Route for traveling around Rhodes. What to see in Rhodes on your own by car: attractions, interesting places, routes
A week after our arrival, we decided to take a car and see the island, especially since there are more people on the beach on weekends because of locals vacationing.
On Friday we visited three rental offices, but Apollo offered us the best conditions. For two days, a car in the cheapest price category is for 50 Euros (unlimited mileage, 100% insurance coverage, no additional payments for a second driver). At the same time, since we planned to leave on Saturday around 7 am before the office opened, we agreed that we would arrange everything and receive the keys at 9 pm the day before, leaving the car in the parking lot in front of the Apollo office (2 minutes walk from our apart-hotel). For this price we were promised a Hyundai i10, but in the end they gave us a more expensive category - the Hyundai i30. Without bargaining, such a car costs 35 euros per day or 70 for two days. We didn’t really bargain - the cheapest category was immediately offered to us not for 30+30 euros, but for 50 euros for two days, and we upgraded ourselves due to the lack of simpler cars. I received a silver car, there were no problems, the return was also very calm, no one really looked or checked anything, they only asked how much gas was in the tank as it was when received (a quarter of a tank)? So I highly recommend Apollo in Faliraki (the staff speaks Russian).
In two days we covered 450 kilometers. 250 on the first day and 200 on the second. In addition to the many good asphalt roads in the mountains and along the coast, every day they drilled into a deep dirt road)) You can probably drive around the entire island in a day, but that’s if you don’t stop almost anywhere. We had a very busy program, we saw absolutely everything that was interesting to us, stopping every day to take a dip and cool off at a couple of new beaches. Wherever we wanted to walk, we walked for as long as we wanted, but at the same time we moved quite dynamically.
If you want more beaches or spend more time on them, and not 20 minutes at a time, like we did, it’s better to spread out your acquaintance with the island over three days. We deliberately skipped some of the “top” attractions such as the Butterfly Park, the ancient ruins of Kamiros and the Seven Springs. Every day we started at 7.15. On the first day we returned home at 19.15, on the second at 20.15.
First day route (east and south of Rhodes) : Faliraki – Lindos – St. Paul’s Bay – Tharri Monastery – Asklipeio Castle – Gennady – Arnitha – dirt road through the mountains to Messanagros – Skiadi Monasteri – Sousounia Beach – Prassonissi – Lachania – St. Paul's Bay – Archaggelos – Faliraki
Routesecondday(centerAndwestRhodes) : Faliraki – Eleousa – Church of Ag. Nikolaos Fountoukli – Profitis Ilias (Villa Mussolini) – route through vineyards and gardens from Salakos to Kamiros – Skala Kamirou – Kritinias Castle – Fourni Beach – Monolithou Castle – Monolithos – Siana – Ag. Isidoros – Embonas – Profitis Ilias – Eleousa – Tsampika Beach – Tsampika Monastery – Antony Quinn, Ladiko Bay – Faliraki
First day
Faliraki – Lindos – St. Paul’s Bay – Tharri Monastery – Asklipeio Castle – Gennady – Arnitha – dirt road through the mountains to Messanagros – Skiadi Monasteri – Sousounia Beach – Prassonissi – Lachania – St. Paul's Bay – Archaggelos – Faliraki
Lindos. In principle, it would be possible to go to Lindos from Faliraki by bus, but we didn’t want to bother with boarding a passing bus on the highway, which might not have seats, and we also wanted to be in Lindos as early as possible, because... the city is very touristy, and already at 9.30, when we were about to leave, there were continuous crowds going up the stairs to the acropolis!
The most obvious parking in Lindos is paid, but there is free dirt parking on the highway opposite the Acropolis (between the two asphalt exits down into town), plus there is good free parking at the exit to St. Bay. Paul, and right next to St. Bay. Paul – parking there is probably the best way to immediately get to the Old Town, and on the way back to refresh yourself in the crystal clear clean water with stunning views. And for beautiful panoramic shots, stop at the top of the highway. We are about free parking on the way to the bay and at the bay we found out later, so we parked on a dirt lot between two exits to the city, so we had to first go down to the city and then go up to the highway, but on the way to the central tourist street we pretty much meandered along beautiful and completely the non-tourist streets of snow-white Lindos.
The city is protected from western winds high mountains, and from the wind from the sea there is a rock with the Acropolis, so during the day in Lindos it is very hot, it was stuffy even at 8 in the morning, when we wandered almost completely alone around the Old Town and climbed the stairs to the Acropolis. We didn’t go to the Acropolis itself, because... reviews that there was nothing special to see inside were not encouraging. Instead, we walked under the fortress walls and went out to the top of the cliff to stand over the cliff above the incredibly beautiful colored sea.
Lindos is beautiful not only as a town, but also as a place - there is a rugged high coastline, bays and coves with turquoise water all around!
Then we went down from the Acropolis to the Old City, and on the second attempt I broke into a beautiful snow-white church, which was unusually inhospitable. At the entrance, the evil grandmother made it clear with a hand gesture that it was forbidden to go in - neither at 8.30, nor after 9, when I made the second raid. Although official visiting hours begin at 9 o'clock. But I asked permission from an aunt with an unkind look who was selling church souvenirs, she appreciated my dress code and allowed me to go inside.
Inside, the entire small space of the church is covered from floor to ceiling with beautiful ancient frescoes. At 8.30 the priest very mournfully read a prayer in the complete absence of parishioners, now at 9 in the morning some kind of ceremony was being prepared for the evil grandmother, who did not let me in both times, and a couple of other women. My persistence was not in vain - the church is very beautiful and atmospheric. And the local residents, who so zealously protect Holy place, one can understand when thousands of tourists pass by the church every day, and most of them are eager to inspect the interiors in shorts and T-shirts...
Then we walked along a narrow central street with numerous opened souvenir shops to the town square, where there is one of the paid parking lots for cars, as well as parking for the poor donkeys that transport lazy tourists to the mountain with the Acropolis. There are a lot of donkeys, and there is very little space on the narrow street, so the donkey stall was made in a house called Alpha Bank))
Having wandered up the non-tourist streets with beautiful carved portals and thresholds lined with multi-colored pebbles, we went up to our car and decided to slide down to St Paul's Bay, which is considered one of the most beautiful places in Rhodes to freshen up after going up and down the stuffy Lindos before a long journey.
We arrived at the bay before 10 am, but there were already quite a lot of people. The place is beautiful, but it’s better to arrive as early as possible or closer to 6 pm - during the day there is a hellish hell of crowds of people, and the beach is tiny on one side and on the other, which we stopped at in the evening. The water is clean, transparent, there are stones at the bottom, you can see whole schools of fish, although they are of a rather ordinary silver color. There are high cliffs around, stunning views of the white houses of the city and the rock with the Acropolis. From the walls of the Acropolis, they say, the bay looks like a heart - this is perhaps the only thing that we did not see in Lindos, having saved 12 Euros on entrance tickets to the Acropolis.
