Landing on the Greek island of Rhodes, pulling into a vast, modern resort complete with sun loungers, glistening pools and a long stretch of unspoiled beach, you might expect a textbook week-long holiday of rest and relaxation in the Rhodian sun. However, at Neilson’s Levante Beach Club the eagle-eyed will soon note that one of those pools is a cold plunge, the platform next to the beach bar is packed with spin bikes, and half of the beach is lined with dinghies, kayaks, and windsurf rigs. At this resort, rest is not the order of the day. Instead we’re here to move, challenge and exhilarate – a dream for a Type 2 fun personality like me.
For those unfamiliar, ‘Type 2’ is a measure on the ‘Fun Scale’ used by outdoor enthusiasts to describe the enjoyment gained from their more physically challenging endeavours. Spanning from Type 1 fun, which refers to an activity you actually enjoy in the moment (like lying on a sun lounger), Type 3 are the kinds of pursuits normal people might just ask ‘why?’, due to the extreme discomfort they cause (like running an ultramarathon through a desert). Type 2 fun is the middle ground at which the activity might be difficult at the time but afterwards your brain forgets the pain or fear, you feel great that you’ve completed a challenge and, if you’re in this brigade, you’ll likely sign up to go again the very next day.
As a card-carrying member of the Type 2 community, where I’ve just landed is Heaven. From morning to night, there’s a smorgasbord of fitness classes, guided hikes and bike rides, taster and tutoring sessions in nearly every sport you can think of, and reams of specialist equipment to practice and perfect a new skill.
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I must stress, too, that the pursuit of each of these endeavours is rewarded handsomely afterwards, soaking in the unbroken 30ºC sun at the non-cold plunge poolside, taking full advantage of the delectable Greek buffets, and whiling away plenty of time – cocktail in hand – at the beachfront bar. This is far from a boot-camp holiday of suffering and restriction, but an exciting playground of new activities with ample opportunity, too, for some well-earned indulgence.
Far from an exhaustive list of all the options on offer, here’s what I managed to fit into a seven-day stay.
Water-skiing
Perfectly situated on the long beach of Afandou on the eastern coast of Rhodes, Levante is a prime location for all types of water sports. In the mornings, the water is perfectly calm, and it’s for this reason that I booked my first waterski session promptly for 9am.
Having never done it before, waterskiing looked impossible and the impact of hitting the water while being dragged fast behind a speedboat, intimidating to say the least. However, after just three practices on a training bar attached to the side of the boat, I’d mastered moving from knees tucked tight into your chest, using the water pressure against the skis to slowly lift to standing. Thanks to the warm encouragement of the instructor, I was ready to take to the rope and, after an inelegant struggle to position my skis in front of me, I was watching the boat zoom away, bracing for the rope to gain tension.
Attempt one: faceplant and note to self: let go of the rope faster when you fall. Attempt two: bambi legs but I made it upright! Attempt three and I’m stood confidently, feeling positively James Bond-esque. After just 15 minutes on this, I’ve made huge progress and am totally hooked.
Wing-surfing
I’ll be honest and admit that, before arriving on this trip, I had never even heard of wing-surfing, which is essentially windsurfing but, instead of the semi-inflated sail being attached to the board, it’s held separately, allowing experts to lift, flap and spin it to build speed, change direction and perform tricks.
After an introductory morning session battling a mild breeze, I was feeling confident on the board and smugly made it back to shore without even getting my hair wet. Before bee-lining for a hefty lunch to reward my efforts, I speedily signed up for the afternoon improver session, feeling good about my winging future. But what a difference a few hours can make. Returning in the afternoon, the wind had picked up, and this time the moment I lifted my sail I was swept by a large gust quickly out to sea.
Caught on the wind, hurtling towards the horizon, I battled with the wing trying to slow myself, eventually plunging off the board into the sea with a cold shock. Emerging from the water, however, the bigger shock came when I realised the gust was so strong that my wing had become untethered from the cord attached to my wrist and was fast drifting away. Swimming back to the board and hoisting myself back on, I laid on my stomach and began frantically paddling to retrieve it. Meanwhile, onboard the safety boat constantly patrolling the area to retrieve amateur watersport students, my husband – who had sensibly offered to photograph the afternoon’s activities instead of partake – heard the words: “Winger, right-hand-side, drifting into the shipping lane”. One day in, it’s official – I’m untethered. And that was the end of my wing-surfing career.
