The resort strips - Ixia, Ialyssos, Kalithea, Faliraki and Kolymbia, spreading north and south of the capital - are package-holiday Rhodes: all-inclusive hotels, a beach on the doorstep, pools and kids’ clubs and a shuttle culture. It is the honest answer for families who want the sea and the buffet handled and do not plan to move much.
It is also the Rhodes that is easiest to never leave. That is the trade, and it is worth deciding about rather than discovering in week two.
The three bases, and who each suits
- The resort strips - all-inclusive and beachfront. Best for families and package holidays; generic, and easy to never leave.
- The Old Town - medieval and atmospheric, for city-first travellers. Few big-hotel comforts, and cobbles, which matters with a pushchair.
- The New Town - modern and convenient, beach-plus-city, easy logistics, less character than the walls.
- Lindos - the postcard village under a floodlit acropolis. Pricey, and far from town and the airport.
Where to stay in Rhodes works through them.
The distances are the thing people underestimate
Rhodes is long. Lindos is about 45 minutes south of the capital by car, and the KTEL bus down to Lindos takes about 1 hour 40 minutes each way from Rhodes Town.
With children that turns Lindos from an afternoon into a day, in both directions. It is also the reason a car pays for itself the moment you want the south on your own clock: the buses run the east coast reliably, but slowly.
The west coast, the mountain wineries and the inland villages have little or no bus service - that is car country. Rhodes airport to Lindos covers the arrival version of this problem.
The Old Town with children
Worth doing, and worth timing. It is walled, car-free and walkable end to end - the gates are for people, not vehicles, so park outside and walk in.
Car-free is a genuine advantage with children. The cobbles are the counterweight, and they are the reason the Old Town reads better as a day out than as a base with a pushchair.
What makes Rhodes different from the Cyclades
A long season. Rhodes runs unusually late compared with the Aegean islands, which matters if you are tied to school holidays at either shoulder. That is one of the strongest practical arguments for it over a Cycladic island.
The Rhodes itinerary sequences a week, and Kos vs Rhodes puts the two Dodecanese family islands side by side - Kos for flat, easy beach days, Rhodes for the Old Town and more to see.
What this page will not tell you
It will not tell you a beach or a hotel is safe or suitable for your child. Read the flags and the local advice rather than a guide on the day, and treat “kids’ clubs” as a description of what a strip offers rather than an endorsement of any operator. Nothing here is a certification - our editorial policy is explicit that we do not certify safety.
Our Rhodes guide has the practicalities and Greece with kids covers choosing the island.