Afandou is the second largest village after Ialysos
and its name means 'invisible'. This is due to the fact that the village was
positioned behind a hill away from the beach to keep it 'invisible' to pirates.
Even though it is surrounded by hills, it is only a gentle walk, or short toy
train ride, across the island's only flyover, to the beach with views across to
Traganou and Kolimbia.
Afandou is one of the larger villages on the island, which combines a lively Greek community (pop. 6500) with a wide variety of facilities and attractions for visitors. It has a cosmopolitan atmosphere with plenty of tavernas, restaurants and bars. Whether you want a lively time or an authentic Greek experience you will find it here.
Afandou is situated on the Mediterranean east coast
of Rhodes and has easy access to 7km of beach.
The beach consists mainly of
small pebbles but as the pebbles are removed for the aggregates industry Afandou
is being left with a lovely sandy beach. The water is clear and shallow and
because of its position on the Mediterranean side of the island, it is calm. The
beach regularly wins the Blue Flag award and the planting of additional palm
trees without the building of hotels is changing the appearance for the better.
The beach has four cantinas, the one at the Kolimbia end of the beach is often
missed, and a few sections of the beach have sunbeds and watersports. Also at
the beach is a play area for children with swings, a seesaw and slides. Behind
this is a grassy area for football.
Afandou boasts the only golf course on the island,
although 18 holes in the middle of August is for the enthusiast only! Along the
beach towards Kolimbia is the radio station that used to broadcast Voice of
America throughout Greece. In the surrounding area are many fruit trees and the
tavernas make use of the abundant crops during each of their seasons to
complement meals and adorn cocktails!
Once a carpet-making centre, Afandou now relies on
tourism and administration as its main
industries. Admittedly the village has
few buildings of interest but the Church of Our Lady at Katholiki is worth a
visit. Built on an early Christian basilica on the road to the beach, it has
murals dating back several centuries and a host of birds which permanently nest
there.
Another experience is to walk up the hill to the
Profitis Ilias past the twelve monasteriakos depicting the life of Christ. Once
at the top, the church, the views of the beach and the apiary make the muscles
ache less. Having said that there are only a few buildings of interest, a walk
through the residential area
of the village is a treat. Various types of houses,
traditional narrow streets and domestic activities of all kinds will be seen.
This is not voyeurism, it is seeing village people in this environment going
about their lives - you may be surprised by the lifestyle differences but you
will not be dismayed by the community spirit - something we seem to have lost in
the UK.
A kindly word of caution is not to be too cautious about what is on the BBQ outside the houses, the people of Rhodes eat a lot of things we baulk at. But there again, you are more than likely going to be invited to join them in what could possibly be the most authentic meal of your holiday!
As with all
villages, there are ample tavernas and bars and the main road through the
village offers
the visitor a varied selection of eateries with a good choice of
local Greek food, Italian, Chinese and fish but fortunately the big M and fish
and chips have not yet arrived. For those who are worried about the food, many
of the tavernas are offering children's menus based on standard English fare -
no-one need go hungry! Vegetarianism is not common in Greece and for vegans life
could be quite difficult, so a little pre-thought about the food is in order.
In the main square are the livelier bars, the taxi rank and the town hall. Also the small tourist train which runs from the village to the beach throughout the season begins its travels there.
Afandou
is ideally placed as a starting point for exploration of the island, the
southern most tip being only one hour away by car. A visit to the photo album on
this site will give you more views of the village, the island and a photographic
journey along the beach and the walk up to Profitis Ilias (Afandou).
Afandou has such a friendly atmosphere it is hardly surprising that so many first time visitors become regulars. Before the business began, we had been to Afandou many times and at all times of the year, and can recommend any time as being a good time. As we have said elsewhere - 80 % of visitors to Afandou return and we want to show you why.