Rhodes Family Holidays

Rhodes Best Beaches and Watersports

• Head to the east side of the island for almost continuous sandy beaches and calm waters.

• On the northeast coast, enjoy 4km Afandou, the island's longest beach, with pebbles and sand, good facilities, calm shallow waters, and a high-season mini-train to the large, attractive. traditional working village of Afandou itself, 2km inland, with restaurants, tavernas, bars and shops. Afandou also has an 18-hole golf course overlooking the sea. Nearby Kolymbia also has authentic charm and lots of restaurants and cafés popular with locals. 

• Drive or take a taxi 10 minutes south from Afandou to Tsampika, a lovely long sandy beach surrounded by pretty hills, with water sports, a mini-market and snack bars.

• Head 5km south of Afandou to Faliraki, with the best Rhodes water park, a fun park and a go-kart track. The resort itself is hectic, but the beach is long and sandy, with lots of tavernas and jet-ski hire. If you do stay here, the hotels near the water park are more popular with families than clubbers.

• For surfing and kiteboarding, go west, where the sea tends to be rough (and the beaches mainly pebbly), or to the south – especially Gennadi Beach and Prasonisi, linked by an unspoilt stretch of coast.

Rhodes History and Culture

• Explore elegant Rhodes Town, the capital, in the north. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it has a remarkably well-preserved, atmospheric Old Town with medieval fortifications, mosques, cobbled streets and inviting squares. 

• Discover the popular beach resort, marina and archaeological site of Lindos on the east coast, overlooked by its acropolis, fortified by the Greeks then the Romans, Byzantines, Knights of St John and Ottomans. The charming if touristy village itself has cobbled streets lined by 16th-18th-century "captains' houses" and old churches, and cars are banned in favour of donkeys, bikes and mopeds.

• Drive across to Apollakia on the east coast, where the castle of Monolithos is an impressive clifftop ruin with divine views.

Rhodes Days Out

• Between mid-June and late September, spend a day at the nature park of Butterfly Valley (Petaloudes) 25km southwest of Rhodes Town, to see some of its dwindling population of black-and-white striped moths. It has a hiking trail up to the Kalopetra Monastery, wooden bridges, cascading streams and a small natural history museum.

• Pair Butterfly Valley with the nearby ancient archaeological site and medieval sanctuary of Filerimos Hill with its 14th-century monastery, wild peacocks and spectacular coastal views.

• In the east of the island, discover Seven Springs (Epta Pines), a forest oasis where natural springs merge into a river and artificial lake, and where you can wade barefoot though a tunnel of spring water, spot wildlife including turtles and eat traditional grills at a family taverna, shaded by vast plane trees.

•  Hop on a boat and head further afield, from Rhodes Town to the unspoilt island of Symi north-west of the island or even to Marmaris in southern Turkey.