Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Faliraki


A great all-rounder, this resort is perfect for a lively summer beach break. It's a hotspot for young Brits in search of an alcohol-fuelled holiday in the sun, but also boasts luxury hotels and excellent facilities for families.
The weather's fantastic, the beaches are superb, the water's crystal clear and there's a good range of accommodation. Throw in some cheap booze and banging beats and you begin to understand why Faliraki is a package holiday mecca.


Faliraki beaches
Faliraki beach is just over 4km long. It's wide and sandy and with lots of watersports. There are two large watersport centres offering everything from banana-boat rides and pedalos to kite-surfing and bungee-jumping. The visibility in the crystal clear waters is excellent, making this a perfect spot for scuba diving and snorkelling.


Faliraki sightseeing
There are no real sights to speak of in the resort, but it's a short bus ride to historic Rhodes where you can wander around the maze of medieval alley ways in the old town. There's also the Palace of the Grand Masters, built in the 14th century, destroyed in the 19th and rebuilt in the 20th, it was once a lavish holiday home for Mussolini. It's now a museum, housing a wealth of sculpture, mosaics and furniture.
The Acropolis of Rhodes sits above the city and is a great place to watch the sunset.


Family attractions in Faliraki
The beaches are fantastic and there's safe paddling for young tots, and just about every watersport imaginable for older kids. The beach north of Faliraki village is a quieter option. It can get rowdy at night but the resort is big enough for families to book accommodation well away from pub and club central. Just be careful when booking your trip to avoid the Bar Street and Club Street area.
You'll also find one of Europe's biggest water parks which has slides, lazy river rides, a wave pool, rafting and all manner of other adrenalin-fuelled rides.


Day trips from Faliraki
Hop on a boat for the day and explore some of the many smaller bays along the coast from Faliraki.
Kathara Bay is thought of as one of the most beautiful spots in the whole of Rhodes and if you like the odd bit of nude sunbathing, there's a quiet area at one end of the beach. Film buffs will enjoy a trip to Anthony Quinn Bay, the location for the filming of classic movie, The Guns of Navarone, which starred the Oscar-winning actor.


Eating out in Faliraki
Leave your dinner jacket at home as there's little in the way of fine dining in the resort. What you will find is that Faliraki caters predominantly for British holidaymakers, so tons of restaurants have English menus and you can easily get yourself an all-day breakfast and other fairly unadventurous food.
There are loads of fast food options and many places stay open until the early hours so you can enjoy a kebab after leaving the clubs. You'll need to head out of town for delicious and more upmarket Greek food.


Faliraki nightlife
Faliraki is one of the best destinations in Europe for young clubbers and pubbers. The appropriately named Bar Street and Club Street offer huge variety in the way of nightlife and you can keep going until the early hours.
A long-time favourite bar is Ziggy's, where you can enjoy the "Fishbowl", a huge cocktail which leaves very few standing at the end of the night. There are plenty of English-style boozers too where you can enjoy a pint and catch up on the football scores.


Faliraki shopping
There's Faliraki Square, a big shopping centre where you can buy everything you'll need on your holiday.
If you want more than an inflatable ring and a bucket and spade, hop on a bus and visit Rhodes Old Town for a much more authentic market. Leather goods, rugs, gold and silver jewellery, Greek honey and ceramics are all good buys if you're prepared to haggle a bit.

No comments: