Rhodes island holiday travel tips
If you can’t find any cheap flights to Greece and instead travel by boat to the scenic Greek Island of Rhodes for your holiday, one of the first postcard views you’ll see is the beautiful Mandraki Harbour pictured below.
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese island chain and the fourth largest of all Greek islands, and is a paradise for holiday travel.
According to Greek legend, this was where the famous Colossus of Rhodes was built to become one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The awesome Grand Master’s Palace dominates the background and in the foreground is the domed New Market.
Rhodes holiday travel guide
Mandraki Harbour in Rhodes is usually crammed with sea vessels during the Greek summer, predominantly international yachts.
The harbour also accommodates local ferry and excursion boats with daily holiday cruises that travel to Symi, Lindos, Kallithea, different beaches, bays and nearby islands such as Kos.
Two bronze statues of a stag and a doe guard the entrance to Mandraki Harbour, which was once straddled by the massive Colossus of Rhodes before the huge bronze statue of the Greek god Helios was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC and disappeared - according to legend.
Rhodes is 260 nautical miles from the Italian port of Piraeus. You can also get direct holiday flights from many European capitals as well as Athens, Thessaloniki and various Greek islands.
The Island of Rhodes has an excellent international airport on its west coast about 15 kilometres from the City of Rhodes.
You can find cheap holiday flights to Rhodes but the island is expensive and it’s not easy to find discount hotels.
Rhodes is a getaway for the European rich or for anybody who can afford to spend a week or two soaking up a holiday suntan. Cheap meals and discount hotels are scarce on Rhodes, an island often called the Pearl of the Mediterranean.
Superb beaches surround the entire island and beach access is free. You’ll find waves and windsurfing on the west coast and placid, safe waters on the east coast.
Rhodes holiday travel tips
The landscape of Rhodes is mountainous and predominantly green with pine trees, creating an idyllic holiday setting. The weather is mild to sunny throughout the year.
Bicycles, motorbikes and mopeds are a common mode of holiday travel in Rhodes and there are rental companies everywhere.
It’s worth haggling with local car hire companies as you can often knock their price down. Most of the locals speak English plus one or two other languages so it’s not difficult getting local information during your holiday travel.
Tourists and backpackers low on travel money in Rhodes can find buses networked across the entire island (main terminal is located on Eleftherias Square).
Rhodes even has Tourist Police whose job is to basically make sure all the tourists are happy and enjoying their holiday travel.
Travellers from most western countries can holiday on Rhodes for up to three months without a visa.
According to Greek mythology, Rhodes began when the god Zeus became master of the world. He forgot to give a portion of it to the sun god Helios, who asked instead for any land which was to rise out of the sea.
As he spoke, Rhodes apparently bubbled to the surface of the Aegean Sea, covered with flowers, and the sun god has since bathed it with his own radiance to make it the most popular tourist island in the region.
Myth also has it that the name sprang from the love of Helios for the nymph Rhodes, daughter of the sea god Poseidon, and that the first inhabitants were a strange and magical race of men called the Telchines, who were gifted metal workers.
Rhodes holiday travel and tour guide
In reality, Rhodes has a fascinating history dating back before Troy and has at various times been a commercial, cultural and military power across the Mediterranean.
The Town of Rhodes was created as the island capital during the Peloponnesian War in 408 BC when the island’s three major cities of Lindus, Ialysus, and Cameirus banded together to build a beautiful new city at the northern tip of Rhodes.
Perhaps the most visible remnants of history are the impregnable walls (up to 12 metres high), gates, hospitals, churches, palaces and inns which give Rhodes its unique character.
This was mostly the architecture of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, who took unpopular control of the island in 1309.
The Knights ruled Rhodes for 213 years until they were overthrown in 1522 by Suleiman the Magnificent from Turkey.
The island was held by the Turks till the beginning of the 20th century when it was occupied by Italy and then Britain before the flag of Greece was finally raised over the Governor’s Palace on March 7, 1948. In 1988, Rhodes gained a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
One of the most impressive buildings in the old city is the 14th century Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. This enormous palace houses relics from the medieval period as well as ancient sculptures and ornate first century floor mosaics.
Located in the south-east Aegean Sea, Rhodes island is very close to Turkey.
The town of Rhodes is nowadays a magical burrow of narrow lanes skirted by ancient houses with an abundance of arches, elegant gardens and shops from a bygone era. About 6,000 people live within the walls of the Town of Rhodes, which has restaurants, bars and cafes scattered throughout to ensure you’re well fed and merry during your holiday travel.
Frequent buses take tourists just out of the town of Rhodes to Monte Smith, site of the ancient acropolis where the stadium and theatre have been restored along with a few remains and reconstructed columns from the temples of Zeus, Athena and Apollo.
Rhodes island holiday travel tips
One of the most beautiful villages of Rhodes is Lindos, where an acropolis rises above traditional white houses within the picturesque, beach-lined harbour of Ayios Pavlos.
“Must see” tourist attractions include the Castle of the Knights, the Great Stoa, an ancient theatre, the byzantine church of St John, the Temple of Dionyss and the Temple of Athena Lindia from the 4th century BC.
About 700 people live in Lindos, where homes date as far back as the 15th century. The beach area has plenty of restaurants and tavernas, along with watersports of all kinds.
Rhodes island has superb weather, boisterous nightlife, stunning beaches and a rich heritage, making it an enviable holiday travel destination throughout the year.