Where to Stay in Rhodes: Medieval Old Town, Mandraki/New Town, Lindos and Kallithea

Because Rhodes is a compact 78-kilometre-long island with a fast eastern highway (driving from Rhodes Town to Lindos takes just 50 minutes), you do not need to change hotels unless you want to: basing yourself in Rhodes Town or Kallithea lets you reach every corner of the island on easy day trips, while Lindos offers a romantic whitewashed village setting.

1. Rhodes Medieval Old Town (Best for History, Romantic Courtyards & Atmosphere)

Sleeping inside the four-kilometre medieval walls, after the day-trippers leave late in the evening and warm lanterns illuminate the cobbled alleys, is atmospheric. Look for restored 15th-century stone boutique guesthouses with private chochlakia pebble-mosaic courtyards in the quieter residential lanes around Agia Ekaterini (near the Marine/St Athanasius Gates), the Jewish Quarter or Saint Phanourios Street (such as Kokkini Porta Rossa, Allegory, 10GR or Spirit of the Knights). (Tip: choose a property near one of the outer gates so your airport taxi can drop you within a 2-minute walk of the door).

2. Rhodes New Town: Mandraki, Elli Beach & Psaropoula (Best for Walkability + Town Beaches + Buses)

Stretching across the northern triangular peninsula just 5 to 15 minutes' walk north of the Old Town walls. For first-timers without a car, this is the most practical base on the island: you wake up steps from the turquoise water of Elli Beach (on the calm east side of the tip) or sunset-facing Akti Miaouli, walk 5 minutes to the Rimini Square bus terminals and Mandraki boat piers, and stroll into the Old Town for dinner every night.

3. Kallithea, Faliraki & Kolymbia (Best for 5-Star Beach Resorts & Families)

• Kallithea (6 to 10 km south of Rhodes Town): the upscale resort belt right around Kallithea Springs, offering five-star beachfront spa hotels with calm swimming coves just 15 minutes by bus/taxi from the Old Town.
• Kolymbia (25 km south, halfway between Rhodes Town and Lindos): a peaceful, eucalyptus-lined double bay right next to Tsambika Beach and Seven Springs.

4. Lindos, Vlycha & Pefkos (Best for Whitewashed Cycladic-Style Romance & Honeymoons)

Stay inside car-free Lindos Village (or on the quiet sandy bay of Vlycha / Navarone Bay 3 km away) to drink evening wine on a whitewashed rooftop terrace looking straight up at the floodlit Acropolis of Athena.