Rhodes' west coast is the windward flank of the island, so it's damper, more fertile and more forested; most beaches, however, are exposed and decidedly rocky. None of this has deterred development, and as in the east the first few kilometres of the busy shore road down from the capital have been surrendered entirely to tourism. From Neohóri's aquarium down to the airport, the shore is fringed by an almost uninterrupted line of Miami-beach-style hotels, though such places as Triánda, Kremastí and Paradhísi are still nominally villages, with real centres. This was the first part of the island to be favoured by the package operators, and tends to be frequented by a decidedly sedate, middle-aged/family clientele that doesn't stir much from the poolside.

 

There's not much inducement to stop until you reach the important archeological site of KAMEIROS , which together with Líndhos and Ialyssos was one of the three Dorian powers that united during the fifth century BC to found the powerful city-state of Rhodes. Soon eclipsed by the new capital, Kameiros was abandoned and only rediscovered in 1859. As a result it is a particularly well-preserved Doric townscape, doubly worth visiting for its beautiful hillside site (summer Tues-Sun 8am-7pm, winter 8.30am-3pm; ¬3). While none of the individual remains is spectacular, you can make out the foundations of two small temples, the re-erected pillars of a Hellenistic house, a Classical fountain, and the stoa of the upper agora, complete with a water cistern. Because of the gentle slope of the site, there were no fortifications, nor was there an acropolis. On the beach below Kameiros there are several tavernas, highly commercialized but acceptable while waiting for one of the two daily buses back to town (if you're willing to walk 4km back to Kalavárdha you'll have a better choice of service).

At the tiny anchorage of KÁMIROS SKÁLA (aka Skála Kamírou) 15km south, there are five more-touristy restaurants, which somewhat inexplicably have become the target of coach tours. Less heralded is the daily kaïki which leaves for the island of Hálki at 2.30pm, weather permitting, returning early the next morning; on Wednesdays and Sundays there are day-trips departing at 9am and returning at 4pm. For a better meal , skip the circus here and proceed 400m southwest to off-puttingly named Paralía Kopriá ("Manure Beach"), where Psarotaverna Johnny's has good non-farmed fish and orektiká , especially on Sundays when own-made dolmádhes and (seasonally) squash blossoms may be on the menu with the usual standards; it's been "discovered" and so is pricier than it used to be, but still worth a stop.

A couple of kilometres south of Skála, the "Kastello", signposted as Kástro Kritinías , is from afar the most impressive of the Knights' rural strongholds, and the paved access road is too narrow and steep for tour buses. Close up it proves to be no more than a shell, but a glorious shell, with fine views west to assorted islets and Hálki. You make a "donation" to the formidable old woman at the car park in exchange for fizzy drinks, seasonal fruit or flowers.

Beyond Kritinía itself, a quiet hillside village with a few rooms and tavernas, the main road winds south through the dense forests below mounts Akramytis and Atávyros to SIÁNNA , the most attractive mountain settlement on the island, famous for its aromatic pine-sage honey and soúma , a grape-residue distillate similar to Italian grappa but far smoother. The tiered, flat-roofed farmhouses of MONÓLITHOS , 4km southwest at the end of the public bus line, are scant justification for the long trip out here, and food at the four tavernas is indifferent owing to the tour-group trade, but the view over the bay is striking and you could use the village as a base by staying in rooms or at the Hotel Thomas (tel 02410/22 741 or 02460/61 291; ¬26.50), which has fair-sized rooms belying a grim exterior, and due for a refit in 2002. Diversions in the area include yet another Knights' castle 2km west of town, photogenically perched on its own pinnacle but enclosing even less inside than Kástro Kritinías, and the sand-and-gravel beaches (no facilities) at Foúrni , five paved but curvy kilometres below the castle. In the headland between the first and second beaches are some caves that were hollowed out by early Christians fleeing persecution.