Rhodes with a one year old (Rhodos)

Member Name: williamsn9

Product:	Rhodos
Date:	18/07/01 (265 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly, Clean

Disadvantages: bit too hot

This review is from the perspective of having a one year old on a self catering holiday. I think the first thing to say is how wonderfully friendly everyone is in Rhodes, everywhere is very child friendly (although not necessarily pram friendly). Toilets were clean, and although bespoke baby changing facilities were not often on offer, it was never a problem.

Food was more expensive than I thought it would be although staying in Pekfos you pay a premium tourist rate. Supermarkets in Pekfos were expensive and not particularly good quality, but it was easy to find larger ones just out of the village which the locals use. It is also definitely worth visiting Lardos and the fish market, I don’t speak any Greek and they did not speak English, but it was easy to point to fish, which were amazingly fresh and delicious. Food for the baby was always offered free in all the restaurants we went into, he loved Greek salad, chips, chicken, bread, calamari, and lamb. The bakers in Lardos was also excellent serving the most delicious honey and nut pastries ever.

We had a bit of a bad experience with car hire, but then we did choose a cheap operator. Watch out for the state of the tyres ! we failed to notice a bubble in the tyre wall (where a bodge repair had been made) and had to pay about £15 extra when we took the car back. The guy forgot how to speak English, and only when American prospective customers came in and we started shouting did he drop his price from £30. However even with the extra £15 it was still loads cheaper than Avis or one of the big guys.

Local buses are probably great if your children are older, but they did not appear to run to a timetable so you can wait for ages for one, and it is very hot. When they do come they are fine and very reasonable. You buy tickets from a conductor, they all seemed to speak good English, and all made a fuss of the baby. The pram was never a problem on any bus it was safely stowed
ion the luggage bit of the bus and the conductor retrieved when we reached our destination. One bus we were on stopped when a little girl felt sick twice !! not something that would ever happen in the UK.

As for attractions there are plenty of castles and museums, and Rhodes town is worth several visits and a review in its own right. ( The butterfly valley is better named valley of the tour buses )

It was hot, 40oC in late June, and ceiling fans did not seem to be used. If I go again I would ask for an air con apartment. We stayed in the Evi apartments which were lovely, very clean and friendly, but you had to hire a fan extra (it would have been cheaper to buy one out there).

The sun was strong and we were careful to keep the baby coated in factor 35, and out of the sun between about 11 and 4. After his tea he loved going to the beach and splashing around until the sun set about 8.

Overall a good place to start our baby’s overseas adventurers, he loved the pool and the sea, he ate sand, and chewed pebbles and generally had a great time. We went for two weeks this was probably too long 10 days would have been perfect.

Summary: