In short
The old town of Rhodes is enclosed by four kilometres of walls built by the Knights of St John. It is a World Heritage site and still holds several thousand residents: it is a neighbourhood, not a monument.
The island is eighty kilometres long. Lindos and its acropolis in the south, the Valley of the Butterflies in the centre, and an east coast far more sheltered than the west.
What it really costs
Rhodes is markedly cheaper than the Cyclades, because its tourism is mass and organised rather than selective. Accommodation outside the northern resorts stays affordable.
The island is large and buses serve the interior poorly: a car is needed to see anything beyond your resort. Count the hire in the budget.
What nobody tells you
The west coast is exposed to the meltemi and the water there is choppy almost all season. Every calm beach is on the east, and the north-western hotels do not say so.
The old town empties completely at the end of the day when the coaches leave. Sleeping there gives you a different town from the one day visitors see.
The 2023 fires hit the south-east of the island. Vegetation is growing back, but some landscapes are not the ones in older photographs.