Pefkos Town, Rhodes. (Pefkos)

Member Name: monkeyplums

Product:	Pefkos
Date:	28/10/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: simple and unspoilt, relaxing and laid back.

Disadvantages: it's not near enough to go for a weekend, boo!

Pefkos, or Pefki (meaning Pine Tree) as it's known locally, is a quiet little town on the Greek island of Rhodes. Sitting on the south side of the island and about an hours' coach ride from the airport, this is an unspoilt and relaxing place to stay.

My wife and I stayed here in 2007 at the Tsambika Studio Apartments, tucked neatly away on a side road leading to the beach just off the main road through Pefkos. We were due to be flying back there (i'm not swimming it again)) this year and staying at the Stella Apartments but our holiday disappeared in a puff of smoke when XL Airways went bust. I'm not sure who owns the Tsambika Studios now, they did belong to Kosmar but they went over the same sunny horizon as XL. We managed to get a weeks holiday, self catering for the princely sum of £360 for both of us. Being the first week of the season it is really cheap. Plus there's no-one there so you've got the beach to yourself and you don't have to wait for a table at the restaurants at night!! Prices are not that cheap now, Kosmar was good for cheap prices, probably why it went bust eh?

Anyway, enough of all that, let's talk about the resort!

I have been on a lot of holidays to Spain (islands and mainland), The Canaries etc and also Crete but this is by far the best beach holiday i've ever had. There's just something about it that makes me want to go back again and again. Pefkos is an ideal place to stay, it's nice and quiet, nothing is done in a hurry, the locals are all genuinely really friendly and the restaurants are brilliant.

First off, Accommodation!

Like i said we stayed at Tsambika (self catering) and these are lovely apartments, and although it doesn't have a pool of it's own, guests can use the pool at a nearby hotel. The rooms are clean and tidy with a small kitchen, bedroom, shower and w.c. balcony or terrace. Air conditioning is payable locally (around 35 euros per week) although when we went in early May it is quite comfortable and we found we didn't need it. You can also hire a fan in your room should you need one for a small fee. It's worth noting that these apartments had NORMAL beds, not the traditional Lindian beds (a concrete base with a matress on top, mmm comfy). If you don't like the sound of those and you're going to Greece be sure to check in your holiday brochure or with your tour operator. The rooms were cleaned on a daily basis apart from Sunday (we all need a day off don't we?) and were always well presented. The actual buildings are also given a fresh coat of paint EVERY YEAR by the owner so they look good on the outside too, not like some you see where the paint is hanging off them. Good location off the beaten track, nice and relaxed.

Next up, The Resort!

Pefkos isn't really all that big, you can walk through it in about 15 minutes, but it's got something for everyone. One of the nicest things about this place is there are no ticket touts trying to get you to drink in their bars and no timeshare idiots anywhere. Everything in Pefkos in unhurried. There are plenty of shops selling all the usual stuff, food, booze, fags, blow-up lilo's in the shapes of dolphins, postcards and more seashell ornaments and animals than you can shake a pefki pinetree stick at! There are plenty of bars to sit and enjoy a drink in, Pefkos By Night is our favourite and there's also a bar/club called Eclipse just across the road. In the centre of the town there's a bakery selling freshly made produce and just down from there is a taxi rank. There are some local excursions to be sampled but we didn't attend the meeting with our "rep", partly due to the fact that we were by now sliding off the barstools, reeking of Ouzo, in Pefkos By Night. Hic! Hence, since we had this hazy blur, i fail to recall what trips were on offer but i believe one was a glass-bottom boat. Not a good place to be with a hangover. Paper bag anyone???
The restaurants are all very nice and one in particular serves the most stunning of dishes, Lamb Gastras! This little beauty is of course lamb, cooked slowly in a clay oven for 12 hours, yes 12 HOURS, accompanied by potatoes and other vegatables and the result is nothing short of mindblowing. If like me you really fancy that meaty bit around the bottom of your roasties on a sunday dinner or the well done bit on top of the beef then this is for you. I've tasted heaven, and this is it!
There's also plenty of places to eat during the day serving light lunches and snacks.

Now for The Beaches!

Pefkos main beach is all you'd expect, neat and clean with sunlounges available for a fee, i think it was about 3 or 4 euros for the whole day. In peak season i would imagine that it gets quite busy but a little further down is a nice quiet cove known as St Thomas' beach. A nice little bay with warm water lapping at the shore, what more do you need?

What about Getting Around?

You can catch a bus outside Pefkos By Night that takes you either to Lindos, Pefkos' more noisy nieghbour or the opposite direction Lardos, a more quiet location not too dissimilar to Pefkos itself. There's also the taxi rank just below the bakery. It costs about 8 euros to Lindos one way.

Flying times?

From East Midlands Airport it takes just over 4 hours to reach Rhodes and they are 2 hours ahead of UK time.

Would I go again?

Just watch me! If your looking for clubs, noise and partying then stick with Malia in Crete, Ibiza or Aya Napa. If you want one of the most relaxing holiday destinations on the planet then book yourself a seat to Pefkos. Ideal for couples and families alike, this is the little unsung gem wedged firmly in the island of Rhodes!

I would reccomend it to anyone, you won't regret it.

Summary: go and try it, you'll want to go back