Rhodes Trip Report

Thursday 23rd October

We were served breakfast on our first morning, and it was a huge meal. Needless to say, half was wasted, which is such a shame. I suggested giving us less tomorrow, and they said that they couldn't, we might get hungry!!!

We had eggs, sausage, bacon, a mini cheese pie each, a mini spanakopita, toast, brioche, a variety of jams, yoghurt, a bowl of fruit, each, a jar of granola and another of mixed nuts and dried fruit, a small Greek salad, even though we said no to this, and just in case, two massive slices of cake. There were juice and coffee too.

I managed the yoghurt with nuts and dried fruit, the eggs and one slice of toast and jam and that was it.

We then set off to walk, because we had plenty of energy to burn off. My husband, G, wanted to shop, particularly for some sandals, and he easily found a pair he liked. Surprisingly I found a dress that I loved too and actually bought it. It was three times what I’d normally pay for a dress, but it is a beautiful blue Greek linen maxi dress and exactly what I’d been hoping to find. I’d heard about the shop from a Greek Facebook group that I belong to and everything I heard was true. Even though expensive by my standards, in comparison to other shops it had pretty good prices and it sold nice clothes in sizes to suit all sorts, not the the Instagram crowd which most of the shops in Santorini seemed to cater for. The shop was called Maria Fashion.

After dropping our goodies back at our hotel, we set off exploring.

We wandered more of the old town, which was really beautiful and appears authentic and it is apparently UNESCO listed. We started at the Grand Palace of the Knights, but opted not to go inside, we’ll do that another day. We did buy tickets to walk the walls of Rhodes though, as these are only open for three hours a day on weekdays and we had a full day tour the next day, Friday, so it was our only chance.

The walk was about 4km and gave spectacular views from the Palace, across the moat, the old town rooftops and finally to Mandraki Harbour, the port of Rhodes. It was a mid-twenties day, with a few clouds and a nice breeze, perfect for a walk. The walls were around the size of those in Lucca, Italy, although nowhere near as well kept. No way would I ride a bike on these walls; they were too rocky and uneven.

After descending from the walls at the Harbour, we found a fabulous floating restaurant, so had a light lunch on its top deck. I had a Croque Madame, strangely served on pancakes not toast. Presumably this catered to the American market, as most guests tried to pay with Amex, which was of course declined. I left most of the pancakes, but the smoked ham, truffled bechamel and fried egg were very good.

We walked the entire Harbour, lined with some of the most incredible private yachts we’ve seen in a while. Strangely most of them were registered in London, but it seemed that the English really like to visit Rhodes, and judging by these yachts some of them must have an awful lot of money.

We finished the walk by visiting the old fortress, the Mandraki windmills and the statues of deer which are supposed to represent the location where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.

After another long walk back to our hotel, spent the late afternoon in the hot tub and then god ready for dinner.

Dinner was at a rooftop overlooking Hippocrates Square, the main square of old town. All advice wass not to eat in such touristy places, but this restaurant, Archipelago, scored very well in my research and this proved to be correct. They gave us a prime spot in the corner with perfect views in all directions. If I can’t see the sea, I love to people watch.

G had beef stiffado and I was craving mashed potato, and they had it served with a grilled pork chop and garlicy spinach. Both meals were delicious, really good quality, tender meat.

Friday 24th October

Breakfast was again a gargantuan feast. Even though we’d pointed out our dislike of salad in the morning, we both got Greek salad today. We also had omelettes with cheese and ham, spanakopita and another pastry, toast, jams, yoghurts, honey and the same nuts, granola and bowls of fruit that seem standard. The room server said that since we hadn’t eaten the apple cake yesterday, she’d bought an orange cake, and we should really eat it!! We popped it in the fridge and G ate it after our day tour.

As the old town is car free, we had to walk to the d’Amboise Gate, about ten minutes away, and meet the driver that we had booked with e-Transfer Rhodes there.

