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Find a holiday on Rhodes in Greece

Many holidaymakers come to Rhodes for a hot and sunny summer beach holiday. Good weather is almost 100% guaranteed during the summer; long scorching days with cloudless blue skies. The sea is warm and there are plenty of places to relax and enjoy cool drinks.

One of the biggest pleasures on holiday in Rhodes is to sit at a beachside taverna and watch the waves lap at the beach.  Lazy days are assured. People emerge onto the streets of towns and resorts in the cooler evening, to eat at the numerous restaurants, drink and chat in the bars.

There are perfect holiday settings for everyone in Rhodes, the island is big enough to have busy tourist centres, tranquil villages, secluded retreats and plenty of independent holiday homes that allow for privacy, both on the coast and in the countryside. Nowhere is far from the beach if you have a hire car.

The main population is centred around Rhodes Town in the north. The Rhodes Diagoras International Airport is in the northwest of the island, about 20 minutes drive from Rhodes Town.  A string of good sandy beaches runs north of the airport: Ialysos, Ixia and all the way up to and around the town of Rhodes. Theologos Beach to the south of the airport coast also has Blue Flag status and offers water sports galore. The coast south of Theologos is natural and undeveloped for tourism, it tends to be rocky with narrow strips of beach, both sand and pebble.  

Holiday resorts are dotted the length of the east coast and these feature multinational all-inclusive type complexes, some Greek hotels and hundreds of villas to rent.  There are big hotels along the best beaches going south, although most are concentrated not too far from the airport. An airport transfer by coach which drops people off at a string of hotels en-route could take up to two hours to reach the furthest hotels. Hiring a car at the airport and driving halves that journey.  

Each beach along the east coast has a distinctive character. Most of the popular beaches are sandy, although one or two such as the Anthony Quinn Beach defy the norm. Faliraki is very well known as a lively British tourist hotspot. Despite that, the beach is excellent and offers a wide choice of water sports and attractions.  It is eminently suited to families.  Kalithea Beaches north of Faliraki offer a selection of sandy coves sheltered by rocks and cliffs. Going southwards, Mandomata Beach and Anthony Quinn Beach follow on from Faliraki. These have a unique history and appeal. Traganou Beach is a lengthy pebble beach. The next one is Afandou, another good sandy beach with rows of sunbeds and parasols. Tsampika Beach offers deep sands in a curve of bay. Then there is the smaller Stegna Beach and even smaller beaches such as Kokkini Ammos and Red Sand Beach. Agia Agathi Beach is another spot to rent a sunbed with an umbrella and relax on the sands.

The beaches become sand and shingle again at Kalathos and the incline into the sea is too steep to be safe for children although it’s fine for adults who just want to sunbathe in peace and quiet.  The town of Lindos lies two miles further south and this offers arguably the best beaches for young children because of sands that gently shelve into the shallow sea in the bay. Lindos tends to become extremely busy in the summer and has lots to offer in terms of atmosphere, scenery and attractions. St Pauls Beach lies around the headland and offers a smaller less busy alternative.

Pefki or Pefkos, a little further south of Lindos has a huge following, people return year after year. It has a collection of smaller sandy beaches, lots of restaurants and a wide selection of holiday accommodation, both hotels and private holiday rentals.   It is the kind of place where people make friends and get to know them better as the years go by.

Just up the road is Glistra Beach which is a little gem of a beach. Soft golden sand that dips slowly into the sea surrounded by a small sheltered cove. There is a beach bar with toilets and a car park. The main road leas on to Kiotari and another swathe of excellent sands. There are several large hotel chains here and a holiday village, shops and supermarket.

Kiotari Beach continues south towards the village of Gennadi. The beach changes character in that it is completely natural, there is no grooming of the beach by hotel chains; bamboo canes lie where they fall, sea daffodils flourish in clumps all the way down the coast. This is nature’s domain. A prominent feature of Gennadi Beach is the wide variety and colour range of pebbles on the beach and the fact that it stretches for miles all the way down to a luxury hotel and spa. Plimiri Beach is home to another large holiday complex and water sports centre in South Rhodes. Tui have a large family holiday resort there with watersports. It’s the most distant resort from the airport. The beach is of grey sand and curves into a small harbour at one end. A fish taverna stands behind the harbour and is somewhere to go to enjoy squid, octopus, fish and prawns. The road past the taverna leads to a small rocky shore that is battered by the waves.
There is the small beach of Agios Georgios further on

The main attractions in this part of Rhodes are the seclusion and nature. There are lots of people who choose not to leave a resort and spend their days on the beach, or by the pool and if a beach and watersports are enough, then this might suit your family.  A car would be essential to go out for day trips. Anyone who enjoys a bit of nightlife and tourist attractions to visit should stay nearer the north of the island.