The main beaches of Rhodes need no introduction. These four do — and they are why anyone who lives on the island still goes swimming in August.
By mid-July the main beach at Lindos is a perfect crescent of sand covered, almost without gap, by sun loungers. Tsambika to the north is busier still. There is nothing wrong with either — the water is clear and the bay is genuinely beautiful — but anyone who lives in this part of Rhodes year-round knows that the best swimming on the island happens elsewhere, ten or fifteen kilometres from the obvious places, where the cars do not stop.
Glystra is the easiest to reach. Six kilometres south of Lindos on the road to Pefkos, a small sign on the right points down a steep slope to a cove no more than 150 metres across. The sand is fine, the water is shallow well out from shore, and the headland on the southern side blocks the afternoon wind. There is one small taverna at the back of the beach run by a family from Lardos. Bring cash. The cove fills by midday in August but is almost empty before ten and after five.
Pefkos beach itself is hardly hidden, but the beach is two kilometres long and almost everyone stops at the same five hundred metres in the middle. Walk east, past the second of the two streams that cross the beach, and the loungers thin out. The far end, near the headland that points toward Lardos, has only a handful of beach umbrellas and a kiosk that sells frappés and grilled cheese sandwiches. The water here is deeper and slightly cooler than at Lindos main beach.
Agathi sits 35 kilometres north of Lindos, near Charaki, and means “golden” in Greek for obvious reasons. The sand is a pale, fine gold that goes warm underfoot by ten in the morning. The beach is closed off at both ends by limestone cliffs, which means it has no road to anywhere else — the only people who come are those who came on purpose. There are two tavernas at the back of the sand and no sun-lounger franchise. Bring an umbrella from the hotel or rent one on the spot.
Stegna, just below Archangelos, is the longest of the four — almost a kilometre of grey-gold sand and a wide bay protected from the meltemi by a low headland to the north. The village of Archangelos sits behind the beach but is mostly invisible from the sand. A row of small tavernas serves grilled fish caught the same morning by the boats moored at the southern end. In late September the beach belongs almost entirely to the local schoolchildren and a few retirees who swim through October.
There are smaller beaches still, accessible only by goat path or boat. Kalathos to the immediate north of Lindos has a stretch of pebbly shore at its southern end that no one but the locals seems to use, in part because the parking is on the verge of the main road and looks unpromising. The water is the same as Lindos Bay, transparent to four metres, with sand under the pebbles. Five minutes’ walk from Lindos Comfy Suites takes you to the inland edge of Kalathos; another fifteen takes you to the sand.
A word on swimming conditions. The east coast of Rhodes is sheltered from the meltemi, the north wind that blows from late June through August and sometimes into September. On rough days, when the kitesurfers head to Prasonisi, the east coast — including all five of the beaches above — stays calm. The water temperature climbs to twenty-six degrees by August and stays above twenty-two until late October.
The simplest version of the day is this. Have a long Greek breakfast on the terrace until ten. Drive twenty minutes to whichever of these beaches suits the wind. Swim, read, eat at the taverna behind the sand. Come back to the village before five for a shower and a long walk to the Acropolis as the heat lifts. The famous beaches of Rhodes are famous for a reason. The quiet ones are quiet for a better one.
