The Wenzel’s Big Adventure

We initially planned to spend two to three weeks in Greece, moving between islands and exploring the mainland before heading to Croatia. Despite anticipating high costs during the tourist peak season, we were surprised by how busy it was, with most transport options fully booked. In 2024, Greece had one of its busiest tourist seasons, impacting both service availability and prices. We found that three weeks in Greece would cost almost as much as our first three months of travel.  Ultimately, we revised our plan and opted to spend a week on the island of Rhodes and three weeks in Albania.

While writing this post, I recalled a news story I read while in Greece. As previously mentioned, tourists flooded Greece this season, particularly on the island of Santorini. The story highlighted the over-tourism that the island faced due to cruise ships arriving and offloading their passengers. The overcrowding reached a point where the mayor of Santorini urged residents to stay home during a specific week, as the island was expected to receive over 17,000 tourists in a single day. He noted that the city and the island’s infrastructure were already at capacity and couldn’t accommodate any more.  Because their economy relies heavily on tourism, the local government was willing to gamble on the well-being of its residents rather than say no to visitors; it was mind-blowing, to say the least. 

Like most travel days, our ferry ride from Fethiye, Türkiye, to Rhodes was a complete disaster. We started the day off by sleeping through our alarms. Thankfully, we always packed everything up the night before, and this time, it paid off. Next, our cab driver wouldn’t accept tap (like all the other drivers had), so we had to stop at an ATM. We didn’t want to be stuck with a bunch of Turkish Lire because it was useless for the remainder of the trip, so, Corey took out just enough to cover the cab fare. We made it to the ferry port on time and thought it would be smooth sailing (pun intended); nope, we were wrong. While checking in for the ferry, the ticket agent informed us that we had to pay a port tax. I had specifically looked for information on this when booking the tickets, as we encountered this on a previous ferry ride, but found nothing. There were a bunch of fees associated with the tickets, so I figured it was included; I was wrong. No big deal, I thought, we’ll pay it by credit card and be on our way. “Credit card is not accepted,” we were told. “What do you mean not accepted? The machine is right beside your hand,” I said. After a bit of arguing, which caused the line to back up, I had to leave the port to grab money from another ATM. Thankfully, a machine was nearby, and we made it onto the boat.

We all were a bit hangry by the time we reached our seats, but our tempers were cooled by snacks. As we ate, we watched the seats on our deck fill up, and then the aisles; the boat was clearly overbooked.  By the time the last passenger squeezed in, and the anchors raised we were over an hour passed the original departure time. The trip across the Aegean Sea was calm and getting through customs in Greece was a breeze; things were looking up.

We had reserved a car for our time on the island but did not receive it until a few days after our arrival. As a result, we relied on public transport, which, according to our research, was easy to navigate and included routes to Ialysos, the town where we were staying, located 20 minutes from the main centre. Confident in our ability to navigate the system, we located and walked to a nearby bus stop.

Upon arrival, we found a glass box without any information, although the internet indicated that tickets could be purchased at this location. Undeterred, we decided to buy tickets on the bus, as we had done in other places. After some waiting, a bus finally arrived, but its number did not match what we had found online. Nevertheless, we boarded with all our luggage, causing some inconvenience to the other passengers.

The driver reprimanded us for not having tickets, and when we inquired about purchasing them from him, he continued to express his displeasure. Our actions were delaying both his schedule and that of the other passengers. Ultimately, he allowed us to ride for free to a stop near the main terminal, where tickets could be purchased.

After a quick pit stop for lunch, we walked to the bus terminal, bought tickets, and waited for the bus. Initially, there weren’t many people waiting, which gave us a sense of relief. However, as the pick-up time drew nearer, the crowd grew larger, and by the time the bus arrived, it seemed uncertain how everyone would fit; well over 100 people were waiting. When the bus doors opened, there was a flurry of activity as people tried to board. Individuals were pushing, shoving, and cutting the line, and after cramming on, we received disapproving looks due to our multiple backpacks and children.  Fortunately, a couple of young women offered their seats to Jack and Hadley, but that was the only assistance we received. In other countries, people often gave up their seats for Corey and the kids, but that wasn’t the case here. 

After a 30-minute ride filled with twists and turns, we finally reached our town and were glad to get off the bus. However, this wasn’t the end of our journey for the day. Next, we had a short walk to our apartment. Before heading out, we bought snacks and groceries at a small store. The walk was enjoyable, with many fruit and fig trees lining the way, letting us enjoy some treats. After 15 minutes, we arrived at our destination and immediately went to the pool after unpacking.

