The schedules for the ferries may not be online yet for May.they seem to wait til March to start posting or at least i found that on our 2015 trip. U may be lucky with May with fewer tourists butvstill book your lodging when u are sure. It is quite seasonal on the isands. U may also consider a cruise itin. For the ease of lodging and seeing multiple islands easier than on your own.

Rhodes is a major tourist destination. It is in the Dodecanese, nearer to Turkish coast, so away from the also very popular Cyclades islands.

I can't really comment on Rhodes, having spent only one night there on a stopover to another island. We did some walking around in the main town though and it did not seem like a quiet insider tipp island to us, to say the least. :-) However, that may not be true for the whole island, so more knowledgable people better comment on Rhodes.

I'm looking at various Greek islands to visit

It would help narrow down the choice among the 1000+ Greek islands if you would tell us a little more of what you are looking for. Beaches? Spectacular sightseeing? Antiquities? Cute towns? Ancient remains? Beautiful churches? Quiet remote authentic Greece? Hiking? Partying?

We spent 5 days the first week of October on Rhodes. A wonderful place to visit. We stayed at the Sheraton which was a great hotel. The beach has rocks but the water was fantastic. The city historic area was a great place with the medieval castle, street of knights Jewish quarter. Many good restaurants to eat in. We only had half board at the Sheraton breakfast and lunch therefore we were able to have our dinners out. It was a $9.00 taxi ride each way from the Sheraton to Rhodes old town. I believe there is a city bus that is a lot cheaper but my hubby prefers a taxi. Anthony Quinn bay and St Paul's bay are beautiful We flew from Crete to Rhodes then flew from Rhodes to Athens. Take a look at Rhodes

Rhodes would be an excellent choice if only because of direct flights there and back on EasyJet to and from London/Gatwick. No need to stop over in Athens unless you want to.

Anna,

Basically I was looking at Santorini, Mykonos and Rhodes. Then the inquiry from mewsk triggered an interest in Naxos. Not overly interested in beaches, but archaeological museums, cathedrals, gardens, castles and the like are all of interest. Mainly don't want to be where cruise ships invade the land. Question - are there cruise ships at the ports in Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes etc daily or just 1 or 2 or 3 days a week?

Multiple cruise ships visit these islands on a daily basis beginning in May, continuing at least until the end of October.

Try cruisetimetables.com. It is a webite where you can see how many ships are in each port on a given day. Look at ports of call

Hi,

There are plenty of reasons to visit Rhodes one of them the well preserved the medieval city of Rhodes.
When in Rhodes check: Acropolis of Rhodes, the acropolis of Lindos, ancient Ialysos, ancient Kamiros, the Archaeological Museum in Rhodes Town, Elaphos and the castles of Monolithos, Kritinia and Feraklos.

The nature in Rhodes is equally important:
The valley of Butterflies, famous throughout the world, Seven Springs, The Tsampika Monastery, Prasonisi (Windsurfers paradise),
The Marine Aquarium, Antony Quinn Bay (amazing place) and the Mountains Profitis Ilias & Akramitis (hiking, walking etc.)

If you get to the Dodecanese (Rhodes is part of it) you might considering doing a sailing tour. Other islands to see nearby Chalki ,Kastelorizo, Kos, Nisyros, Symi, Tilos. If you are planning to stay only on Rhodes then you need at least a week. If you want to go around the Dodecanese and check more islands then you'll obviously have to add some says. Calculate to stay at least 2-3 days on each island.

Joyce, Thanks for the cruise website. Very helpful in planning where you don’t want to go. (I’m looking at Pulia or Crete for a future trip).