My Little Treasures

Whilst staying in Rhodes Town you have a few transport options at your disposal should you wish to further explore the island. Organised coaches and local buses run from a central terminus or you could hire a car for a day or two. But we love a boat trip and at the Mandraki Marina front you'll find a host of companies offering various boat excursions to Symi and Lindos comprising of day trips, swimming stopovers, lunch included, parties etc. Not being interested in any of those frills we were keen to get there and back in the shortest possible time whilst ensuring we had enough time to fully explore our destinations.

Symi, main town of the Island of Symi

So for our first trip we opted for a morning ferry to the Island of Symi which left from the cruise terminal and took an hour and thirty minutes to reach the ridiculously beautiful Symi Town, which is located twenty five miles northwest of Rhodes and is also part of the Dodecanese group of islands.

The colourful houses of Symi

Arrival by boat to the town of Symi is an absolute joy as you gently approach the archetypal picture perfect Mediterranean town. A myriad of pastel coloured and white washed houses are beautifully layered on a steep rich green slopes and reflect in the crystal clear waters. It takes your breath away.

Symi, from one of the many vantage points above the town

The first thing we did was to climb the steep steps of Kali Strata (which are accessible from just off the the harbour) and explore the Upper Town, Ano Symi. The colours of the steps and the buildings are a joy to the senses and the views are completely stunning. It is a tiny gem of a place.

The stunning island of Symi

We took lunch at the charming Georgio and Maria's restaurant, hidden up high above the harbour and only a few folk (obviously in the know) were in there enjoying the wonderful food. It's an excellent alternative to the busy harbourside. In this great airy location we ate a light lunch of tzatziki, courgette balls and a Greek salad with an ice-cold beers and it was superb, a real highlight of the holiday.

George's and Maria restaurant, Symi

We still had enough time to walk back down to the very pretty harbour at Symi, explore the shops and grab a beer before the leisurely return boat trip back to Rhodes. A very relaxing day trip.

The harbour at Symi Town

Any trip to Rhodes isn't complete without visiting Lindos. It has the beach, a white-washed village and an Acropolis magnificently perched on the high cliffs above. This time our transport was a high speed boat, again from the Mandraki Marina. It was a bouncy but relaxing boat trip, hugging the Rhodes Island coastline east to Lindos, and took about an hour.

Lindos Acropolis

It makes sense to climb the Acropolis first. There is a steep walk to reach the entrance gates then you are treated to spectacular views of the Aegean Sea, the beach at Lindos and the incredible white-washed town. And the Acropolis isn't too bad either. This was our third visit to an Acropolis this year following on from the sites in Athens and Rhodes. The cliff-top archaeological site is understandably awash with instagrammers. Sometimes I do reminisce for the old days when there would just have been one or two geeks like me with a 35mm camera taking photos, carefully discerning every one of the 36 exposures available on each roll of film. 

The white-washed houses of Lindos

Wandering the narrow lanes and alleys of Lindos can be a touch claustrophobic at peak times. As with Rhodes Old Town I suspect the ambiance is much more attractive once the day trippers (like us!) have gone home. There are plenty of excellent restaurants to grab lunch and we checked out the beach front and even managed to sneak in a beer before getting the boat back north to Rhodes Town.

Pretty church in Lindos Town overlooking the beach

As our time on Rhodes meandered to its relaxing conclusion, one morning listening to the Radcliffe and Maconie radio programme on BBC 6Music we got our (now) traditional holiday shout-out after emailing into the show. Stuart Maconie described our morning run around the Acropolis followed by breakfast on the roof terrace then added. "What lives you people lead!".
It's hard to disagree.

Lighthouse at Saint Nicholas Fortress, Rhodes