Now, you’re probably sitting there asking, “Why didn’t you all just bite the bullet and get a taxi or rideshare?” Well, friends, the average cost of a taxi or rideshare for us would have been over $100. We checked with several people, and the cost was consistent; there’s a reason almost all the taxis on the island are high-end Mercedes cars. Also, we weren’t expecting the buses to be as full as they were, but everyone shared the same mindset as us: taxis were too expensive.  

Even though the first day was a bit hectic and despite being busy with tourists, we really liked Rhodes. We spent our first full day in the city centre exploring Rhodes Castle and the town within. It was an intricate maze of streets and walkways, some with small cafés, restaurants, or souvenir shops, and others were home to locals living amidst the buzz of people. We made several stops for snacks and drinks, taking it all in. We ended the day with a walk along the boat slip, which featured some impressive yachts and ships. After enjoying a meal of gyros and beers, we crammed back onto a bus and headed to the apartment for the evening. Once the kids were down, we savoured some wine by the pool, planning our adventures for the next few days and chatting about life, a pastime I really came to enjoy on our trip with Corey. 

We finally got our car on the second day, once again allowing us the freedom to explore on our watch. Our first trip road trip with it was to the Valley of Butterflies.  This 2km ravine hike is home to the Panaxia Quadripunctaria or Jersey Tiger Butterfly.  This nocturnal moth has black and white stripes on the outside of its wings and vibrant red colouring on the inside.  

After hiking through butterflies, we found a small unoccupied beach on the north side of the island. We stopped for a swim and tan before heading back to the apartment for supper.  Chicken pitas were on the menu, and after getting everything ready I decided to go for a quick run, which turned into a long uphill climb to the nearby Filerimos Monastery, atop a small plateau.  I arrived just as the sun was setting and enjoyed the view. 

On day three, we loaded into the Suzuki for a trip to the Bee Museum of Rhodes.  This museum was much more informative than the one we stopped at on Phu Quoc.  It displayed a bunch of new and old equipment for handling bees and making honey.  Some of the artifacts dated back thousands of years.  There were also interactive displays and a living hive that you could see bees flying in and out of.  Before leaving, we sampled some honey liquor and purchased flavoured honey, sesame seed crisp (made with honey) and some honey candies.  

The rest of the day was spent searching for and settling in for sun and snorkelling at a beach.   The first few we stopped at were packed with beach loungers, preventing freeloaders like us from setting up towels on the sand.  The loungers were nice but extremely expensive at 25 Euro/chair, just slightly too rich for our blood. The spot we pitted in known as Kallithea Beach, was beautiful.  It, too, had loungers but also an area to throw down a towel.  It was a bit rocky, but that didn’t bother us.  We spent most of our time splashing around in the water and snorkelling with the Lionfish and Needlefish.  

Another attraction we visited while on Rhodes was the Acropolis of Lindos.  These ruins are situated high atop cliffs overlooking the sea.  The walk from the town to the ancient citadel is a climb that can be done by foot or donkey; we chose to do it on foot.  The ruins were cool to see, and the view was stunning, but the place was not as interesting as Aspendos in Türkiye (in my opinion). The whitewashed town was a bit of a maze to navigate around but offered a plethora of souvenir shops and restaurants. 

Our final day on the island included several activities, beginning with a visit to the Faethon Miniature Horse farm located outside of Archangelos. This location reminded me of my aunt’s farm, not due to the presence of 14 miniature horses, but rather because of the clowder of cats residing on the property. After interacting with and feeding each horse (while carefully avoiding the biters), we proceeded to explore the gift shop. There, we encountered an elderly man with wild white hair and one leg. Noticing the children playing with a few of the cats that had followed us, he proceeded to call in more. By the time of our departure, we were surrounded by 15 to 20 cats, one of which bit Jack when he stopped petting it. It was a fun experience that had us laughing as we drove away.  

From the horse farm, we made our way to Silver Springs Valley. The highlight of this stop is the underground aqueduct walk. Not nearly as impressive as our aqueduct walk in Lombok with the kids’ friends, this one stretched a few hundred yards underground. It connected a main area with a playground and restaurant to a small reservoir. Unfortunately, the water levels were quite low, which detracted from the beauty of the experience. Everyone still enjoyed it, but it could have been more interesting if it weren’t so dry. 

Our time in Greece was fulfilling and sparked a desire to return. Despite our activities on the island, we barely scratched the surface. We spent most of our time in the northern and central areas; the southern tip awaits as a new adventure for another visit.