A working village on the west coast of Rhodes
Theologos runs from its old centre downhill to a long shoreline. Some locals still call it Tholos, so you may hear both names. Along the coast road there are tavernas, cafés, shops and a number of hotels – enough to eat somewhere different every night of the week, and never enough for a queue.
The beach is a short walk down the road from the villas, wide and open, pebble rather than sand. From May to October the meltemi blows steadily across the water, and it takes the edge off the hottest part of the afternoon.
It is a good shore for a long walk, with the kites strung out across the water further along.
Up in the old centre the lanes narrow between whitewashed houses.
Everything centres on the old square and the church of Agios Spiridonas, with its white bell tower. It stays quiet through the day, and quieter still in the afternoon.
The village has a handful of tavernas, most of them family-run, cooking the same things they cook at home: slow-cooked lamb, moussaka, fish off the grill, stuffed tomatoes and peppers. Ask for pitaroudia, the chickpea fritters that are Rhodian rather than Greek.
Nobody has to drive to dinner.
Theologos is an established kitesurfing and windsurfing destination, and the reason is the wind: steady, side-shore and dependable right through the summer. The beach road below the villas runs straight down to the main launch spots.
There is no need to bring your own kit. The kitesurfing schools along the shore rent equipment, store it between sessions and teach at every level, from a first lesson to a rider who just wants a board for the week.
Guided quad tours leave from an office in the village and spend most of their time off the tarmac: dirt tracks, dry riverbeds and forest back roads inland, and a stretch along the shore. There are two departures a day.
Take the later one: it climbs to a viewpoint timed for the sunset, and that is the part people talk about afterwards. There is usually a stop at a local farm along the way.
The stone foundations lie just below the old centre, beside the road that climbs up to it – Hellenistic, and largely unvisited. Most people drive straight past without knowing they are there.
There are no ticket queues and rarely anyone else there; it is a quiet walk or a short drive out through the olive groves.
290 m
to the nearest beach
5 min
stroll to traditional tavernas
7 km
to Diagoras Airport (RHO)
18 km
to Rhodes Town
6 km
to the Valley of the Butterflies
Apr–Oct
Mediterranean summer season
Taverna tables, the meltemi off the water, and a pool of your own for the week.
