So I am sitting on the plane, going home form this little holiday I took through the tour agency.

Before I started writing, I definitely thought that I will have a full list of cons for this particular trip, but as sadness of leaving and going back to the wet and cold Autumn kicks in all the negative things sort of drift away into “I don’t want to care” category.

However as I do like my lists and maybe someday it will be useful to look back and remember where was what I will put it all down.

Rhodes Island is surrounded by two different seas. On the west coast Aegean Sea and on the east cost Mediterranean Sea. I believe it majorly effects the whole island and holiday experience you might get depending on where you stay and what you are after. West coast is more popular with water sports enthusiast due to stronger winds and as a result bigger waves. Also it is less popular with typical tourists, roads are more difficult to navigate as they go up and down the mountainous area. So driving the same distance from top of the island down on the west cost will take much longer than on the east. It is very picturesque and even though we have not done it, but there are Rhodes safari jeep tours you can take and they drive you around everywhere on a non paved roads. It looked fun.

East side of the island and Mediterranean Sea is definitely more suitable for swimming or enjoying a day at the beach. The water is much quieter and crystal clear. Roads are pretty good, without any major twists and turns, as this part of the island is much flatter, so travelling down the coast from Rhodes town to Prasonisi (the very bottom of the island) which is about 90km will only take just over an hour.

Prasionisi is the place where as local say the two seas share a kiss. It only happens in winter though, when the water levels rise. Now that spot is a fantastic beach where you can clearly see how crazy and wild Aegean Sea is compared to Mediterranean Sea as you can take a dip in one and walk across the beach to the other and go for a swim there. It was really something. Also if the winds are not too strong (first time we went there it was crazy windy!) you can hike to the light house which actually is the bottom point of the island. It is about 2km from the two seas beach and although the initial hill is pretty steep later it gets easier. The lighthouse itself looks abandoned and there is nothing else there so its quiet and can be a bit creepy. I really liked it though.

We stayed in a village called Kremsti on the west coast. Our travelling period – last week of September. This time is still considered the “high” season by the locals even though it definitely did not look this way in our village. Restaurants and bars which were very few were also very empty. On the other hand Rhodes city and Lindos which are the biggest towns on this island were still packed with tourists. If I was to travel to Rhodes again I would definitely choose to stay somewhere around Lindos or in Lindos itself. I really like the town, it was very clean, people were friendly and not “jumping” on you offering to buy their merchandise. Some of the best dinners during our stay we had on rooftops of Lindos restaurants. “Timis place” has one of the tallest rooftops, is not crazy expensive, about 15 eur for a main course and 4 eur for a glass of wine, not the widest selection of deserts, but staff was very relaxed yet attentive. Trip advisor number one recommendation in Lindos in 2016. “Byzantino” is this years, 2017 trip advisor recommendation to eat out in Lindos. This is not how we came across it, but I am glad we did. Rooftop does not offer as great views as “Timis place”, because it has a pretty tall fence surrounding it, but I guess it is useful when it gets windy as you are protected. Food was really good and just a little bit more expensive than in the other restaurant. I would gladly come back to both of those places.

Lindos has a city beach which has all the amenities you would want in a nice beach. Bathroom, shower and sun beds. You have to pay 5 euro per day for the use of a sunbed and an umbrella though.

Lindos has a castle, we did not go there as the entrance costs 12euro and it did not feel like the good value for money in that particular day we climbed there, now I sort of wish we would have done it as I am curious to see whether my judgment was wrong.

Overall I was very happy with Lindos and would like to come back here again. In my opinion it is a great first date town. It offers nice food, beautiful walks if you want to “get lost” in between those tiny houses and narrow streets, clean sandy beach and a castle on the hill which does look really nice from the outside. Not sure about the accommodation since I did not stay there, but according to the booking.com prices varies and everyone can find the best deal for themselves.

Rhodes town I did not like that much. It is a beautiful place no doubt, but for me it was too crowded with tourists and people trying to sell you things were too enthusiastic.

OK, because I feel really strongly about the hotel where we were actually staying with my sister I will write about it too. It is called “Bayside Katsaras” and is ranked as a 4 star hotel and this is how it was sold to us as a packaged deal from our holiday tour provider. ALL LIES!!!! (Ok I am dramatising a little of course) it is more like a 2 star hotel, which has its own access to the beach hence could aim for the 3d star. That’s were main advantages end. We had breakfast as part of the deal and I am not even joking, it was not edible. I did not see a single happy person eating that breakfast there. It seemed like they would boil some eggs on Monday and would keep serving them throughout the week as well as the rest of the food, because it would gradually get more and more disgusting. (I swear, I am not a picky eater and my stomach can handle a lot, but even I felt sick after first few attempts to eat it, later we just gave up) Oh and I think one of the biggest disadvantages which somehow I did not find anywhere mentioned before is the airport. I mean the hotel is very close to the airport, so close that planes literally fly over your head, with all the noise and all. I am a very heavy sleeper, I can sleep anywhere, standing sitting, trains, planes, busses, cars or boats. BUT my GOD it was like trying to sleep in the airport on the landing strip. I am not even joking, it was really that bad. You would have to stop all the conversations to wait for the plane to pass and there are a lot of planes surprisingly. SO if you are ever in Rhodes I strongly recommend to avoid that hotel or maybe even the village itself because there are much nicer places to stay on the island for the same money.

If you are still with me at the end of this, I hope you find the info useful. Also if you ever find yourself in the place which does not meet your expectations, don’t let it ruin your mood, if tour providers can’t sort it out for you take matters into your own hands and well you can always rent a car and drive elsewhere. If you do not drive, maybe your travelling companion does. If neither, maybe its time for the new resolution and start learning.

Cheers with the elephant in the glass.