Rhodes Island was the first part of our honeymoon adventure in Greece! Akshay and I were so lucky to be able to experience so many different islands in such a short period of time. This first post is about Rhodes, which has awesome history dating back to the Crusades!
Each of the islands in Greece really do have something special and unique to offer. Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese Islands and is about an hour flight from Athens. This island is actually split into two sections: Old and New Town. We stayed on the island for 3 days before heading to our next destination, which in my opinion, was plenty of time to get acquainted with the culture.
I listed out 5 things that you must try and see if you ever find yourself in this beautiful town:
1. Kokkina Porta Rossa: Akshay and I fell in love with this island mainly because of the boutique hotel we stayed at. If you do visit, I strongly recommend staying at Kokkini Porta Rossa. Nikos and Angela, the owners, are one of the best hosts I have ever come across. They were both so attentive, caring, and really made us feel at home. When we arrived, they provided us with an LTE connected iPad that also included a customized app with suggestions of things to do and places to eat. Every morning, we would wake up to fresh homemade breakfast that I still crave even 3 months later. We stayed in the Michaelis Suite, which included a beautiful garden courtyard with an outdoor deep soaking bathtub. Don’t worry, they also have an indoor shower in the room!
2. Walk the Defense Walls of Old Town: The defense walls are only open during certain hours of the day. The entrance is located right outside the Palace of the Grand Master and is about 2-3 Euros. The walk around the colony is only about a 20-30 minutes and has so many amazing views. Akshay especially enjoyed it because it reminded him of Game of Thrones. Also, the exit is literally right across from our hotel, Kokkini Port Rossa (another reason to stay at this wonderful hotel).
3. Explore Rhodes Old Town: There are seven gates that allow access into Old Town. Apparently, only drivers with certain specialized permits are allowed to drive inside. The town is pretty small, with a bustling city center in the middle. While walking through this area, beware of the restaurants as they are tourist traps and won’t have authentic, tasty Greek food (Akshay’s note: Anywhere you see parrots is a no-go (yes, really).) We ate in the less crowded areas and the food and atmosphere was one hundred times better. We visited a few tourist areas including: Palace of the Grand Master, The Street of the Knights, The Clock Tower, Virgin Mary of the Burgh, and of course the moat! Also, in the middle of the town center, there is a really cool wine bar where we hung out for a little bit. Surprisingly, it wasn’t crowded and the owners were really nice.
4. Lindos: Nikos convinced us to hire a driver to take us to this beautiful town about one and a half hours away from Old Town. It was such a delightful place and I am so glad we carved out some time to visit. We were there for about half a day, leaving around 4pm and arriving back at the hotel around 10pm. We spent most of our time climbing the Acropolis of Lindos. After, we found a nice outdoor cafe to enjoy some fresh orange juice and to read our kindles (we actually did that quite a bit during our trip). After, we walked over to Melenos Rooftop where we were able to catch a beautiful sunset and enjoy a delicious dinner. I have to say Lindos is a very romantic town.
5. Rhodes New Town: Since you’re here, I would recommend taking a quick walk to the other side. The harbor is really pretty and there are some small shops and cafes to take a peek at. However, we weren’t as blown away with this side of town.
One restaurant we would recommend in Old Town is a pretty little rooftop café called Marco Polo. The service was wonderful, the food was delicious, and the décor and style was so cozy and chic. The servers really took the time to explain the menu and make us feel very welcome. Also, Akshay and I are not huge fan of lamb, but we tried the lamb skewers and we both really loved it.
I would say Old Town was our favorite for sure. I mean come on, it’s a fort surrounded by towering castle walls and a moat! A dried out moat, but a moat nevertheless. It was a perfect honeymoon spot with plenty of time to explore, but also time for us to relax, read our kindles, and enjoy.
