I have just come back from a 2 week holiday to Trianda with my best friend and have to say we had a brill time. Before we went we couldnt really find much out about Trianda. When people think of Rhodes its either Rhodes Town or Falaraki. We chose this hotel from the Cosmos brochure and got a buy one week get the other week free offer. We decided on May as neither of us like the weather too hot. The first few days we were there were a little bit cool and by early evening you needed a cardy to go out with.
The resort of Trianda is basically made up of tavernas and supermarkets a couple on the beach front and the remainder along a strip of road. There are plenty of places to eat to choose from all serving a variety of food from traditional greek dishes such as soulvaki (kebab on stick) to more basic food (
chicken fillet) to pizzas. There are a couple of English places, Donovans which does mainly snack food like baked spuds, traditional english breakfasts and Mollys which does your basic pub grub. There are a couple of jewellery shops round this area but for all your shopping needs head to Rhodes Town.
Ixia is next to Trianda and is only about a 15 minute walk. There is more of a selection of restaurants here with a couple of Chinese and an italian. This is also where you want to head for the nightlife with a handfull of bars. Trianda in the evening is low key with the odd bar or 2.
What I would warn people about in Trianda's tavernas is you will get served bread before your meal and you have to pay for it (usually about 60cents each). If you dont want bread its tough, you have to have it.
Rhodes Town is only about a 10 minute bus ride away and costs about 1.55euros and run approx every 20 mins until about 9.30 at night. The buses are very cramped as they pack as many people on as they can so if you prefer a bit more space and there is a couple of you then get a taxi which costs between 5 and 7 euros. Rhodes Town is basically the city centre. There is the old town which is loads of jewellery shops, liquor shops, souvenir shops and cafes situated in the old castle grounds. Be warned though it is a very big area and can get quite crowded early afternoon and is easy to get lost. The new town is your normal shops such as M&S, BHS, Kookai, Benneton etc. but dont expect to get any bargains most things are the same price as here.
We did 2 trips while we were here, one to Lindos and one to Turkey. There are other trips that you can do but they are just basically island exploring. Lindos is a tiny resort further south of the island and is a tiny traditional looking village. Here you can get your linen and table cloths but as it is a tourist attraction here things like alcohol and jewerelly are more expensive than if you bought them anyway else. The main tourist attraction here is the old ruins. You can walk up a steep path (bit dodgy if you ask me as it is an open path and if you slip sidewards you fall all the way down) or a taxi (donkey) which to me seems even more dangerous. The ruins werent anything spectaticular but when you get to the top you do get some good views. You only need about 1/2 a day here, any longer than that and you'll be bored.
Turkey (Marmaris) was a trip that I would definitely recommend. It costs about £50 but that does include your ferry crossing and the visa. It took about an hour by Hydrofoil which I was surprised at as you can see Turkey from Rhodes. When you get there you go through customs, show them your ferry boarding pass and off you go. Our tour guide took us first to a turkish delight factory where you have chance to sample and buy the stuff. We were then taken to the bazar's where we were taken to a carpet shop and told how carpets are made then we were left on our own to shop till we dropped!! Clothes and bags are very cheap here but if you hate getting hassled by shopkeepers you'll hate it here. They will try every trick in the book to get you into their shop. Advice, you dont need to change any currency as you can pay in euros or sterling. For £70 I bought 5 fcuk t-shirts, an oneil t-shirt, moshino jeans (which they altered free of charge) a guicci bag and a dkny bag. After wearing yourself out shopping there are plenty of cafes to choose from along the waterfront with great views of all the yachts and tour boats.
Okay, a bit about our accommodation. We stayed at Atlantica Princess, self-caering. Our room was spacious and had microwave with grill, fridge and pots and pans etc. The shower was the best feature - a power shower. As it is also an all inclusive option hotel there was always activiies going on and evening entertainment with a kiddies disco followed by adult entertainment which ranged from live music to caberets.
The beach though is the only downfall, it is a shingle beach. If you walk further towards ixia it does become more sandy. If you are into watersports there are a couple of places dotted around ixia and on the way to Rhodes Town.
In summary, if you are a clubber and after a lively nightlife then Trianda/Ixia isnt the place for you but if you are happy with a few bars and more of a relaxed atmosphere then this is for you.
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This review gives an accurate impression of Trianda - helpful to those seeking a quiet resort but with easy access to the nightlife of the main town.
Good advice about care being needed in Lindos on the steps leading to the Acropolis. Very slippery and no handrail. (I found walking barefoot felt the most secure!)
Just a note about the being charged for bread thing - many tavernas on in Europe have a "cover charge" for just going into their place. For this you usually get something - bread, olives, etc. Perhaps they offer bread because Greeks love bread with their meals. Wonder if it might be worth asking for an alternative if you have to pay anyway?
yukkibear 13.06.2002 20:56
Sounds like you had a great time. Ang.
whitewiner 13.06.2002 20:53
Well this sounds a good place to visit if you are looking for a relaxing, quiet break - I do right now!
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