Kos Holidays and Kos Beaches Guides and Photos.

Around 3.5 hours flying time from Gatwick), Kos is part of the Sporades Island group of the Dodecanese, Greece - it's a fairly thin shaped island measuring around 42kms long by as little as 8kms wide in places. An ideal time to have a holiday on Kos is mid to the end of June - this being immediately before the real start of the holiday season (as with most Islands in Greece) so things are still relatively quiet and prices for just about everything not too bad. The information on buses, car-hire prices, food costs and so on are for guidance only since always liable to change (usually up).
Much of the Island is quite flat with it's mountainous area located to the North-east. Kos has beaches around most of it's coastline - some are of sand but many of the beaches are often quite narrow shingle affairs and can have a nice layer of weed on their edges - and ever present flies. The best sandy beaches on Kos - for instance around Kardemena - are often inundated with beach chairs and umbrellas and it can be difficult to actually see the sand in places. Kos (particularly Kos Town) has some excellent archaeological sites to visit whilst on holiday - most of them are free to enter - however quite often these sites are not at all maintained and there can be lots of long grass, thistles and shrubbery to have to negotiate which is disappointing. The exception is the Asklepieion which you pay 4 Euros to enter - this site is well maintained with good paths and clear views of the archaeology. There is of course the magnificent fort to visit which dominates the harbour area of Kos Town - currently with an entrance fee at the time of 3 Euros. The Turkish mainland is extremely close to Kos (around 4kms away at one point) and therefore it is of no surprise to find lots of Greek military presence on this island - so sometimes watch where you aim your camera. Actually the military seem to have removed themselves from some areas on the island compared with what we saw when we were last there - for instance the huge out of bounds areas around Cape Chelona now seems to be completely accessible.

About getting to Kos. Flying to Kos. The international airport has reasonably good facilities - you get through quite quickly - and the usual variety of services to get you away on your holiday - buses, taxis and so on. As far as leaving is concerned the facilities are not at all bad once you get through the inevitable security bits - currently you have to go to a check-in desk for your seats etc and get your luggage labelled and weighted then you take the luggage to another queue and it's put through the scanners and taken away. They only allow around 20 or so people at a time inside so if you arrive behind a load of coaches you can be stuck outside in the hot sun for some time. The airport facilities in the waiting area are the usual snack type food, cold drinks and so on and the whole area has quite a few seats and is air-conditioned. There are several screens showing departures - gates - boarding etc and they usually give one tannoy announcement in both Greek and English for the flight boarding warning.

Ferries to Kos. Kos is well served by the Greek Ferry network system - with the usual large car ferries, the Flying Dolphins serving nearbye islands and the excellent Dodekanisos Express Cats running at least daily between Rhodes and Patmos - incidentally calling in at the excellent little island of Lipsi on the way. On top of this there are other small ferry companies which you can use to get to various islands - the timetables for these you have to find from their actual departure points (say at the harbour in Kos Town) since these are not easily discovered on the web etc. Ferry prices have increased enormously in recent months - our trip on the Cat going Kos to Patmos and back cost the two of us 117 Euros. Many people take the day trip over to Nysiros to see the volcano whilst on holiday on Kos however we have previously made this trip so decided not go this time however we were offered a trip from Kos Town for which they wanted 30 Euros each. If possible it is better to take this trip from Kardamena as the town is very much closer to Nysiros and therefore the prices must be considerably lower. The coach ride to the calderon is quite interesting to say the least - on most day trips you get around 45 minutes to an hour when there - remember to wear shoes as flip-flops and similar flimsy footwear are not a good idea.

Getting Around Kos. There is a variable bus service running out of Kos Town going out to most of the towns - with some buses running as often as every 15 minutes in peak times - these buses operate well into the evening. Buses from Kos Town visit locations such as Psalidi/Agios Fokas, Platani, Mesaria and Kardamena - but you need to check times which are often displayed at the bus stops. For instance bus 1 and 5 (Psalidi route) are meant to run every 15 to 30 minutes depending on the time of day but you can find nothing at all turns up for an hour.