He first drove us to Monte Smith where there were beautiful views on all sides as well as the Acropolis of Rhodes. This was heavily scaffolded though, so we didn’t bother getting out of the car to expore further. Next, we saw another ancient stadium which looked really interesting. There wasn’t time to get to it though with our other plans but we decided to try and taxi or bus there another when we had more time to explore.

Our next stop was around an hour away, first driving along the coast then inland. We visited the site of Ancient Kamiros, an extremely well-preserved Doric city dating from the 5th century BC. It was an incredible site yet barely anyone seemed to know about it and there was hardly anyone there.

Here is a link to more detail for those interested in history.

https://manosgoing.com/ancient-kamiros/

Next was another hour-long drive across the island, which really showcased how big this island really is. It was mountainous forested countryside with lots of cute villages and even a spooky deserted village along the way.

Pablo, our driver, explained a lot about the area and showed us so many things. He was Greek born but had been raised in England until he decided to return to Greece. I asked where he’d lived and it turned out that he was raised in Aylesbury, a mere 20 minutes from Oxford where I was born, and my aunt and cousins still live in Aylesbury to this day. It really is a very small world sometimes.

Pablo drove us around Lindos, full of massive all-inclusive resorts that aren’t near to anything and finally took us to the last car park above the very cute seaside town.

Like many places Lindos is car free and filled with tiny winding lanes very similar to Santorini. He left us there and told us to just take as much time as we wanted and message in WhatsApp when we were ready to go home.

The sea views were amazing, as were the cute shops and restaurants, but for us the whole point was the Acropolis of Lindos, whose ruins are two centuries older than those at the Acropolis of Athens. The mind simply boggled at the history here.

I wasn't sure that I could make the climb up as it is over 400 steps, and it was quite hot in the early afternoon sun. We managed it, slowly, and were so glad that we did. Perfect ocean views in all directions combined with so much history. Living in such a modern country as Australia, it is truly incredible.

After taking a million photos, we made our way back down and had lunch at yet another roof top bar, this time with Acropolis views from the bottom. G had another chicken souvlaki, and I just had two appetizers, grilled haloumi and meatballs. Both were delicious.

During the afternoon Pavlo drove us back along the east coast of the island showing us the many resort towns with huge hotel complexes. Definitely not our sort of holiday!

We also had photo stops at both St. Paul’s Bay, overlooking Lindos, and Anthony Quinn Bay, a gorgeous spot apparently made famous by the man himself who fell in love with it whilst filming The Guns of Navarone back in the sixties.

Finally, Pavlo showed us his home village, before dropping us back at D’Amboise Gate. We walked back to our hotel for a rest before heading out for another light dinner.

We had a fun dinner at Mama Sofia’s, both of us had crumbed cod, salad and fried potatoes and it was yummy. While sitting at our outdoor table, a young woman approached and asked me where in Australia I was from because her mother recognised my accent. I told her we were from Melbourne, next thing her mother was at our table with her too. It turns out she’d lived all over Melbourne, finally finishing up in a place named Beaumaris, which was only a couple of suburbs away from where G and I met. She’d married an Englishman and now lived in Portsmouth but missed her Aussie life. The two women next to us were from Rotterdam and joined in too, and we all had a very pleasant time chatting. One of the best parts of travelling is often the people you meet along the way.

Only one week to go in our trip and our Greek sojourn only had a couple of days left.

Saturday 25th October

This morning didn’t start as well as we’d hoped. G seems to have a bit of a stomach bug, similar to what I had a few days ago. He of course had the male version which is much worse. He couldn't manage breakfast which greatly upset the Greek lady who cooks it. She tried to convince him that more food would cure everything, but he wouldn’t have a bar of that.

He managed a little yoghurt and toast, and I had another omelette.

We contacted the driver who the hotel had organised for our airport transfers and had him take us to the Ancient Stadium and the Acropolis of Rhodes. The Acropolis only has three columns remaining and is under full scaffolding, but the stadium and adjacent amphitheatre were in fairly good condition and we enjoyed exploring them.