After Lindos we headed deeper into the island, drove past the village of Laerma and taxied into Tharri monastery, where a church built in ancient centuries with beautiful frescoes is surrounded by a fruit and olive garden and it was quiet and peaceful, despite the minibus with a Russian-speaking group of pilgrims and tourists.
After the monastery, good asphalt led us to Asklipieio village, dear, but after Nikia on the island of Nisyros, no village seems beautiful enough to us. The main attraction of the village is the fortress located on the mountain, or rather the ruins of the fortress, from which a beautiful view of the mountains and East Coast. Everyone leaves their cars in the parking lot in the center of the village and goes up on foot, although in general there is quite a good road leading to the fortress itself - either a dirt road or a concrete road. If only we had known, we would have driven there instead of walking in the heat. It’s good that by mid-day there were thin clouds hanging over the center of the island, so the sun wasn’t so hot. What remains of the fortress is a beautiful impressive entrance, walls and part of the tower. Not much, but still beautiful and interesting, especially free, like most of the fortresses in Rhodes.
In Asklipieio we had lunch at Tavern Nikolai, highly recommended by people on TripAdvisor. If you are in those parts, avoid this place! There was our most tasteless lunch, and the soup of the day for 4 euros was powdered mushroom soup from a bag. Somewhere high in the mountains of Nepal, in a village remote from civilization on a mountain trekking route, I would forgive the Nepalese for soup “ala Rolton”, because nothing grows there, and they feed on what the Sherpas and mules brought. But in the center of abundant Greece, feeding tourists powdered soup - I have no explanation for this.
After walking around the village and looking at the beautiful church, we moved to the coast, picking up a hitchhiker at the exit from the village and dropping him off at the main island highway.
In the town Gennady We drove along an unremarkable pebble beach, turned north and drove through the narrow and winding central street of the village with snow-white houses and completely devoid of people and open shops/taverns, apparently due to the siesta. I was too lazy to go out and walk, but driving along the narrow central street in one car was very cool!
After Gennady, we again rushed deeper into the island, drove past Vati, turned towards the village Arnitha, which the road runs along the edge, but we were not too lazy to turn towards the village and drive through it, fortunately it consists of three streets, and we examined all of them right from the car window.
And then the dirt section of the path began - from Arnitha to Messanagros we climbed the shaky dirt road of a mountain serpentine to a pass with wind turbines, stopped to admire the beautiful view of western part islands and coast, then drove through the pass, admired the views of the eastern half and went down to the highway near Messanagros.
Next stop was about Skiadi monastery- it opens up a lot beautiful view to the west coast, the monastery itself is outwardly nice, but inside all the frescoes are new and there is no special atmosphere.
When, after the monastery, we rolled down a good asphalt serpentine road to the sea, I only dreamed of plunging into the cool water. I didn’t care that the Aegean Sea is supposedly always with wind and waves, that the beaches for the most part pebble. At that moment I was so stuffy, even with the windows open, even with the air conditioning, that I just wanted to immerse my whole body in wet and cold!
Therefore, as soon as we rolled onto the coastal highway and turned south, we immediately stopped at the first approach to the sea. Sousounia beach It turned out to be completely wild, pebble and not very clean - a lot of useful things were washed ashore by the strong surf: shoes, items of clothing, plastic. At some point, I even thought that there might be things here from the Egypt Air flight that crashed at the end of May, because... The last time contact with him was near the island of Karpathos, which was exactly opposite our beach and which was perfectly visible...
And although the beach was not picturesque, the water was a very beautiful turquoise color, and the waves were not strong. True, it was not easy to enter the water over large pebbles that were rolled by the surf. But after 15 minutes in the water, I felt like a human again.
After driving along a very beautiful coastal road with views of the Aegean Sea, we turned off the ring road to the southernmost part of Rhodes - Cape Prassonissi.
I was expecting the wilderness of the far south, so I was surprised by the very busy passing and oncoming traffic. From a hill a kilometer before the cape, a stunning view opened up in front of us: a narrow isthmus between the calm Mediterranean and the wavy Aegean Sea, behind which Cape Prassonisi itself rises, and the entire water of the Mediterranean Sea is dotted with wind and kite surfers. Descending from the hill onto the isthmus, we found several mini-hotel buildings, taverns and a huge parking lot of cars with license plates from all over Europe. Closer to the island, windsurfers ride in the water, closer to the cape, kite surfers. There are a lot of both of them, and you could watch them for hours, but the wind was blowing so strong that we froze pretty quickly. It’s amazing how surfers who are constantly in the water don’t freeze. In such a wind and with a not very high water temperature, it seems to me that even a wetsuit cannot save you... The atmosphere on Prassonissi is very pleasant, relaxed, the place reminded me very much of the Egyptian Dahab. Beautiful people with strong body come for the wind to this extreme south Greek island from all over Europe.
After Cape Prassonissi, the last obligatory point of the program awaited us - the traditional village of Lachania. Villages no longer entered Seryoga, and after a short walk around the main square, the church and a couple of neighboring streets, he got into the car, and I went with my camera to get lost in the narrow snow-white streets. It was amazing that real flower beds were planted next to many of the houses. Overall the village is very beautiful and completely non-touristy. And of all the villages in Rhodes that we saw over these two days, I probably liked Lachania the most.
Driving back north along the coast road we passed many pebble beaches, realizing what a rare beast our sandy beach at Faliraki is. Since there were still a couple of hours left before sunset, before Lindos we turned towards St. Paul's Bay, this time deciding to visit the beach on its opposite side. At 17.30 there was still sun and quite a lot of people there. Changing rooms and toilets are available. And a wonderful view of Lindos and the Acropolis. True, I liked the entrance to the water and the sea itself less than on the beach under the Acropolis. But maybe the water was simply disturbed by numerous swimmers during the day.
Then we stopped in different places to photograph the handsome Lindos from different sides and rushed home.
Along the way, we only had enough time to drive up to the Haraki fortress and, appreciating the steepness of the climb, gave up the idea of going up. And also drive through Archaggelos, which lies slightly off the highway. By the way, it also contains the remains of a fortress, but we already had a fortress today, and as many as two were planned for tomorrow + climbing one mountain, so we decided that we had enough for the day.
Second day.
Faliraki – Eleousa – Church of Ag. Nikolaos Fountoukli – Profitis Ilias (Villa Mussolini) – route through vineyards and gardens from Salakos to Kamiros – Skala Kamirou – Kritinias Castle – Fourni Beach – Monolithou Castle – Monolithos – Siana – Ag. Isidoros – Embonas – Profitis Ilias – Eleousa – Tsampika Beach – Tsampika Monastery – Antony Quinn, Ladiko Bay – Faliraki
The second day was completely different from the first - we did not have walks through traditional villages, but we were very scenic roads through pine forests along mountain serpentines and along the sea, an abandoned hundred-year-old villa, two fortresses, beautiful beach on the Aegean Sea and many other beauties!