In and around Kos Town and elsewhere cycling is extremely popular with holidaymakers - it helps of course that most of the island is fairly flat. There is a wide well surfaced cycle lane (and also pedestrians are allowed to use it too cyclists please note) going from Kos Town harbour along the coast passing the pebble beaches and continuing well past Psalidi. Cycle hire ranges from a bit of heap at 3 Euros per day through to brand-new well geared bikes costing around 5 Euros or so.
Car-hire - is really expensive for some reason on Kos - we went to several different car-hire companies in Kos Town (you can find several of these just off the main road to Psalidi a little bit past the yacht marina). Prices were generally being offered at around 42 to 45 Euros per day - and this with a perhaps 350 Euro own-fault accident excess - there is of course no fully comprehensive insurance available which is normal for Greek Islands.
Scooters etc. - these were going for around 20 to 25 Euros per day - there were hire companies everywhere to chose from. Buggies were being offered at 35 Euros per day and quad bikes just a shade cheaper. All in all hiring motorised transport on the island was extremely expensive - this of course did help to keep the roads fairly quiet since most people were seemingly taking a hire out for only 1 or 2 days and packing all their sightseeing in. In truth you can see most of the archaeological sites by using a bus out of Kos Town (a road-train takes you the 4kms from there to the Asklepieion for instance for 5 Euros return). The Fortress of Andimachia is just outside of Kardamena and can be walked if you fancy it or if you have the energy you can cycle as far as the monipath and walk the rest of the way. So apart from having a drive round some of the villages in the mountains (Zia is a favourite spot for tourists) and taking a look at some of the more isolated beaches etc. a couple of days car-hire is plenty since much of the island is somewhat featureless.
Taxis. There are loads of taxis running from the main square in Kos Town - as is adviseable generally when using taxis on the Greek islands you should get your price agreed prior to your journey. On Kos you do not usually pre-book a taxi - you just ring for one when you wish to make your journey. As mentioned prices are up for negotiation but as an example we payed 6 Euros for a trip from the ferry port out to our accommodation - around 6kms.

General costs whilst on the Island.
Kos Tavernas - we stayed in the Psalidi area and found the tavernas to be really nice - there are several situated alongside the beach and it was great to spend a relaxed evening watching the ferries go by etc whilst drinking some nice wine and having a good meal. It was quite difficult to spend more than 30 Euros for two of you in one of these Tavernas - as often in Greek Islands the amount of food you get is considerable. We did not actually use any of the tavernas at Kardemena but the prices seemed similar - however what you do get there is the eventual annoyance of being approached and asked to have a meal as you wander by every taverna - something not so apparent in for instance Kos Town.
Supermarkets. Well food prices - milk - bread - fruit - everything - has all shot up in price in the islands - in a similar way and in amounts to that which are now enjoyed in England.

Kos Beaches. Beaches on the island vary from sandy right through to quite heavy shingle - the beaches around the most popular holiday areas are regularly cleaned of seaweed and then totally re-covered with umbrellas and beach chairs - sometimes 4 or 5 lines of them out from the seashore. The cost of these varies but when we were on Kos early July we saw two chairs and an umbrella being offered for 5 Euros - and in some cases a couple of bottles of water were being thrown in as well (not thrown at you). By July the sun is amazingly hot - even the sand can scorch your feet let alone the pebbles - so it is worth having some "jellies" whilst getting your sun tan. As you leave the beach chair hotspots like Kardamena the further-out beaches are frequently lined with at least a couple of feet of sea weed - and it's worth mentioning that where washed up sea-weed exists then often as not so do annoying flies. The most enjoyable beaches we thought were those after the hotel complexes on the far side of Psalidi up as far as Cape Ag. Fokas - these are shingle beaches but the pebbles are nice round types so you can strech out on them quite nicely - and there is a distinct lack of sea-weed - just nice clear sparkling sea. The sea temperatures seem always to be quite cool in the Dodekanese Islands and stay that way until well into August so it's quite a shock to go from a 35 to 40 degree beach into perhaps 21 to 22 degrees in the water. Kos does quite often enjoy nice sea breezes especially along the Tigaki - Mastihari side of the island and these can make you think the temperatures are not as high as they really are especially when on the beach. The Kardamena side of Kos can feel quite a lot hotter as the wind and sea-breezes are often blocked by the mountains.

Locations to visit around Kos Island.

Kos Town. Kos Town is of course the island's capital city and where you wi find the main ferry terminals for both the large car ferries and also for the Kats and Dolphins. Quite close by you will also find quite an extensive yacht marina which you can wander around and admire the often expensive boats.

There are numerous cafes and shops, a huge castle and perhaps one of the largest free to enter archaeological sites to look around on any of the Greek Islands. Having visited many of these sites we have created a separate item on all this which can be found on our Sights of Kos topic.

Tigaki. - is located on the northern coast of Kos and a favourite destination for holiday companies and thus full of large blocks of accommodation - i.e. not particularly scenic. There are of course shops and tavernas etc. The beach right in the centre is sandy and is totally packed with sunshades and sunbeds - however as you head north along the coast the beach becomes quite narrow and does suffer from seaweed.