We returned to the Old Town and decided to climb the Old Medieval Clock Tower for views. It was only 83 steps and the views were supposed to be good. Slight disaster struck then though when at the bottom I missed a step nearby and stumbled and sprained my ankle. I was very lucky that it wasn’t worse. I felt like a complete fool, and it hurt quite a bit but I was able to slowly keep walking, we did a little shopping and had a light lunch before returning to our room. G had a sleep and I rested my ankle which was swelling like a balloon by that point.

I had no ice pack and no idea where a pharmacy was, so I just rested with it elevated and took some ibuprofen for the pain.

We decided to cancel our pre-booked dinner reservation and just wander around the corner for dinner instead. G wasn’t interested in eating much but still wanted to come and sit with me anyway.

I had moussaka and G nibbled a salad. I couldn’t resist what they called a chocolate souffle but really was what we call a warm chocolate lava cake. It was very nice though and even though I rarely have desserts, I often seem to whilst on holidays. Maybe that’s why I gain more weight than I like!

Sunday 26th October

We both had a good night’s sleep, and my foot was still very swollen but feeling a little better. G still felt unwell. He was still managing to get out and about but just not able to enjoy the food and drink like I was.

Finally, this morning we managed to convince our hosts that he simply couldn't eat all the food that they gave us each morning, so they just bought him yoghurt, fruit and a Greek coffee. Of course, since I’m not sick, I got an omelette and more of the rather tasty little breakfast meatballs they serve here.

After breakfast we headed for the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights, one of Rhodes most important tourist attractions and one of the few pieces of Gothic architecture in Greece.

Apparently, in the exact spot in which the palace exists today, there were the foundations of the ancient temple of the sun god Helios, and probably that was the spot where the Colossus of Rhodes stood. The palace was originally built in the late 7th century as a Byzantine citadel and after the Knights Hospitaller occupied Rhodes and other Greek islands in 1309, they converted the fortress into their administrative centre and the palace of their Grand Master.

There wasn’t a lot in the Palace really, lots of beautiful mosaic floors and more dining tables than you can ever imagine.

It reminded me a lot of the Papal Palace in Avignon, although they probably have nothing common.

As well as the Palace though, there was an exhibition of Ancient Rhodes – 2400 Years that was included. It was very much like visiting an archaeological museum, but it had some of the loveliest pieces I’ve ever seen. I do enjoy museums, but sometimes I get to the point where I just don’t need to see yet another ancient pot, but I did not get that feeling here.

The most fascinating piece to me was a gold ring with a stamped rose, much like a signet ring for a young girl. It was perfectly formed in a perfect circle and dates from the 3rd c BC. How did they manage to create something like this back then?

After the Palace we strolled down the Street of the Knights which is one of the most intact medieval streets in the world. The stone-paved street replaced an ancient road that connected the town to the Acropolis of Rhodes which we saw yesterday. It was a lovely street, with the completely mediaeval view somewhat spoiled by a hulking great cruise ship docked at the harbour at the bottom.

My ankle held up relatively well and G was able to soldier on, so we walked another half an hour or so, this time luckily on somewhat more modern paved paths up to Elli Beach. Whilst this is somewhat pebbly and not a beach I’d choose to lie on or swim at, it seemed very popular with tourists swimming or lounging on rented sunbeds.

I was interested as it is the point where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean Sea. There are also close views of the Turkish coastline.

It seems crazy that we had to leave our hotel at 07:45 on Monday morning and didn’t arrive in Istanbul til 16:00. That’s modern air travel for you, we had to fly back to Athens then had an almost three-hour layover before an international flight to Turkey. There were other ways involving flights to smaller Turkish cities, or overnight ferries, but they took longer. Probably much cheaper though.

We had a light lunch at a beachside hotel before taxiing back to the Old Town. We walked to the pharmacy hoping to get some medicine for G, but all pharmacies were closed on Sunday as seemed to be all medical things unless it was a life-or-death emergency, which of course it wasn’t.