Departing from Faliraki to the south, we turned to Eleusa village, which turned out to be a village located in a beautiful place in the middle of a pine forest and high rocky mountains! In the village, on the main square, on one side there is an abandoned building, on the other side the same one has been restored. On the outskirts there is a huge working fountain, which could easily be used as a swimming pool.
At 8 am we stopped at an ancient Nikolaos Fountoukli churches. There was no one in the church and the door was closed, but it opened easily. There are beautiful ancient frescoes inside. Around the church there are ancient olive trees and fragrant eucalyptus trees. Amazing place!
Then we arrived at a place called Profitis Ilias, consisting of two beautiful old hotels surrounded by pine-covered mountains. And again, no one, and the place is just for us!
Stone steps go up from the road - there is a building abandoned back in the 40s. villa, built in the 30s by the Italian governor of Rhodes for Mussolini. It was assumed that the Italian dictator would rest here after his retirement. But fate decreed otherwise, and the owner never got into the villa.
The wood and stone building is in a terrible state, but its former grandeur is still very noticeable. The house has two floors + attic, many rooms, terraces, balconies, bathrooms. The restrooms still have tiles on the walls and bathrooms, broken plumbing fixtures, and soap and toilet paper holders firmly glued to the walls. There are still tiles on the ground floor floor. There is parquet on the second floor. There is still glass in the windows, although it is pretty broken. You need to walk very carefully: broken glass, protruding beams, falling shutters. We didn’t dare go up to the second floor, although one of the stairs looked good – we were alarmed by the sight of the collapsed ceiling in several rooms on the first floor. There is a hill behind the house, we climbed it to look into the second floor windows.
This is a very interesting place for lovers of abandoned houses and history. And we were lucky that we wandered around it completely alone for an hour. On the way back, when we passed by at 16:00, a whole Russian-speaking bus group was heading from the parking lot to the house. I can’t imagine how tour operators risk taking people to such a dilapidated building. And, by the way, I was very upset that most of the vandal inscriptions on the walls of the rooms were made in Russian (such as “Sveta from Ivanovo, 2016”).
After Villa Mussolini to west coast There is a beautiful winding road that first climbs into the mountains and then goes down. We decided that we needed to add some extreme, and at the entrance to Salakos we turned onto the dirt road indicated on the offline map, going down to the sea past the ruins ancient city Kamiros. We wandered around quite a bit, and if it weren’t for the offline map and GPS, we would definitely have gotten lost, because there were a lot of dirt roads. First we drove through the forest, then through olive and orchards, through vineyards, potato and other vegetable plantations. The road was very narrow, it was impossible for two cars to pass each other, but it was interesting to drive through the fertile valley, otherwise yesterday we had the impression that Rhodes was continuous arid mountains with rare olive groves, but today it seemed that there were also mountains with pine forests , and that's kind of all. But no!
We deliberately did not go to Kamiros, because we had already seen more impressive ancient ruins.
The western coastal highway turned out to be very picturesque, much more picturesque than the eastern one, because... the western coast is mostly wild, hotels are located only near the city of Rhodes and the airport, further on there are only rare villages, and the main part of the coast is occupied wild beaches and inaccessible rocks.
In front of the village Skala Kamirou Huge greenhouses with red tomatoes appeared on both sides of the road. And the village itself turned out to be several houses, taverns, a parking lot and a huge pier from which a ferry runs to the island of Halki almost every day. Surprisingly, the entire pier was crowded with many cars, but there was no ferry on Sundays, and there were no people in the surrounding taverns either. Judging by the fact that some of the vehicles had trailers attached, we thought that the Greeks had arrived with their sailboats and went out to sea.
Then the road left the coast inland, and we approached Kritinias fortress. The parking lot is located directly under the walls of the fortress; there is an easy climb up the steps to the fortress. The walls remain, seemingly recently restored. The fortress looks beautiful from the outside, not so much from the inside, but inside from the top of the rocks there is a breathtaking view of the sea, islands and turquoise sea in small bays. So it’s worth visiting the fortress at least for the view alone. Yes, and entry is free.
By this point, the stuffiness began to be oppressive, and more than anything in the world I wanted to be wet and cold, so we drove past the fortress and began to wind along a beautiful serpentine road to Fourni Beach. I only briefly read about this beach in LP and thought that we would be alone on it, but from the fortress itself there are several signs leading to this beach, so the traffic down to the beach and up is quite busy. One goes first picturesque beach, after 500 meters the road ends at the parking lot in front of Fourni Beach. Despite the remoteness of the place from civilization, there are changing cabins, a non-working tavern and a shower tap without water))
There are about 10 people on the entire beach, the beach is picturesque and large, so you have the feeling of being at the end of the world. Interesting sand formations hang over the beach to the right and left. We didn't have the energy to walk along the beach in the scorching sun, so we simply plunged into the turquoise waters. The entrance to the sea is pebbly, but the pebbles are small, and the surf was weak, so it’s quite possible to do without slippers.
Having thoroughly refreshed ourselves in the sea, we again went up to Monolithou fortress, Seryoga decided to stay in the car, and in a couple of minutes I climbed the stone stairs to the ruins. Inside the preserved walls there is a small newly built white chapel, there are a couple of beautiful window openings in the walls, an arch and the ruins of an ancient chapel. And a beautiful view all around. Admission is free and the place is beautiful, so it's definitely worth a visit.
After the fortress we turned back and at the entrance to the village Monolithos We stopped for lunch at the Panoramico tavern with a beautiful panoramic view of the village, mountains and sea. The chicken soup was tolerable, the eggplant rolls with cheese would have been fine if not for the terrible taste of the batter in which they were fried. But the lamb for the main course was delicious. In the end, the impression was spoiled by the addition of 1.5 Euro to the bill for some unknown reason (they couldn’t explain it to us, they didn’t offer to remove it). As a result, we were left without a tip, or rather, we thought that let these 1.5 euros be a tip.
IN Siana village with many souvenir shops we stopped in the square near a beautiful church. Inside, however, the frescoes turned out to be quite new, although there were also funny stained glass windows in the tiny windows.
Having decided to go around the highest mountain in Rhodes, Attavyros, and on the other side, we headed to the traditional village Ag. Isidoros, however, we didn’t stop and walk, we just passed through it in transit - all these white and white-blue villages after the fifth already look the same.
We stopped by Embonas wine village, or rather a whole small town, quite nice and with its own wine atmosphere: wineries, wine shops. It seems like there’s even a free tasting somewhere.
