Rhodes, Greece
Mandraki Harbour, Rhodes Town
Rhodes Harbours
Mandraki Harbour - Detail
Not to be used for navigation
DESCRIPTION
Rhodes is pretty much a "must see" destination, so the facilities are top notch - right? Wrong! The best way for a cruising sailor to visit Rhodes is probably to take the ferry from Simi! Rhodes' Mandraki harbour is well protected, but over 90% of the berths are reserved for local boats and the charter yacht operation. We were told that only 10 spaces are available for visiting yachts and these were full during our visit, out of season, at the beginning of October. Every day a number of hopeful arrivals circled the harbour endlessly waiting for a space - most wound up leaving and anchoring outside the harbour.MOORING
A) Mandraki Harbour
Mandraki is the most northerly of the three harbours. It is the one that the statue of Collossus reputedly straddled in about 300 B.C. There are three areas in Mandraki Harbour where you might be able to tie up:1. The visitors berths (approx 10) at the entrance to the harbour on the port side. These are "first come first served".
2. The charter berths. These are available when the charter boats are out and only while they are out. If you get in here you will be told how long you can stay and will have to move when the charter operation needs the space.
3. The free mooring space on the dilapidated finger pier on the west side of the harbour just inside the entrance.
The remainder of the space in the harbour is reserved for the local sailing and motor yacht clubs, the ferries and the day charter boats. It is possible to use the ferry pier for periods of up to a few hours when the ferries are not there. It is unlikely that you will be allowed to use these spaces overnight as the ferry berths here overnight.
It is possible to reserve space in Rhodes in advance. A1 Yacht service (+30-6949-727747 ask for George) charge a stiff fee (currently €150) for this service in addition to the harbour fees and if you book sufficiently in advance they will work with the local yacht club and find an unoccupied club berth for you. This is of course subject to availability. You will not be allowed to use the club berths unless you have paid the agency fee.
The visitors pier spaces and the charter spaces cost about €10 per day for our 14.9 metres. There are some laid lines, but other than at the charter berths you will probably need to set your anchor and stern tie.
B) Commercial Harbour
This is used occasionally by cruising boats. We have seen yachts tied up at the extreme south end of the East pier. There is also space to anchor inside the commercial harbour and I recommend this if the anchorage immediately outside Mandraki is untenable.C) The Large Yacht Pier
A1 Yacht service manage this space for large yachts. Reservations can be made subject to paying their agency fee. Without a reservation it is unlikely you will be allowed to moor here. We do not know the cost of this space.D) The 'New' Unfinished Marina
This is the most southerly harbour. It is a good 1.5 mile walk from here to Mandraki through the roughest part of town. It is yet another shell of a Greek marina that was never finished and has now been abandoned (See Mykonos, Chios, Mytilini. etc for other examples). The breakwater is in place and there are rudimentary and rusted-out mooring rings embedded in the pier. The pier protrudes at and below water level so side tieing is problematic even if conditions permit. The marina is open to the north and some swell comes in. The bottom of the marina is foul and anchoring here is a real gamble. Definately use a retreiving line and have the number of a diving service handy (Mandikos Diving Service Ph +30-6945-460595 charges €100 but €140 on weekends). 50% of the boats anchored here during our visit had to call the diver to retreive their anchors. A large French ketch suffered significant damage to its bob-stay from the anchor chain when a dragging anchor suddenly caught on a ship anchor (according to the diver he hired to untangle it) on the bottom.*It took us three days to get inside Mandraki harbour. We anchored and tied back in the unfinished marina for two days, then anchored outside Mandraki for one night. At 0700 hrs the next morning we entered Mandraki harbour and took the only space that became available that entire day.
Anchoring
See warning above about anchoring in the 'new' unfinished marina. Holding is good just outside Mandraki Harbour. We have also seen boats anchored in the middle of the commercial harbour. Bear in mind that large ships use the piers here and leave them plenty of room.FACILITIES ASHORE
Rhodes is the largest city we have found so far in the Greek islands, it has all the facilities you would expect from a medium-sized city.INFORMATION: There is a tourist information office run by the municipality just past the taxi rank. It is the only tourist information office that has ever charged me (€1) for a tourist map!
WIFI: Rodos Wifi is accessible from the harbour and also from the anchorage immediately outside, however it is prohibitively expensive at €10 per hour or €100 per week. Once it is activated it runs for the period purchased, you cannot log out to preserve your minutes. There are several cafes well away from the harbour heading in the direction of town beach that offer high speed free wifi service. We did not find wifi in any of the harbourfront cafes.
UTILITIES: The harbour offers 220v electricity and water. Both water and electricity cost €10 each for one unit and are metered. You prepay at the marina office and they will activate the services.
LAUNDRY: The laundry marked on the map above offers wash/dry and fold for only €5 per load. This is cheaper than some self-service laundromats.
GROCERY STORES: There are a couple of minimarkets in the streets around the harbour. There are two good, if pricey, markets at the end of the pier that will deliver to your boat for free. They offer the best selection of French and Italian wine that we have seen since arriving in the islands. There are two good large supermarkets; a Lidl supermarket and a more upmarket EuroSpar supermarket across the street from it, on the road leaving town heading towards Lindos on the East side of the island. These stores are about 2 miles or more from the harbour.
CAR/SCOOTER RENTAL: There are several rental agencies at the exit from the cruise ship pier. Expect to pay €40-€45 for a one day rental including full insurance and unlimited mileage.