Mastichari. The town has a reasonable size harbour for yachts and there are some fishing boats - the harbour also provides a car ferry service out to Kalymnos. There are of course plenty of shops and tavernas plus accommodation in it's narrow mostly vehicle free streets. There is also a quite wide nicely paved promenade area running alongside it's presumably sandy beach because sadly yet again this Kos beach was covered in sun-beds and umbrellas. If you walk a little bit out of Mastichari the beaches become sun-bed free to a large extent and there is the possibility of some peace and quiet - however also the real possibility of sea-weed.

Kefalos (area). This area of Kos Island contains quite a few of Kos's more remote beaches, plus several nice churches etc. - please see our Kos Sightseeing Topic.

Kos - Kardamena. We actually stayed at Kardamena some years ago and it has changed quite a lot with it's now nicely paved streets and walking areas and looking quite clean and tidy. This is pure package holiday Kos - tavernas, shops and bars are everywhere. The town does have a beach which is apparently sandy - it is somewhat hard to tell because it appears to be totally covered with sun-beds and umbrellas. I am not sure there is even room for anyone to stretch out on the actual sand should they find it because the lines of sunbeds are placed really close to the shoreline. However if you head north along the coast out of Kardamena the area is a little wilder and quite a lot quieter. The sand on the beaches has become a little coarser but you find far few people about and it's even often possible to find a bit of beach where you can strip off for a naturist swim and sunbathe if you wish.

As mentioned we had returned to Kardemena just to see what is was now like - there are still groups of teenagers wandering around with cans of beer in their hands and one wonders just what things get like later into the evening. Talking to a family whilst in a taverna back near Kos Town one evening they said they had felt a little nervous about walking around Kardamena with their two children in the evening because of these groups of teenagers and had got themselves moved out of the town. Worth perhaps noting that in Kardamena the bars are allowed to be - and therefore are - often noisily open until 3 or 4 a.m.

Pyli and Old Pyli. Pyli is a populated village situated up in Kos's hilly area whilst Old Pyli is now deserted and really only consists of the ruins of the village and an old castle. Please see our Sights of Kos Topic.

Kos Villages - Zia. The mountain village of Zia is extremely popular with coach tour companies so if you want to have a look round where you can actually see anything the best time to go is as early in the morning as possible because by midday the village is inundated with day-trippers. However any Monday is also a good day to visit - the tour companies usually include Zia on their "round the island" trips and since quite a few of Kos's locations are shut on Mondays they often do not run these trips on that day.
There are lots of shops and tavernas in Zia - it is worth taking a walk round the village - especially consider taking at least a short wander up towards the mountain.

Zia marks the start point for a walk up to Kos's highest point - Mt. Dikeos - this nice Kos Holiday walk is on rocky pathsand initially through forest and ideally you do need walking boots or good trainers and you do also need plenty of drink with you.

Pisso Thermes. This is another target for the holiday tour company escursion coaches - apart from driving yourself you can also get there either by Bus no.5 out of Kos Town or by cycling to it (or of course walking as we did). The top parking area has several buildings selling hot dogs and other junk food around it - once past these head down left on a steep dusty track (there is some parking in two places on the way down by the way) to reach sea level. A little way along there are more places offering you culinary delights before you reach the sulphur springs - these barely noticeable outlets are located within a small-ish ring of rocks. As mentioned we walked there as part of a beach walk from Kos Town - really quite glad that we did not spend any money going to Pisso Thermes because quite honestly there is little there of interest and the area has quite a scruffy feel to it and is certainly not particularly scenic.

Kos's Hungry Ducks - Limni Springs. These Springs (and the resident "hungry" ducks) are located on the main road at the road junction at Linopotis where the road to Pili goes off into the mountains. The last time we visited and fed the ducks the surrounding area looked quite nice but unfortunately for our July 2008 visit some of Kos's infernal bulldozers had been at work nearbye and it's a bit of a mess.However the ducks are still alive and well and it is essential that when you visit them you have lots of bread as they are always hungry. We also saw several turtles as well as a tortoise on the small island in the middle of the springs. Apart from the ducks you can also spot some quite large eels who also seemed quite keen on getting something to eat.

Our other Kos Holidays related topic is about Touring and Walks on Kos. Also if you are staying on Kos and fancy a few days out on a mini Greek island hop you can easily visit Lipsi and Patmos by Greek Ferry.

Other Kos related Sites well worth looking at:
Kos Travel Guide from Greek Island Postcards
Kos by Greeka