Wine Tasting in Embonas, Rhodes!

A wine town in the mountains of Rhodes, Greece probably does not come to mind when thinking of this beachey destination just of the coast of Turkey. However, there is such a town, named Embonas, in the mountains about an hour outside Rhodes Town. Embonas is famous for its wine and grilled meats! Its also a small town and an easy way to spend a morning or afternoon on Rhodes. We planned a morning wine tasting in Embonas on our recent trip to Greece!

I guess this means winery in Greek!

As Embonas is located about an hour from Rhodes Town, on some very twisty roads, we hired a driver to drive us around and stop at wineries that the driver had picked out and reserved in advance. This was super helpful, because we would not have known where to start.  Information online is…sparse at best. We left Rhodes Town around 9:30, stopping for some fantastic coastal pictures en route, and ended up at our first winery about 30 minutes later (outside of Embonas).

Leaving Rhodes Town and driving to Embonas. This is a view point en route.

Continue reading

A Day Trip to Symi, Greece from Rhodes!

While in Rhodes, Dan and I took a day trip from Rhodes to neighboring Symi Island, as it was ranked as one of the top “things to do” on Rhodes. All, in, it was a good day trip, but I’m not sure its worth the time if you only have a few days on Rhodes. The day trip to Symi is better suited for those spending a full week on Rhodes, IMO. That being said, I did find Symi stunning and would love to return for a few quiet days of relaxation.

Arriving in Symi via boat from Rhodes.

WHAT IS SYMI ISLAND?

Symi Island is a tiiiiiny Greek island 25 miles from Rhodes, very close to the Turkish coast. A visit to Symi a popular day trip from Rhodes, due to the islands’ proximity. Despite being neighbors, Symi Island has a totally different feel than Rhodes, being much, much smaller and more Italian than Turkish feeling. While Symi almost exclusively a tourist island now, Symi has historically been known for sponge diving. It’s also well known for its tiny Symi shrimp.

The Monastery on Symi.

Continue reading

Restaurant Review: The Delicious & Inventive Taverna Piatakia, Rhodes Town, Rhodes, Greece.

Telling people that Dan and I were traveling to Rhodes, we received a lot of feedback stating that it was too touristy, too crowded, and that we would find “meh” food, at least for Greece (where honestly, even some “meh” food is great!). So I made it my missing to pre-book some, what I thought would be excellent dinners. In researching good food in Rhodes Town, I came across Taverna Piatakia, and it was a fantastic find. Definitely good high-end food at a very reasonable price! And spoiler alert, Rhodes, especially Rhodes Town, is super touristy and you can certainly find a not-so-great meal that is over priced; I do recommend doing some researching in choosing dinner spots.

Piatakia Taverna on Leontos Street, Rhodes Town.

Continue reading