Since we really liked the morning serpentine through the pine forest, Profitis Ilias and Eleousa, we decided to return to the east coast the same way, again passing our favorite places in the morning.
On the coast we turned to Tsampika beach and arrived at it at 17:00. On Sunday, even at this time there were tons of people on the beach. I read on the Internet that this is one of the best beaches Rhodes, and if we had not been able to get there by car, we would have come here by bus. What a blessing it worked out. The beach is a huge disappointment! There is a parking lot in four rows along the entire beach, and columns of dust rise from passing cars. Music blares from beach restaurants. The entire beach is densely packed with sun loungers and umbrellas; in the sea, some areas are marked with stupid flags. Lots of parked boats, catamarans and others water activities. At the same time, there are no hotels near the beach, that is, all these millions of tourists come here in their cars on purpose. The beach is sandy, the entrance to the sea is also, i.e. the initial data is the same as that of Faliraki. Therefore, I don’t see the slightest point in moving here from Faliraki. The only thing in better side What distinguishes Tsampika beach from Faliraki is the high mountains framing the beach on both sides. It's beautiful, yes. There are not enough beautiful views around the sea in Faliraki.
After swimming and sitting on the beach for about an hour, we reached the start of the climb to Tsampika Monastery, which is on a beautiful high rocky mountain above the beach. Fortunately, more than half of the way up can be covered by car. 300 steps lead further up. 300 is not much, however, for a good half of the way each of these steps is six steps in length))) So in this case, 300 steps is quite a lot!
The top offers stunning views of the beach below and the entire east coast. There is a small and very atmospheric chapel, with poorly preserved frescoes, the smell and smoke from candles, people praying local residents. Small figurines of babies are hung from a particularly revered icon - it is believed that this place helps couples who have been unable to give birth to a child for a long time. The pile of candles in the form of baby figures looks very surprising - some are life-size...
On the way back to Faliraki, we experimented a couple of times with gas stations and 5 euros worth of petrol so that we could return the car with the same quarter of a tank we received it with. The first two times we were underfilled, the third time we overfilled. And since there was still time before sunset, we decided to stop by to see what the famous Anthony Quinn and Ladiko Bay beaches, which we are all going to and still can’t get there on foot from Faliraki. We stopped by and had a look. It’s beautiful, but obviously it will be very crowded and crowded during the day. The sun had already disappeared behind the mountain, it became cool, so we refrained from swimming.
A very narrow path along a cliff leads to the parking lot next to Anthony Quinn - both times we had difficulty passing on it with oncoming cars...
By 20.20 we returned to Faliraki and returned the car. It turned out to be a very eventful and interesting two days, which cost us 107 euros (50 for the car and 57 for gasoline). Probably, a short day excursion on a sightseeing bus would cost about the same))
Anthony Quinn and Ladiko Bay beaches on foot from Faliraki
These two beaches were 3.5-4 kilometers from us, and we went there a couple of times in the morning on foot (it took 45 minutes from our hotel). At 8am there was not a soul on Anthony Quinn so we went to the far end and took a sandy spot under a huge rock which provided us with shade until 11.30am. Most of the people arrive after 10 am. At noon, when we left, the part of the beach closest to the parking lot was packed, but the farther part was still free - apparently, people were too lazy to walk forward a hundred meters.
Anthony Quinn beach is small, rocky, there is only a few meters of sandy space for bedding, and after 12 there is no natural shade at all. Renting two sunbeds and an umbrella costs 10 Euros per day.
The bay is very beautiful, framed by a high rocky mountain, clear water, rocks overgrown with algae and a number of not very bright fish. Every swim I took with me a mask and snorkel - this, of course, is not Indonesia, Egypt or even the Caribbean, but at least it’s something.
We left the sun-drenched beach at midday and lunched on surprisingly edible burgers at a cafe with panoramic views of the bay.
Then we went down to Ladiko beach, which we liked much less. The beach is sandy and larger, so there are a lot of people and children on it - just like at the height of the season on the beaches of the Krasnodar region.
The local tavern had an even worse selection than the Anthony Quinn cafe above the beach - seafood and salads. Therefore, next time we took food with us to the beach. ration in the form of boiled eggs, fresh tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to last until late lunch at your favorite restaurant after returning to Faliraki by bus at 14.30))
Opposite the main Ladiko beach there is a more secluded “beach” with sun loungers and umbrellas on a concrete slab poured near the shore. A coniferous forest grows on a hill above it - there we escaped from the scorching sun before the bus going to Faliraki (1.20 Euro) and Rhodes (2.40 Euro) at 14.30 (last bus at 15.45).
Overall the place is very beautiful, but two times was enough for us to visit. There are a lot of people, but there are few fish under water.
I am publishing a story about our independent journey :)
Route.
This time Rhodes, namely Faliraki, was chosen as a holiday destination again. We bought tickets ourselves; we couldn’t find cheap ones. These can be found when flying through Helsinki. Our flight was from Moscow (Domodedovo), a charter flight, which, as usual, was delayed by 2.5 hours.
There are two ways to get from Rhodes Airport to Faliraki: by bus through Rhodes with a transfer, or by taxi. We chose the second method, the price for a taxi is fixed, 26 euros to Faliraki, we got back for 28. We returned home through Sheremetyevo without delays. We drove from Moscow to St. Petersburg in a new double decker train, the cost of travel in a compartment is a little more than 2000, I highly recommend taking a ride on it :)
Hotel.
We booked the hotel on the website booking.com, based on reviews and the general rating of tourists, we were interested in a simple room with a kitchen. For financial reasons, we chose a hotel without a pool. And at times we missed it, the sea was cool and we were able to swim a couple of times. There was a bar with a swimming pool next to the hotel, where you could sunbathe and swim for free if you bought a drink. On the booking page, the photos do not always correspond to the descriptions of the rooms; not all photos have mini-kitchens, so if in doubt, you can go to the hotel’s website and try to contact them by email. But we did without it. Immediately after booking, I received an email from the hotel owner Nikos with greetings and warm words. The hotel is called Tasos Apartments, no prepayment is required, you pay for your stay in cash upon arrival.
Overall I'm very pleased with the hotel, it's cozy. There was a welcome compliment in the form of a bottle of red wine (not bad), fruit, a couple of cups of coffee and cream and a couple of pieces of cake. The room has everything you need, air conditioning and free wi-fi, hairdryer, TV, large balcony with table and chairs, clothesline for drying clothes. Every morning from 9 to 13, a nice woman does the cleaning, changes the towels, and even washes the dishes for you after breakfast. She will clean only if there is no one in the room, she will put complete order on the bedside table and in the room as a whole, and neatly fold your pajamas and clothes in the room.
The kitchen has everything you need for cooking and storing food. A couple of tips from my own experience:
1. Take 1 or 2 containers with you to put the prepared food there and free up the pot and frying pan; the pan will fit in the refrigerator, but it will take up a lot of space and you can only heat food in a frying pan.
2. We also found transparent food bags useful, I’m not sure if the local supermarket has them.
3. Take a sharpened knife for meat and vegetables with you in your suitcase; in hotels they are dull and small.
4. A couple of bars of soap will come in handy: one for vegetables in the kitchen and one for washing clothes.
Salt, sugar, spices - everything needs to be bought, oil is a must, even with it, food often burned in the existing frying pan. Upon arrival we were given a bottle of detergent and a sponge. There is a wine corkscrew. There are no paper napkins.
The bathroom has a shower with a curtain, but no matter how hard you try, water still gets on the floor, and if this is a problem for you, you can buy a cloth for the floor. There is a rug on the floor, but it is only enough to stand on with your feet after a shower. There is one large and one small towel for each guest. A small jar of shampoo and gel. Everything is clean and tidy. Advice from personal experience: in order not to pick up a possible fungus (low-price hotel), we wiped the shower tray with specially brought technical alcohol (small bottle), because Soap does not kill fungus.
The beds in the room were put together, there is a gap between them, which we neutralized with a warm blanket. The extension cord brought from home was very useful, because... The socket above the bed did not work.
There are enough hangers in the closet, there is plenty of space for things.
Nikos is very hospitable and is always ready to help you solve any problem. He is about 60 years old and is a very positive person. There is a bar near the reception where you can sit and chat in the evening.
Sea and beach.
The sea in Rhodes in May is cool; we were in the Mediterranean. The first week it was uncomfortable to swim, and in the second week we only swam in calm weather. Therefore, if you want to swim to your heart’s content, come no earlier than June, but better in September, when there are fewer tourists and the water is warmer. Although the local children swam with pleasure. The beach in Faliraki is perhaps the best in Rhodes, sandy, clean water, no stones. There were few people on the beach due to the beginning of the season and in general there were fewer tourists than in summer. 
In the first couple of days it was relatively cool in the afternoon and evening, then it warmed up, it was hot during the day, good in the evening. 
I recommend taking a non-woolen blouse or thick jacket with you for the evening if you go in May, it’s cool in the evening by the sea. There are only four beaches: Faliraki A, B, Katafigou beach and Katara beach. At the end of Katara beach there are nice large pebbles on which you can take pictures, but swimming there is problematic - the bottom is slippery due to clay. There is a nudist beach, but we didn't go to it. 
From our hotel to the sea is 10 minutes walk.
Interesting places.
This is our second time in Rhodes, and we have already seen almost all the main attractions (Monolithos, Prasonissi, Kamiros, Epta Piges, Lindos). On this trip we did not visit many places, namely: Rhodes, Anthony Queen and Ladiko bays, Symi island. Let's start with Faliraki.
In Faliraki itself, it is interesting to see the view from the observation deck, which can be reached after Katara Beach along local paths. From there you have a beautiful view of the entire town and you can sit there in the evening with a bottle of wine together. 
And so Faliraki is a small town with many cafes, shops and nightclubs. 
The only interesting places are the boat station with a small Catholic church and the beach. From there, boats depart to Rhodes and Lindos, as well as excursions to the above bays. 
The Church of St. Nektarius is on the highway, it is very beautiful. 
There are a lot of cats, at the boat station there is a place where they are specially fed :) 
Travel to Rhodes from Faliraki costs 2 euros 20 cents, the bus takes you to the final stop at the ticket office, where you can see the departure schedule back. There are also a large number of buses from Rhodes to almost all the main settlements of the island, and excursions also depart from there.
Rhodes is an interesting place personal experience I advise you not to combine long trips to its stores with a walk around the city in one day, it is very tiring. I will write about the stores below in a separate section. This time we went deeper from the main tourist spots and found a lot of interesting courtyards and streets. One of them was played by a guitar in a local cafe. It's hard to get lost there, everything is nearby. The city is beautiful and interesting. One of his features is parrots on one of the central squares, which can even climb into your hand, even if you are sitting in a local cafe and not expecting anything like that. In general, Rhodes is worth visiting more than once. 
Anthony Queen and Ladiko bays are a 40-minute walk from Faliraki if you follow the highway. The path is not close, but it's worth it. First, Ladiko Bay will open to your eyes - a nice wide bay with a sand and pebble beach. 
Anthony Queen is just above it, a 10 minute walk. This is very a nice place, a small cozy bay with a pebble beach and dark turquoise water. 
As for the sunbeds in this bay, after 17 they are free. I highly recommend that you take a walk along the path that leads to the parking lot from the bay: there is an excellent view from there. 
As for the island of Symi, I can say from myself that this is so far the coolest and most interesting place I have ever been. But first things first. We purchased an excursion to Symi in the middle of Katafigou beach from a very friendly local Greek, Michael, for 25 euros per person. In principle, you can purchase many different excursions from him (to Marmaris for 47 euros, to Nisyros island with a semi-active volcano for 56 euros, to the above bays, etc.), or you can order an individual private water tour to the places where you want visit (he offered us such an excursion to Lindos for 29 euros, only 4 euros more expensive than the usual one and several hours longer). 
The excursion consisted of two parts: a visit to the central city of Symi and the Panormitis monastery.
The next day, at 8 am, a bus picked us up from the hotel and took us to Rhodes and took the ferry there. 
We sailed on it for about 2 hours, we occupied the lower closed deck, but in principle it was also not bad on the upper ones. The only thing was that there was a slight rocking motion, but you couldn’t feel it below. 
5 minutes before arriving at central city Simi advises you to take a place for photo and video shooting on the bow of the ferry - the view is stunning. 
We only had 3 hours in Symi, during which we barely had time to walk around its embankment and walk a little around the streets inside the city. I categorically do not advise you to join excursions - they were taken almost all the time to souvenir shops. It’s better to go around the city yourself, you will see much more. 
My favorite place in the city was one place, right behind the La Vaporetto cafe: a staircase leading to the sea, where my husband and I sat, dangling our feet in the water. 
And then we decided to move to the cafe itself. There, when you first appear, the cafe staff throws bread into the water for the fish so you can watch them share it. And the fish there are quite large and there are a lot of them, so it’s worth a look. 
Three hours later we went to the monastery and 50 minutes later we were there. 
The monastery is nice, you can go light a candle inside, you decide the price for the candles yourself. In addition to them, you will be given an icon and lamp oil. 
But our fun didn't end there. On the lower deck on the way back, the toastmaster of the ferry sang songs with all the interested spectators from the audience, in languages different countries. It was very fun and exciting. 
We arrived in Rhodes at 19 pm and then could transfer to a bus that would take us to the hotel. But we didn’t do that and decided to just walk around the old city and took a public bus home.
Shops and souvenirs.