We had Negronis and a lovely dinner for our last night. G figured a Negroni would kill or cure him, it actually made little difference. I ate tagliata with crunchy roast potatoes, grilled vegetables and pepper sauce. It was tender and cooked to medium rare perfection. I finished with orange cake and ice cream. G could only manage bruschetta but at least he enjoyed it.

Thank you for posting this. We are including a few days on Rhodes at the beginning of our Greek islands trip next September, it looks worthwhile (and yes, touristy with a lot of your fellow Brits). I've been surprised at how little Rhodes gets mentioned here (perhaps dismissed as too overrun with package tourists and cruise ships, or maybe just overshadowed by Crete which is relatively nearby). In any case, I'm currently packing for a trip and don't have time to process it but will do so during my layover Monday, and may have some dumb questions for you later. Thanks for posting this.

Yes, thanks for the report. We will be in Rhodes next October and will bookmark your report to reference.
Question, we’ve read that most Greeks eat dinner very late, after 9. We eat our main meal at around 4:30, no lunch. Are restaurants open during the off hours? Was it a problem eating dinner so late?

Perhaps DebH would like to take another look at Hippocrates Square. :)

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/ellada/naigaio/dodecanisa/hippocrates-square.html

Barbara, you'll always find something to eat at any time of day in Rhodes Town. However, outside the very touristy areas, don't expect to find a traditional taverna where you can eat at 4:30 PM. Especially since that's right in the middle of siesta time. A small, temporary concession to your habits, and let's say that from 7:30/8:00 PM you'll have more options. No need to wait until 9:00 PM.

Although it wasn't our initial intention, for reasons I'll call logistical, we spent 5 days in Rhodes this spring. We stayed in a traditional house in the small village of Koskinou, which is well worth a visit.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/2BkA1FxkUJ1sefE49

For those who love Greek islands, don't expect the same atmosphere as the Cyclades. Rhodes is a very large island, very urbanized in its northern part, as DebH noted. Most of the east coast is lined with tourist resorts offering package holidays (for about 30 kilometers down to Lindos).

Some ideas for sightseeing on Rhodes (preferably with a car):

While Lindos is the most well-known ancient city because it's easier for tour buses to reach, I also recommend, like DebH, the ancient city of Ancient Kamiros, which is just as beautiful and interesting, without the crowds (and easily accessible without steps, if that matters).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ArGCx79KD5XpEFf89

The third ancient Rhodian city, Lalysos, has almost disappeared. A few remains can still be seen at the Filerimos Monastery, which I also recommend. The monastery (which no longer has monks) and its park with its many peacocks are also worth visiting.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Xtym7123HBVFEju1A

I also recommend visiting Kritinia Castle, a ruined structure perched on a peak overlooking the sea.

In the southern half of Rhodes, there are many semi-mountainous villages to see. These include Emponas, right in the heart of Rhodes wine country (with numerous tasting options), and further south, Monolithos and its Castle, among many others.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8QQZUgnqRmBNsnJS6

And finally, the most incredible and original place we've seen in over 25 years of traveling in Greece is the Cultural and Geological Palace, entirely designed by Spiros, a resident of Rhodes. This man is a genius and a wellspring of knowledge, with countless degrees in all subjects. Everything is open to visitors, including his bedroom, kitchen, and attic. He'll give you the keys to the attic because he has some knee issues!

It's free, but you can leave a few euros if you wish.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/P4eoj1JSpZzz1a486

JoLui, I wish I had had some of those ideas before we were there.

I didn't get the point about Hippocrates Square, did I have the wrong place?

It's because you mentioned Hippocrates Square as a place you loved to people-watch. You can now do the same from your couch.

We went there and called some friends so they could watch the live webcam and see us waving hello .

That is very true about people watching from your couch, but you certainly don't get the atmosphere, which was wonderful.

For people who cannot, or will not, travel, YouTube must be great, although they probably don't watch travel You Tubes either.