Padel
Already super popular across Spain and Italy and reportedly the favourite pastime of A-list celebrities such as George and Amal Clooney and David Beckham, padel is now said to be the fastest growing sport in the UK. With endorsements like that, I was excited for my introductory session to find out what all the fuss is about.
Played in doubles, on a small enclosed court, it’s a fast-moving game in which players can use the walls as an extra surface from which to hit satisfyingly aggressive shots towards their opponents. Much like a tennis-squash hybrid, I was instantly hooked and, after just one exhausting game, was posting a call-out on social media to find fellow padel fans to play with back home. When it comes to padel, my verdict: believe the hype.
Mountain biking
Like every time I mountain bike, I began this ride nervous, out of practice, and intimidated by the steepest descents. After a while, though, I relaxed into it, went full steam, suffered my first fall and, once that plaster was ripped off, regained my off-road confidence and made a beeline for the hills. Around Afantou, there is a spoil of routes for both mountain biking and road cycling, all helpfully documented by the Neilson team on Strava meaning, if you don’t fancy joining one of the numerous daily guided group rides, you can set your own pace and go it alone.
On the resort’s Trek X-Caliber 9 MTBs, we headed into the hills towards Seven Springs – an oasis of waterfalls, greenery and a stunning turquoise lake in which to cool off after a tiring climb under the intense Greek sunshine. After a rest and rehydration here, it was time to enjoy the descent back towards the shoreline, following wide farm tracks bordered with olive trees and the odd bright white chapel.
A word of warning on these exhilarating downhill trails, though: watch out for goats! The creatures are plentiful on these hillsides and very erratic, often darting from under trees right into your path presumably unsettled by the noise of a bike careering down gravel. Keep your eyes peeled to avoid collision.
Wakeboarding
After my successful stint water-skiing, I was keen to progress towards wakeboarding, which I’d been told was generally the more difficult of the two. Following the same lesson format as before – practising first on the training bar and then progressing to being towed from the back of the boat – it’s true that the pressure from the solid board opposed to two slim skis is greater, making rising to standing a little more challenging at first, but for me it was even more fun. With my weight centred more solidly on the board, not having to worry about my legs splitting in two directions, I was much more comfortable and soon felt very at home angling my toes and hips to curve around the waves in the boat’s wake. And the beauty of wakeboarding within the resort… the proximity to an impressive six pools to stretch out in as soon as you’re done, because this is one you’re going to feel in your muscles in the morning.
Pickleball
Another racket sport which has seen a huge surge in popularity in recent years, pickleball is a relatively easy one to pick up the basics. We opted to join a social group lesson for our first go, splitting into groups of four to play doubles on the small outside courts.
Named after the inventor’s dog ‘Pickle’, who used to steal the game’s hollow plastic ball during play, pickleball is very physical, featuring fast volleys, lots of movement and an initially complicated set of rules.
After just an hour’s lesson, however, we had digested the rotating serves and ideal formations and ended up staying on court with some new-found friends to perfect our couple’s game.
Kayaking
With miles of stunning beach just metres from the hotel, kayaking was a welcome low-impact activity through which to explore more of the local area. Available to take out anytime alone, we also joined a guided group kayak to a local beach bar, setting out first thing in a convoy of about 20 single and double kayaks. After pulling up to shore and ordering coffees, smoothies or beers, we quickly cooled off with a swim in the sea before reboarding and bickering all the way back to Levante about who was rowing out of time.
Tennis
After nearly a week of nerve-rattling new sports, we headed out onto the tennis courts admittedly expecting a fairly easy session but, man, were we quickly humbled. Tired from the week’s exertions, and lulled into a false sense of security by the smaller courts and lighter balls of padel and pickleball, we fast-remembered we are terrible at tennis and this was probably the sport we found hardest all week. Luckily for us, there’s a whole host of ways to improve your game at Levante, with courts available to book for free play, group and private coaching, drill sessions and social tennis, including ‘Sip and Hit’ that, exactly as the name suggests, combines tennis and drinking. Maybe, we would have done better starting out with that one.
After all of this, I was far from completing everything on offer – not even having started on sailing, windsurfing, paddle-boarding, swim training, HIIT or many of the packed programme of classes on offer. Able to exert or relax as much as one wishes, I instead made time to visit the nearby town of Kolybia, the ancient ruins and waterside piazzas of Rhodes Old Town – and, of course, committed plenty of hours to the thoroughly Type 1 priority of topping up my tan.