Near our hotel there are only small grocery stores, we took water there in large cans (we poured it into a bottle at home, much cheaper) and potatoes so as not to carry it from afar, the choice of vegetables is small and the quality is not very special in the evening. There is a relatively large supermarket a 25-minute walk on the highway towards Rhodes, after the Church of St. Nektarius. 
I recommend shopping there a good choice and the quality of the products, a lot of household items and mass market level cosmetics. Chicken is sold there only whole, from meat - pork in pieces for steaks or expensive pieces in packaging. There is a lot of fish; we didn’t find another place where they sell it. Before buying, be sure to ask the seller if you have chosen the fish - the names are in Greek, you may take squid by mistake. There is octopus and shrimp, but you need a good frying pan to cook them in your room.
In this store I bought myself Athenas treasures body lotion, it’s simple, it has many scents to choose from, there’s one with aloe without fragrance, in stores it’s 5 euros more expensive. Buying sunscreen there is very expensive - it costs from 12 euros, so stock up on it in advance.
By the way, cards are accepted in all stores, regardless of size; we only paid in cash in taxis.
On the other side of the highway opposite the church, a little further in, there is a butcher shop, there is a large selection, the meat, chicken, and minced meat are good, we bought enough for the entire vacation - the freezer allowed. All product prices are listed at the end of the story.
If necessary, you can find all the spices in Faliraki; they are sold in large quantities and the selection is interesting. But don’t rush to bring spice mixtures from there - they are quite expensive for tourists, but you can make them yourself at home. Similarly, you can buy a large canister of olive oil and add various additives to it at home; such a thing is also sold there, only in small bottles.
Faliraki has one main street with souvenir and clothing shops, clubs that become active at night. There are a couple of tattoo parlors and parlors for peeling legs with small fish.
Regarding prices: souvenirs in Rhodes are 1.5-2 euros cheaper and there is more choice. It is also better to buy silver jewelry in Rhodes, right on the way from the final bus stop to Old city(not in the old town itself). The rings there are definitely 2 times cheaper, they are very beautiful and suitable in case you are not sure of the size (they open up).
In Faliraki we liked an unusual magnet in the form of a bottle with sand and shells and a figurine on the neck, 3.5 euros. Regular magnets from 1.5 euros. In Rhodes you can definitely buy magnets with a piece of olive soap for 5 euros for 2 pieces Cheap interesting magnets can be bought in Symi, they are there for 1.5 euros per piece. Postcards are mostly anywhere from 25 cents. The rest is all pretty standard, but nice. Also, as gifts, we bought cloth napkins in Faliraki, from 3.5 euros, a ceramic figurine of a boat for 5 euros, and a mug with Greece for 3.5 euros.
Alcohol on the main street of Faliraki is more expensive, buy it in stores, when choosing Metaxa, choose a glass bottle, 5 stars is preferable to 3., from 4 euros. Local vodka (ouzo) can be bought as a gift in the supermarket, from 5 euros in gift wrapping.
The prices for clothes are the same as ours. Large selection of hats, cost from 8 euros
As a gift, you can buy a painting in Rhodes, they are wonderful here (15 euros is the optimal size, there are larger and smaller ones), you can take them with you to hand luggage. A beautiful scarf or stole can be purchased from 8 euros; in Rhodes for 25 euros you can buy 3 thick scarves. There is a very large selection of leather bags, there are nice backpacks, you can buy ones made of artificial leather for 25 euros. Prices for bags and backpacks are not fixed, you can try to bargain.
In Faliraki, at the end of the main street there is a Kolos bar, immediately after this bar there is a nice little shop where you can find unusual non-tourist gifts. There I bought myself a very nice bracelet for 4 euros, which matches the color of the local turquoise rings and looks decent for jewelry. Lovers of turquoise shades and similar ones - this is the place for you
In Greece, we discovered mini-racquets with a rubber ball, you can play them on the beach and in nature in St. Petersburg, from 3.5 euros.
As for cosmetics, there is a lot of it in Rhodes and the prices vary. I advise you to buy the one used by local cosmetologists; the price for a day cream is on average 30 euros.
Cafes and restaurants.
I highly recommend you visit two cafes in Faliraki: Kavos, it is located in front of the boat station, at the beginning of Katara beach, and Dimitra, it is located in the middle of Katafigou beach.
We tried several dishes in Kavos. 
I really liked the grilled octopus (9 euros), 
I didn’t like the kleftika (8.5 euros), but it’s not for everyone (baked lamb in cabbage with tomatoes). 
There were delicious pork chops with mushroom sauce (12 euros) and mussels with lemon juice (10 euros for half a kilo).
There is more choice in Dimitra. 
Our first time there we ordered a seafood platter (15 euros), one large plate for two for the whole evening, which included smelt, mussels, squid and breaded anchovies and grilled king prawns. I ordered tzatziki sauce (2.5 euros), in which we safely dipped it all. The second time we ordered shrimp in saganaki cheese (8.5 euros) and grilled octopus (9.5 euros). But I liked him better in Kavos. And the third time we took the grilled meat platter (18 euros), which is a huge plate with pork, beef, chicken, lamb, sausage and cutlet. Very tasty and great service :)
I am publishing a photo of the menu of one of the Greek cafes. 
All photographs from Rhodes can be viewed in my open album, there are about 500 of them, they big size, so I can’t upload them here, at the end of the album there are prices for souvenirs and cafes,
Rhodes is the main island of the Southern Sporades (Dodecanese) archipelago, located in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Turkey. There is a legend that when Rhodes rose from the sea, Apollo, the god of light, was so fascinated by its beauty that he bestowed his blessing on the island.
Magnificent nature and climate, many architectural monuments of various periods, from ancient Greek to modern, attract many tourists from all over the world. And, indeed, a holiday in Rhodes is an excellent alternative for those who want to combine business with pleasure. Here you can immerse yourself in the era of the ancient Greeks, touching the historical cultural monuments, enjoy the wonderful views of the small forests spread throughout the island, and also soak up the quiet sandy beaches Aegean Sea.
You can get to this paradise of the planet by plane or by ferry. You will have to navigate around the island itself public transport or a rented car. Experience seasoned tourists suggests that traveling by car around Rhodes is preferable, especially since there are no problems with renting.
Car rent
So, if you decide to travel around Rhodes by car, you need to know that:
- — You don’t need an international license to drive a car, a regular license with duplicate full name in Latin will do.
- — You can order a car through your Russian guide. He will give you Required documents, which will need to be presented to the car rental manager right at the hotel where you are staying. After signing all the papers and the insurance contract, you can safely pick up the car at 9.30 am.
- — You can also independently find a car that is convenient for you. Moreover, there are more than enough companies that offer to rent a car. The choice of cars is not very rich, but quite acceptable.
