Fun fact, there is only one main road connecting Rhodes to the village of Lindos and that makes it a pretty easy town to navigate, except of course if you’re anything like me and my travel buddy who forget where we’re staying and end up getting off the bus a 15 minute walk away from our hotel (despite the fact the bus stops directly opposite it). Needless to say we made it back to tell the tale and continued to enjoy the much needed October sunshine.
October is the end of the tourist season, so if you want to bag yourself a last minute bargain then mid to late October is probably a good time; the old town is still lively and there are still plenty of sea adventures to be had. I can’t comment much on the new town because although we drove past and it looked lively, seeing things we can see at home is never the focus of our holidays, but if you do look for the comfort of the familiar, M&S and McDonald’s are definitely available options there.
On our first full day (we arrived late at night) we took a sun and sea cruise, stopping off at 3 beauty spots for a quick spot of snorkelling, enjoying all inclusive frozen strawberry cocktails for the journey, as well as fruit snacks. I must say, due to our last failed boat trip in Croatia, I was a bit concerned that we might be disappointed again but thankfully this was not the case. The only unfortunate part was that we could not stay out at sea longer. The 6 hour trip with lunch included was not available so our only available option was 3 hours. We made 3 stops on the journey – Traganou Caves, in Afandou Bay; Ladiko Bay; and Anthony Quinn Bay. Our hosts at Rhodes Sea Lines, were full of useful (and sometimes useless) information and humour surrounding the sights and history of these 3 beautiful locations. I can’t say I remember much, the cocktails may be to blame for that, but I do remember that Anthony Quinn Bay is named after the actor who fell in love with it and brought it whilst filming The Guns of Navarone (which neither our host nor anyone on board could honestly say they’ve seen). After his death in 2001 it was handed back to Greece and they kept the name in his memory.
Our first stop was the Traganou Caves. Despite the fact that I can swim, the ocean makes me a little nervous, so I was grateful for the provision of swimming noodles to rest on should we get tired whilst swimming to the caves. I’ve seen a lot of caves in my life so I’m not going to lie to you and say they were spectacular, they were not, but the experience of swimming out to see them was one that I don’t regret and still one that I would recommend. I might be a little bias because as much as the ocean scares me I also love her and spending time in and around her is always a must for me. Just ask the group of 30ish children who had the joy of watching their fully clothed adults swimming in the sea!
Next stop was Ladiko Bay where if you swim out far enough, which we did, you can see a 200 meter underwater cliff which is such a beautiful spectacle, beautiful blue open waters that stretch out into the distance, it is definitely a sight worth seeing.
After that was Anthony Quinn Bay, our final stop. This was the spot where we saw the most fish, I missed the lion fish because I was too cold to get back in the water but I saw enough to be satisfied and by this point I had left the swimming noodle on board and was simply enjoying swimming freely through the calm waters.
In all honesty, for me this trip was about relaxation, so apart from enjoying the old town, the only other excursion we did was to Lindos to see the Acropolis and visit the beautiful sand beach. It was 17 Euros for the coach ride there and back with Tui and 12 Euros to go up to the acropolis. Some people chose to take the donkey taxi’s up but we were happy to stroll through the town on our own two legs. It was a tiring journey but worth it as the view from the top was amazing and there is something to be said about the peace you get being around the remains of ancient buildings and looking down towards the Aegean Sea.
On the way back down we stopped off for crepes before taking the long walk back down to the beach to relax. It was a shame we didn’t bring our swimming costumes and snorkels as the water looked so inviting and there were plenty of holiday makers enjoying the enticing weather.
If we had done our research before taking this journey we might have booked the Rodos Palace Hotel where we went for our spa treatments. It’s a 5 star hotel with everything you could need under one roof, including an escape room. However we booked this trip very last minute on Tuesday evening and flew out on Monday afternoon staying at the 4 star Belair Beach Hotel which was nice enough but could do with some revamping.
Overall as a relaxing getaway I give Rhodes a 4/5 but if you’re looking for a little more adventure, this might not be the town for you.
This is not a sponsored post and all photos and opinions are my own.
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