Rhodes - Relaxation, sightseeing and crystal clear waters.

As many of you will know, I’ve just returned from Rhodes this week, so while it is fresh in my memory, I thought I would write about our trip. It was just myself and Chris (my husband) on our first adults-only proper holiday since before we had kids. We were very much looking forward to having a break away just the two of us.

We stayed at the Mitsis Alila Resort, which is based between Faliraki and Kallithea. It is placed perfectly, you can walk to Faliraki, which is about 4km away. The hotel itself is a very luxurious 5* hotel with its own section of beach. We were in an amazing Junior Suite with our own Jacuzzi on the balcony with an incredible sea view.

There is a bus stop just up the road from the hotel where you can get a bus direct into Rhodes Town. This is a must do! The bus cost us €2.40 each and is about 20 minutes into Rhodes town. It drops you off right by the old town. We walked over 20 thousand steps just exploring this beautiful place. We went into the palace which was €6 each. You can pay €10 each which gives you entry into the palace, and two other monuments in the area. The palace was so pretty and it was a welcome break from the heat. Also, right outside the entrance to the palace is the entrance to the wall, which you can walk around which is €2 per person. This was great and just over 3km long and the views were spectacular. I would recommend doing it yourself other than a tour as it’s just so easy to do.

We hired a car and spent two whole days exploring the entire island. We went to Lindos and climbed the acropolis, which was €12 per person (entry to the acropolis) and the rest of the area is free to walk around. The beach there is very pretty and picturesque. Being at the top of the hills you can get some incredible pictures of the white buildings and some beautiful sea views. We also drove to the very bottom of the island and visited a beautiful beach called Prasonisi. It has the sea coming in from both sides with quite high winds, so this place was a windsurfer haven. The beach was so golden it was beautiful.

Another incredible trip we went on was to the Valley of the Butterflies, this place is breath taking. A disclaimer, if you don’t like bugs or butterflies, avoid it like the plague as they are everywhere! If you don’t mind, it is so worth it. It has over 17 floors worth of steps going up to a monastery right at the top. The views from up there were just breath-taking. I felt like I was going to die on the ascent, but it was totally worth it. Coming back down was so much easier, and you saw quite a lot more as it wasn’t physically draining. There were lots of little streams and waterfalls which were just so pretty.

There are a lot of incredible boat trips, one in particular that we did we visited three bays; Anthony Quinn Bay, Ladiko Bay and Kallithea Springs. The water in these bays was so clear it looked like a giant swimming pool. Of course, we had to jump in, it was so warm.

Our trip to Rhodes was just so incredible and we explored so much of the island. The locals were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for us, and the food was just to die for. All in all, I would recommend Rhodes to everyone.