Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NIGHTLIFE
Faros
T
22460 49370.
Bright yellow café-bar, jutting into
the harbour alongside the mosque, where the roof terrace
is the coolest place in town on long summer nights. While
the sun's up, it's a “day-bar” with sunbeds on the quay.
Daily noon-late.
Radio Café
T
22460 49029
. Café with great views,
close to the ferry jetty, which as well as coffee and
breakfast offers internet access and
ouzomezédhes.
Daily
9am-late.
The rest of the island
Kastellórizo's austere
hinterland
is predominantly bare rock, flecked with stunted
vegetation; incredibly, until 1900 this was carefully tended, producing abundant wine
of some quality. A rudimentary paved road system links points between Mandhráki
and the airstrip, and a dirt track heads towards Áyios Stéfanos, but there are few
specific attractions, and no scooters for rent. Karstic cliffs drop sheer to the sea, offering
no anchorage except at the main town, Mandhráki and Návlakas fjord (see below).
The shoreline
Swimming
on Kastellórizo is made difficult by the total lack of beaches, and the
abundance of sea urchins and razor-sharp limestone reefs. Once clear of the shoreline,
however, you're rewarded by clear waters with a rich variety of marine life, and
amphora shards that testify to the ancient wine trade. Many visitors simply dive in
from the lidos on the northwest quay; otherwise the safest entries near town lie beyond
the graveyard at Mandhráki and the cement jetty below the power plant at road's end.
Taxi-boats
can take you to otherwise inaccessible coves such as
Plákes
, along the
western shoreline of the town bay, where the flat surfaces of a former quarry are equally
good for sunbathing on, or swimming off.
8
Návlakas fjord and Perastá grotto
Halfway along Kastellórizo's southeastern coast,
Návlakas fjord
is a favourite mooring
spot for yachts and fishing boats. Uniquely for the island, Návlakas is free of sea
urchins. Freshwater seeps keep the temperature brisk, and there's superb snorkelling to
20m depths off the south wall.
Another popular stop for boat excursions, a little further south,
Perastá grotto
(Galázio Spílio) deserves a visit for its stalactites and strange blue-light effects. The low
entrance, negotiable only by inflatable raft, gives little hint of the enormous chamber
within, with monk seals occasionally sheltering in an adjacent cave.
Hálki
The little island of
Hálki
, a waterless limestone speck west of Rhodes, continues to
count as a fully fledged member of the Dodecanese, even if its population has dwindled
from three thousand to barely three hundred in the century since its Italian rulers
imposed restrictions on sponge-fishing.
While visitation has brought the island back to life, except at the height of summer
Hálki tends to be very quiet indeed. That said, in the middle of the day in high season,
when day-trippers from Rhodes vastly outnumber locals in its broad quayside-cum-
square, Emborió can feel more like a stage set than a genuine town.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
HÁLKI
By ferry
Hálki's port, Emborió, is connected with the
following ports: Anáfi (2 weekly; 9hr 50min); Crete (2
weekly; Sítia 4hr 10min, Iráklion 7hr 20min); Kárpathos (2
weekly; 2hr 40min); Kássos (2 weekly; 5hr); Kos (2 weekly;
2hr 45min); Níssyros (2 weekly; 1hr 40min); Pireás (2
weekly; 20-24hr); Rhodes Kámiros Skála (daily except Sun;
1hr 15min); Rhodes Town (4 weekly; 1hr 25min-2hr);
Santoríni (2 weekly; 11hr 20min); Sými (2 weekly; 2hr
20min); Tílos (2 weekly; 35min).
Ticket agency
Zifos (
T
22460 45028,
W
zifostravel.gr).