- — In both cases, you can be offered a compact car at a price of 40 EVRO per day (this is the price price). Moreover, if you rent a car on long term, then you have the opportunity to get a discount. For example, if a car is rented for a week, it will cost you 25-35 EVRO per day.
- — Choose a car with air conditioning and preferably a navigator, as it won’t take long to get lost on the Rhodes serpentines.
- — Don’t forget to pay attention to the amount of gasoline in the tank. The rental conditions are such that, as much fuel as there is, that’s what should be there when the car is returned to the company. And gasoline in Rhodes is expensive, about 1.8 EVRO per liter. There are plenty of gas stations in Rhodes, and you can pay for gasoline in cash or by bank transfer.
Finally, all formalities are settled, you are behind the wheel and are your own master and guide. You can travel by car around Rhodes both day and night, admiring the magnificent views of nature. You can think over a rich excursion program yourself and then slowly travel around the most worthy, in your opinion, monuments of ancient Greece.
Before you go, you should know that:
- — When traveling by car in Rhodes, you will certainly be informed that Greek law enforcement officers are very strict with violators on the roads. But, in fact, during your entire vacation on wheels, you are unlikely to encounter them. So, local drivers and foreigners do not hesitate to overtake through double solid roads, even ignoring mountain turns!
- — The roads in Rhodes are good, with clear markings. This fact does not detract from your need to be extremely careful on the road, as the terrain on the island is mountainous. Sharp ascents and descents, sharp turns make up the mountain serpentine of Rhodes.
- — At the beginning of the journey, you will have to get a little used to the new car and the peculiar driving style on the island. Be prepared for the fact that there are not always signs along the way with the names of the villages when entering and leaving them. In themselves populated areas The roadway is quite narrow and there are no parking spaces, so drivers park their cars directly on the roadway.
- — In the capital of Rhodes, be careful when parking. If you stop in the wrong place, you will have to pay a hefty fine.
- — There are quite a lot of cars, so the traffic in the city is like in the center of Moscow and it is not always possible to find a free space. Parking is paid.
- — Pay attention to the traffic lights. Instead of the usual one arrow, there are three of them - red, yellow and green. And 100 meters before the traffic light there is a warning sign flashing yellow.
Thanks to the car, you can visit:
The Valley of Butterflies, which is located 30 km from the capital near the village of Kalamonas. This is a unique natural reserve, which is filled with the life and movement of thousands of butterflies.
If you are an amateur extreme recreation, visit the tourist center of Kallithea - Faliraki. This is one of the most popular resorts an island known for its beaches and hotels, as well as excellent surfing opportunities. Two more are famous for their excellent surfing conditions - good waves and suitable winds. famous resort The islands are Ialyssos and Ixia.
If you come on vacation with children, then visit such tourist areas as Lindos, Embona, Archangelos, etc. They are different sandy beaches and quiet coves.
Rhodes is washed by two seas - the Aegean and Mediterranean. The first is notable for its strong waves and pebble beach, the second for its sandy beaches and smooth sea surface. At the confluence of two seas, an isthmus is formed, called the kiss of the seas. This is another natural wonder of Rhodes.
Of particular interest is Lindos with the ruins of the Temple of Athena. Leave your car at the top, away from the main road, in the free parking lot and go down to the gate to then go up to the very top high point and enjoy magnificent views of the Mediterranean coves, including the inverted heart-shaped St. Peter's Bay. The grandeur of the acropolis, walls knight's castle, the early Christian church, is certainly worthy of your attention.
It would take a long time to list all the sights of Rhodes that are worth looking at or even touching. In the excitement of tourism, you can travel around the entire island more than once. Thanks to the car, you will successfully combine relaxation on the beaches, a rich excursion program, and also feel the breath of antiquity from the magnificent ancient buildings of Greece.
For those who want to see Rhodes by car in 2018, here is our trip report. By the beginning of September, our capabilities finally coincided with our desires, and we got ready to go on vacation warm sea and the gentle sun. The trip was planned to Greece on the island of Rhodes. At the beginning of autumn there are not many tourists here, and this is only a big plus for us.
The best place to stay on the island of Rhodes is in the city of Rhodes itself. It has already been tested many times - this is the most better place in terms of infrastructure and choice. From here the most convenient way to travel around Rhodes is by car. Yes, we lived in both Faliraki and Lindos, but we felt in real village. You can only stay there during peak season. The rest of the time - if you are very tired of people.
And it is from the pier in the city of Rhodes that ships sail to boat trips. You can buy a ticket right there and join the excursion. We once bought tickets for 10 euros, and the people who were traveling with us bought tickets for 100 euros from tour operators. Just like that, 10 times more expensive for the fact that they were collected on a bus, transported in circles and brought to the pier. And we calmly walked from our hotel.
So, we chose the capital of the island, the old town of Rhodes, as our city of residence during our vacation. There is a wonderful little private hotel, in which we rented an apartment with three rooms. We spent the first day of our trip, as tourists should, on the beach, thoroughly enjoying the sun, sea, delicious wine and wonderful dishes in a local restaurant.
Here we decided to rent a car in order to see the sights of Rhodes by car on our own. We decided not to delay the implementation of our plans and went to fulfill our desire the very next day.
To its credit, the locals here are extremely hospitable and friendly. There are three ways to rent a car in Rhodes: at the airport, by contacting a tour operator or by visiting special rental shops called “Rodos cars”.
The most in a simple way It turned out to be a visit to the rental office - they are here literally at every turn. Moreover, this is the cheapest and most economically beneficial option. The girl administrator from the local “Rodos Cars” was very kind to us, answered all our questions and helped us figure out the nuances. The whole setup took 20 minutes. international law were not needed, Russian ones were enough.
We chose the Chevrolet Matiz model, its consumption is 5 liters per 100 km. This pleasure costs 90 euros per day. Despite the fact that the machine is quite small, it wonderfully accommodates two tall man with water, food and wetsuits. And we went to see the sights of Rhodes on our own by car.
Rhodes is an island washed by the Mediterranean and Aegean Sea. We started from the Mediterranean side, since here is the capital of the island - the city of Rhodes.
What to see in Rhodes on your own by car? One of the most interesting attractions of Rhodes is the confluence of two seas. The Mediterranean Sea is calm and blue, while the Aegean is stormy and emerald green. The boundary between them is clearly visible, the water does not mix - the spectacle is literally breathtaking.
You should definitely see the old city of Rhodes, stroll through the fortress, and see the Palace of the Masters. Once upon a time the Knights Hospitaller lived here and it seems that every stone preserves the memory of those days.
Gas stations in Rhodes
Of course, we had to refuel in Rhodes, and there is a lot to talk about. There are no gas stations like we are used to seeing here. More precisely, there is, but outside the city limits it is quite rare. Instead, among the houses and cafes there are small shops where gasoline is sold in 1-liter bottles (cost 1.5 euros).
