My father turned 60 in the fall and we had discussed a trip for about a year. It took us ages to decide whether we’d travel with my parents only or if the whole family would join. In the end, we all joined them down to Vlycha Beach on Rhodes where we rented a house for a week.
Flying to Greece
We left Sweden on a Ryanair flight from Stockholm-Skavsta airport a bit less than a week after we got home from our trip to Montreal, Boston, and San Francisco. Little A enjoyed flying again, sleeping a big part of the flight. The only problem we had was after landing when we had to wait for ages to get Little A’s stroller at Rhodes International Airport. It probably took over half an hour more than the regularly checked baggage.
Well, we were off and our transfer had luckily waited for us. We had a 40 minutes drive ahead of us to the villa at Vlycha Beach while the sun was setting. Getting the keys was easy as the owner was already there waiting for our arrival. It was just by pure luck that the grocery store a hundred meters away hadn’t locked its doors when we got there to get some evening snacks and breakfast. The first lesson we learned was to not trust the online opening hours for anything in Greece.
Relaxing and Exploring Vlycha Beach
We were staying at Lindos Summer Memories Villas, close to the main road between Rhodos Town and Lindos. There were three villas in total and we had one of them all to ourselves. The villa came with a private pool from where we had a great view of the mountainous landscape. Indeed, we had a great place to relax – which was what we did during our first full day. The only adventure was the short walk down towards Vlycha Beach, where the hotel complexes are located.
Strolling around on the beach, letting Little A enjoy ice cream and checking out what restaurants we had within walking distance were the activities for the day. It turned out that there were two restaurants available in the area. For the hotels, most looked deserted as we had reached the end of the season.
It might have been an easy walk down to the beach, but it was quite a hill to climb on the way back to the villa. Luckily a swim in the pool awaited us upon our return.
Exploring Rhodes Town
We were initially unsure about driving on Rhodes, but that changed quite fast. We gave a car rental company a call during our first day and the next morning we had two white Nissan Micra parked outside the villa.
This enabled us to explore more of the island and we were soon out on the road towards Rhodes Town. Well, with a “short” stop at Jumbo along the way. Anyone that has been to Greece probably knows what kind of madness that is.
Rhodes Town, or only Rhodes, is on the northern tip of the island. T his is the main city of the island and once home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – the Colossus of Rhodes. Our day in the town included a simple lunch and a walk through the old town and along the harbor. Any further exploration was cut short by the arrival of a thunderstorm. We were soon on our way back towards Vlycha Beach.
Celebration Time
How to celebrate someone turning 60 and that had decided to run away to Greece? Well, let us just say that it started with champagne in the morning and ended with a nice dinner out in the evening.
Exploring Lindos
I wonder if Lindos is not more famous than the town of Rhodes itself. Located just a few kilometers away from the villa it took us quite a few days before we took our time to go there. Together with my mother, the three of us went to take a walk and to find out what the fuzz was all about. We were met by a wall of people, the small narrow streets of Lindos were really crowded. The small white houses with their wooden details were barely visible among the crowd. It wasn’t until we got away from the streets with the small shops that we found some space to actually enjoy the view.
Lindos itself was not as impressive or cozy that we had been told. But there was one detail that was. The Lindos Acropolis might not be the most historically accurate place anymore, but it offers a great view out over the Mediterranean coast of Rhodes.
Considering that Vlycha Beach was almost empty, the Lindos Beach was far from it. So, while we took a seat to get Little A some food the rest of the group decided to join us in time for Little A to take a swim in the sea.
Enjoying the View at Tsambika Monastery
Little A had really enjoyed swimming so far during the trip, both in the pool and at Lindos Beach. So a few of us drove a bit further away to the Tsambika Beach to let her play a bit more in the water. I also took this opportunity to go on an adventure by myself. On a hill next to the beach is the Tsambika Monastery and that is where I was heading after that I had dropped the others off at the beach. It was possible to drive a big part of the way up to the monastery, but the last part was done on foot. The reward was worth the effort, the view of the surrounding area was impressive. I was, however, soon back down at the beach to join the others and to see Little A having the time of her life.
Castle of Asklipio
A week is a fairly long time, so we still had time for a few trips. The Castle of Asklipio came to our attention. Located a bit inland above the village of Asklipio we had once more a hike up on a hill. As if the Lindos Acropolis and Tsambika Monastery hadn’t been enough.
The landscape this time was, however, different. The castle ruin lay with the hills of Rhodes all around it and its walls towering over the small village. Being further away from the normal tourist areas also made itself obvious when a buck got up on the walking path just a few meters away from us.
Road Trip to Agios Isidoros
With a couple of days to go, Susann, Little A, and I, left the others in the villa and hit the roads of Rhodes. We wanted to see more of the island and headed towards its highest peak. Attavyros stands 1215 meters above the sea. Did we get there? Well, no. We opted for a stop in the small village of Agios Isidoros instead. Mostly due to the fact that we had no clue about the road conditions higher up in the mountains. We did enjoy a short walk in Agios Isidoros before sitting down at a café for some rest. The silence was impressive, it really felt like we were the only ones awake and it was lunchtime. That was about it, as Little A fell asleep on the way back towards the coast. So any further stops were not possible.
Climbing Feraklos Castle
What to do with two hours to spend before it is time to return the rental cars? Well, you find a castle ruin to explore. Not? That was at least what my brother and I did as we headed to Feraklos Castle close to the village of Charaki. Our main goal for the short trip was actually the Former Italian Airfield Of Kalathos, but it turned out to be a bit harder to find any entrance. Feraklos Castle is a ruin on top of a hill. Ruin is the best description as very few rocks still stand and access is limited. There are a few pieces giving a sign that there is more to this hill than only being a hill.
Time to Leave
As with all other trips this one also had to come to an end. We had a great week at Lindos Summer Memories Villas at Vlycha Beach. Our transfer was about to pick us up and we were heading home. You might have noticed that we have only written small summaries of the events and we will write more about each one of them in later posts.
