The ancient port of Rhodes Town, where the Colossus is said to have stood and where our sailing yacht Nikolaos departs every morning. Five minutes from the Old Town walls, it is a destination in its own right. Here is what to see and how the boat trips work.
Mandraki has been the harbour of Rhodes for well over two thousand years, and it carries the island's most famous legend. This is the spot where the Colossus of Rhodes, the giant bronze statue of the sun god Helios and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is traditionally said to have stood. The image of the statue straddling the harbour mouth with ships sailing between its legs is almost certainly a later invention, but the association has never left this stretch of water.
Today the harbour entrance is marked instead by two bronze deer, Elafos and Elafina, a stag and a doe standing on tall pillars either side of the gap. Deer are the emblem of Rhodes, and the pair have become the modern signature of the town: if you have seen one photograph of Rhodes, it probably includes them.
Walk the long breakwater that shelters the harbour and you pass three medieval windmills, built to grind grain unloaded from the merchant ships that once packed the quay. At the far end stands the Fort of Saint Nicholas, a 15th-century round tower raised by the Knights of Saint John to guard the harbour mouth, which later served as a lighthouse.
Back on the town side, the waterfront is lined with the grand Italian-era public buildings of the 1920s and 30s, a market, and the moorings where sailing yachts, excursion boats and fishing caiques tie up side by side. The whole loop takes under an hour on foot and is one of the best free walks in Rhodes Town. American visitors searching for Mandraki Harbor will find the same place: one harbour, two spellings.
Mandraki sits immediately outside the medieval walls of Rhodes Old Town, about 5 minutes on foot from the northern gates. From anywhere in the town centre you can simply walk; from resorts down the coast, buses and taxis stop within a couple of minutes of the quay. If you are coming for a morning boat departure, aim to arrive 15 minutes early and enjoy the deer statues and windmills while the boats load.
The harbour is also the natural base for a full Rhodes day: boat trip in the morning, then the Palace of the Grand Master, the Street of the Knights and the Old Town lanes in the late afternoon when the cruise crowds thin out.
Mandraki is where every one of our trips begins. Sailing yacht Nikolaos departs from the quay daily at 9:30am for the all-inclusive day cruise down the east coast, and in the evenings for the sunset cruise to Kallithea. You board a few hundred metres from the Old Town walls and are swimming in an emerald bay within the hour.
Once you sail out of Mandraki, the east coast opens up. Read our guides to Anthony Quinn Bay, Ladiko Bay and Kallithea Springs, or see the full list on the destinations page.
According to tradition, yes. Mandraki is the spot most often cited for the Colossus of Rhodes, the giant bronze statue of the sun god Helios and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The popular image of it straddling the harbour entrance is almost certainly legend, but the harbour's claim to the statue is why the two bronze deer now mark the entrance pillars.
Elafos and Elafina, a stag and a doe, stand on columns either side of the harbour entrance. Deer are the symbol of Rhodes, and the pair mark the point where the Colossus is traditionally said to have stood. They are among the most photographed landmarks on the island.
About 5 minutes on foot. The harbour sits directly outside the medieval walls, so you can walk from the Old Town gates to the quayside in a few hundred metres. It is easy to combine a morning boat trip with an afternoon in the Old Town.
Yes, Mandraki is the main departure point for boat trips from Rhodes Town. Our sailing yacht Nikolaos departs from here daily at 9:30am for the all-inclusive day cruise, with sunset cruises leaving in the evening. Message us on WhatsApp to book.
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Nikolaos Sailing