Tsambika Beach

A wide strip of fine golden sand on the east coast, about twenty minutes' drive north of Lindos. The shoreline shelves so gently you can wade out fifty metres before the water reaches your shoulders — the reason families have made it the busiest family beach on Rhodes for forty years.

Organised in season: sun beds, beach bars, two tavernas, paddleboard rental. There is a parking field a hundred metres back from the sand; arrive before ten in July and August or you will park further down the road.

The Monastery of Panagia Tsambika sits on the headland above the beach — a 350-step climb up to a tiny white chapel with one of the best views on Rhodes. Pilgrimage tradition holds it as a place where women come to pray for fertility. The climb is steep; the view is worth it.