At gas stations, employees fill up the car, and a full tank cost us 30 euros. Just like in your homeland, you can buy all sorts of little things here. But not all gas stations operate around the clock, or rather, we did not notice a single gas station operating at night. Most often, after 19 o'clock they are all closed. We did not find automatic gas stations like in Cyprus, which operate 24 hours.
Around the islands are coming The main road has four lanes (two on each side) and all gas stations are mainly concentrated around it. Due to this, if you decide to go deeper into Rhodes, it is better to refuel, otherwise you will have to return. It will take about an hour to cross the island of Rhodes by car.
You don't need any special driving skills here. All traffic rules in Rhodes come down to a few traffic lights and only two signs: “Roundabout” and “Brick”. But there are quite a lot of signs here - but if you have a navigator, you can ignore them. Moreover, the local residents themselves carefully ensure that everything is fine with you. For example, while traveling around Rhodes by car, passers-by stopped us in the evening to tell us that we had forgotten to turn on the headlights, and they also treated us to grapes.
It’s interesting that in all our time independent travel driving around Rhodes in 2018, we never came across recording cameras, patrol cars or police stations. We haven't seen a single accident on the road.
In the capital of the island, traffic is a one-way roundabout and at first causes confusion. As expected, confused, we drove in the oncoming lane. An oncoming passerby, seeing our chaos on the road, stopped, kindly and with a smile explained that they don’t drive like that, and also gave a signal to the cars so that they would allow us to reverse out of the oncoming traffic. Everything is very cultured, polite, and even somehow lifts the mood, despite the situation itself.
Near the beach in the capital Rhodes, as well as in other parts of the city, it is extremely difficult to find a parking space. There are several other features: there are no tow trucks; all cars are very compact and there are many scooters; There are no road markings throughout the island, except for the capital; Everyone parks extremely neatly and compactly, and not wherever they want.
Rhodes, what to see by car: Faliraki
Our first stop on our trip to Rhodes by car is Faliraki. We are already familiar with this place; it can be called a smaller copy of the city of Rhodes. Everything is here, just in smaller quantities. Mostly hotels along the coast with their own beaches, which cannot be said about Rhodes, where all the hotels are city and the beaches are public. We lived here before and chose two cool hotels - and. I wanted to return to Faliraki to see familiar places that we missed.
What to see in Rhodes on your own by car: Tsambika Beach
We read a lot of positive reviews about this beach, and we couldn’t help but drop into this place while traveling around Rhodes by car to swim and have a snack. The beach lives up to the rave reviews: fine, very pleasant sand, literally clear water, you can rent a sunbed for 5 euros. In addition, there is a cafe here, waterslides, toilets, showers. The place is quiet and beautiful, and therefore ideal for a family holiday.
In a cafe on the coast you can only eat fast food, so for a set lunch we drove to the nearest restaurant in Rhodes. The service here is excellent, the food is very tasty, and the portions are simply huge. So, if you decide to order a salad, you can safely take one for two - that’s enough. It is also interesting that even during rush hour, dishes are served to everyone at the same time and quickly, there is no need to wait. In general, the cost of a set lunch for two will cost 50 euros in a place where there are many tourists, and in a village on the island you can have lunch for 30 euros. You should definitely try the real Greek salad, moussaka, grilled seafood and local wine (unless, of course, you are driving). 🙂
What to visit in Rhodes by car: Felerimos
On our way through Rhodes by car, we came across the local landmark Felerimos, and we could not help but visit it. For those who don't know, this is a hill with a huge cross on which there is Observation deck and offers stunning views of the island. Nearby there is a peacock park and a beautiful monastery.
Of course, we visited the birds: we took photos for memory and collected a whole bouquet of peacock feathers, since they were literally lying under our feet. The monastery, unfortunately, was closed, but this place still deserves attention. There is a wonderful garden and park here, so we enjoyed the walk, walking in the shade of the trees and contemplating the beautiful birds that run around here like chickens.
Rhodes, sights on your own by car: Lindos
Lindos – romantic place, which we encountered further on our way through Rhodes by car. A small bay in the shape of a heart, strewn with small white houses - very beautiful. At the top there is a cool observation deck with views of the whole of Lindos. Buses with tourists stop here sightseeing tour. This is one of the most photographed places on the island. We visited this landmark of Rhodes on our own by car.
In Lindos we went down to the shore to swim. The water is clean and very warm, there is silence and harmony all around. In the houses that rise straight up the cliff, there are small hotels, shops and cafes. The place is unusually colorful. Newlyweds come here to take beautiful wedding photos.
All sorts of very appetizing aromas came from local cafes. We just wanted to go to the owner’s cafe for her cinnamon rolls and a cup of aromatic coffee. This is the peculiarity of Greece - everything is warm, cozy, and homely.
Rhodes by car 2018: Prasonisi
After 7 hours of traveling around Rhodes by car with all the stops, we reached the southern point of the island, to a place with the romantic name “Kiss of the Two Seas”. Here two seas touch, the Mediterranean and the Aegean.
Kitesurfing and windsurfing are practiced here, and the coast has everything you need for safe sports and have a wonderful holiday: instructors, rental of costumes and equipment, hotels and camping, shops and cafes. By the way, the cost of equipment and an hour of classes is 50 euros. Most often people come to this attraction of Rhodes by car.
This isthmus is really unique place. You admire Mediterranean Sea, and cool fresh air from the Aegean Sea blows over you. The only drawback is that the parking lot is sandy, and we had to tinker with the car a little.
While we were admiring the beauty of this place, night fell. We decided to return to the capital along the Aegean side, which is less developed and does not attract tourists as much. Apart from pebble beaches, rocks, strong winds, and an airport, there is nothing else here. But this place is ideal for surfers.
The road back by car through Rhodes was difficult: the roads are practically unlit, very narrow and often pass over cliffs. That's why maximum speed movement – 60 km/h. My advice: either go to Prasonisi in the morning and return before dark, or stay overnight here.
In the morning we still had time before returning the car, and we went by car in Rhodes to the Valley of the Butterflies, located on the Aegean side of the island, not far from the city.
The valley is more like a damp and dark gorge and costs 10 euros to enter. As expected in such places, the butterflies are all black, sitting in the shade on black trees. So, contrary to expectations, we never saw the heavenly heavens with God’s creatures of all colors. We left disappointed, and we do not recommend visiting this place.
It's time to return the car
When I had to give the car back in Rhodes, I felt a little sad. But what was surprising was that there were no searches, checks, or cleaning. We just arrived, handed over the keys and that’s it! No one inspected the car, did not ask if there was gasoline in the tank, they simply took our keys and kindly wished us a pleasant stay.
She made an invaluable contribution to European culture. Literature, architecture, philosophy, history, other sciences, state system, laws, art and myths of ancient Greece laid the foundation of modern European civilization. Greek gods known all over the world.
