“The front row of Kastellorizo looks like a theatre set, and the backstreets are like the backstage where you find the real life of the local people with their secret stories,” says Marie Rivalant, a Parisian architect who has helped to reverse the fortunes of this thriving 19th-century shipping port, which was badly bombed and virtually abandoned after WWII. Fifteen years ago, Rivalant took a lease on a quayside pension named Mediterraneo after the Oscar-winning movie shot on the island in the early Nineties. The film was the catalyst for a slow trickle of tourism, which still comes in gentle waves rather than overwhelming surges.
“For many of our guests, the island became an addiction,” says Rivalant, who has since opened a Greek delicatessen and a second guesthouse, Casa Mediterraneo. “The main reason why well-known people enjoy this tiny island with their family and friends is that nobody disturbs them, and everyone respects their privacy. As the French say: “Pour vivre heureux, vivons cachés.”
The Admiral’s House
The best places to stay on Kastellorizo
Mediterraneo
The first boutique hotel on the island is still the most photogenic place to stay. The seaside terrace is reason enough to hop on a boat to Kastellorizo—as many have done, only to return summer after summer. Brightly colored cushions and rugs are strewn beneath the arches of the quayside veranda, the perfect launchpad for a swim before a Levantine breakfast at the communal table, where guests at this seven-room “maison de famille” mingle. The pièce de resistance is the ground floor suite, which has direct access to the sea. A melange of bold colors, richly patterned textiles and Ottoman antiques, the atmosphere here is intimate and unpretentious.
The Admiral’s HouseAndreas Stathis
The Admiral’s House
Poised on the rocky shoreline, this elegant three-bedroom mansion is surrounded by the sea. Owner Constantina Agapitou Crowley, affectionately known as Kastellorizo’s ambassador-at-large, is the daughter of the eponymous admiral who built the house. It’s still very much a family home, the blue-and-white interiors brimming with history and character. Even so, the main draw has to be the succession of waterfront terraces, with daybeds for sunbathing and step ladders that lure you into the deep blue sea. It’s a fifteen-minute stroll to the waterfront restaurants and cafés that line the harbor.
Casa Mediterraneo
Housed in a trio of neoclassical mansions set back from the waterfront, Marie Rivalant’s second guesthouse has a slightly more muted, polished feel. All six suites have sea views and occupy an entire floor. Painted in dusky hues of ochre, burnt umber, olive green and terracotta, the interiors change throughout the day as sunlight streams through the huge windows. Guests gather under the pergola in the garden for a breakfast of fresh figs and goat’s cheese. At golden hour, an in-the-know crowd come for sundowners or pop-up suppers hosted by guest chefs. A collaboration between Rivalant and two other French designers enamored with the island (Grégoire Du Pasquier and Luc Jejeune), the whole place whispers romance. But it’s also an ideal base for getting to know who’s who on Kastellorizo.
The Blue GrottoGetty Images
The best things to do on Kastellorizo
The Blue Grotto
You have to lie down flat to squeeze through the opening of this sea cave, but suddenly, you’re floating inside a dome of liquified blue light. Swimming through the cave is akin to an out-of-body experience, even when other excitable visitors are bobbing around you. Allegedly, the cave is home to a resident seal, as elusive as the Loch Ness monster. Access is only possible when the sea is calm.
Swimming
There are basically no beaches (sandy or otherwise) on Kastellorizo, and yet swimming, snorkelling and messing about in boats are some of the best things to do here. You can dive straight into the sea from the pier at Faros or Mandraki, another natural harbor just around the headland from the ferry dock—you might find yourself swimming with the turtles who lie in wait near the seafood tavernas. Or follow footpaths to remote swimming holes like Plakes, with flat limestone rock formations for sunbathing.
St George’s Island
Cruise over to the tiny islet of St George, whose rocky coastline is ideal for snorkeling. The island is uninhabited apart from a simple beach bistro run by a Greek-Turkish couple, Tsikos and Hurigul. The short menu blurs culinary boundaries, with gozleme (stuffed Turkish flatbread) served alongside Greek salad and club sandwiches.
