Gavin

Nov 22, 2023

RSD, Rhodes and Aegean tour

We have just returned home from this busy but enjoyable tour. After reading some of the negative reviews on here we were a little anxious about what our trip was going to be like despite having used RSD previously. However, while there were a few niggly bits overall, our holiday was very enjoyable and definitely value for money. We are well travelled, sometimes independently and sometimes on tours. Over the years we have stayed in some basic accommodation right through to luxurious cruises therefore feel we speak after lots of experience. We are classed as a regular customer with RSD therefore get information about offers for some of these tours. The price we paid for this tour was very reasonable, we paid extra for the half board for the first week and all inclusive for the second week. This still made the holiday a very good value trip. Positive point: Cost of holiday - feel it would be difficult to find an equivalent tour for the price we paid Good hotels (maybe not 5* but clean & comfortable) Good selection of food, agree it can be repetitive but always able to find something to eat. Informative guides Hassle free as transported to places of interest by coach Includes admission to some of the places of interest Things that were frustrating: Spending too much time at the jewellery, leather and carpet places. We had no intention of buying, so just walked through to the exit and waited outside. While our guide was very knowledgeable and informative, sometimes it was difficult to understand him which resulted in some misunderstandings with some people. Unfortunately he did lose his patience with people a few times. Other travellers moaning that they had not been informed that the all inclusive didn’t include all drinks. It includes soft drinks, tea, coffee, local wines, beer and ouzo. Some people expected it to include G&T for example. We felt our guide did give this information before people decided whether to buy the all inclusive package. We would have preferred more time at some of the places of interest such as Ephesus rather than long periods hanging around at the jewellery, leather & carpet places and some occasions long lunch breaks (although aware that the drivers need a reasonable break on long journeys) The hotels we stayed at during our trip were: Virginia family resort in Rhodes 3 nights - ok but long queues to get tea and coffee at breakfast. Can walk to the beach from this hotel but would need a taxi to get to old town Rhodes (€11 one way) Tripolis hotel in Pamukkale 1 night - we liked this hotel very much. It was smaller and more intimate with a lovely thermal indoor pool Sea lights hotel in Kusadasi 2 nights - very nice hotel with some fabulous coastal views (we spent 1 night at another hotel near Kusadasi but can’t remember the name) Our final hotel for 7 nights in Rhodes was the Rodos Palace hotel. It’s about 1 hour to walk to the old town but you can get a bus from outside the hotel. A taxi cost €9/€10 for up to 4 people. Our room was big, clean & comfortable albeit a little dated overlooking the coast. The hotel has a range of different rooms some better than others, it appears to be pot luck what you get allocated. We found the food plentiful and didn’t struggle to find something to eat. Please remember it’s buffet food, sometimes think it could be warmer than what was available. If you go all inclusive you can order a packed lunch if you go out for the day. The quality of the drinks for all inclusive was ok, I’ve definitely had worse tasting wine! The drinks are served in paper cups but it didn’t bother us, we just took our wine and put it in a wine glass in our room. For some reason this hotel charges a fee to enter some of the entertainment for example the bingo, karaoke and Greek night. There was a singer in the main bar but we didn’t really stay to listen. Would we recommend this trip? Yes if you can let some of the niggly things go and not get worked up about them Yes if you want a value for money holiday Yes if you don’t mind not knowing what hotels you will be staying at Yes if you prefer to travel out of season Yes if you like traveling with others Yes if you enjoy busy holidays seeing some amazing sites No if you are expecting a 5* holiday No if you expect loads of shops / restaurants / hotels to be open No if you can’t cope with the jewellery, leather and carpet visits No if you don’t want early starts and busy days during the 1st week