We arrived in Rhodes
after a very long ferry ride on the weekly boat that begins
in Thessaloniki and stops in Limnos, Lesvos (where we picked
it up), Chios, Samos, Kalymnos, Kos and ends up in Rhodes
before continuing on to Kassos, Karpathos, Crete, Milos,
and eventually Pireaus. It was a 17 hour trip and we got
on the boat right after the dining room closed and it never
opened for breakfast. We had a nice cabin and it was great
stopping at all those islands on the way but by the time
we arrived in Rhodes we did not feel like we had gotten
off a cruise, well rested and eager to go. We felt like
we had just gotten off a 17 hour ferry trip, living off
tiropitas, potato chips and coffee. But as we left the boat,
standing there with a sign that said simply "MATT"
was Michalis Axarlis who drove us to our hotel, and then
became our host and companion with his brother Nick for
the rest of our stay. Michalis and Nick are Greeks from
Alexandria, Egypt and the story of how they came to Rhodes
twenty years ago is both facinating and heartbreakingly
sad. (One day either myself or one of the brothers will tell
it on this website.) But for the time being I have to say
that I owe the brothers a debt of gratitude and I only hope
that if they ever come to visit me in America that I can
be as good a host to them as they were to me. Without them
I would not have seen half the sites, had half as much fun
or eaten half the good food and wine that we did.
For people coming to Rhodes for a short time and want to see more of the island (and maximize their time) I highly recommend the Axarlis Brothers. Like many of the Alexandrian Greeks they are cultured, knowlegable, entertaining, reliable and speak a variety of languages, six fluently: English, Greek, Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish and German. They do tours of the city and around the island and also transfers to and from the port and the airport to hotels. Dinners or lunches at out of the way tavernas and swims at secluded beaches are just many of the ways to make use of their services. You can contact them through this form or visit their Private Tours website
For Car rentals contact Swift Rent a Car in Athens for one of his Rhodes affiliates . Rhodes is a big island with a lot to see and a car is recommended though certainly not essential. You can also rent a car through Fantasy Travel. Rhodes has a decent public bus sytsem and there are excursion boats that go from Mandraki to Faliraki and Lindos every day.