Kos and Kalymnos Twin Centre

We arrived at Kos Airport in the early hours of the morning and was quickly transferred to our accommodation in Kardamena. It only took 10 minutes and we were in our apartment. We quickly dumped our luggage and headed into the resort to get a drink and some food. We were surprised how much was open as it was approx. 2am! We managed to find an excellent bar on the harbour front, called Crackers with an outside seating area and settled for an hour or so.

The next morning we got up and explored our resort. There is a road train that runs the length of the resort and cost us something like EUR5 per person and took around 30-40 minutes, they gave some history of the resort and island, we really enjoyed it.

We went to Nyciros, a dormant volcano around 2 hours by ferry from Kardamena and went on the rip up to the crater….. it smelled awful but was a fantastic experience to be able to see the lava just under the surface and to be stood in the crater. We stopped off in one of the little art galleries near the harbour on our way back to the ferry for the return trip and bought the most beautiful piece of art that still reminds us of our trip today.

We spent a day and evening in Kos Town which was beautiful! With its Fortress walls and cobbled streets, the Asklepieon (the first hospital ever built) and Hippocrates Tree, there is so much history and culture that we really should have stayed a night or 2 in Kos Town. We ate in an amazing restaurant in the evening, very chic looking with gorgeous cream square parasols over the tables and a meze menu so you could enjoy lots of little dishes instead of a three course meal.

We also did a trip to Turkey from Kos as we were only about an hour away by ferry. We spent the day meandering through the backstreets of Bodrum, exploring the and bartering in the shops as well as heading to the Byzantine Castle which looks amazing as the sun is going down. This was a full day excursion and we didn’t get back to our hotel until about 8pm.

We spent our second week on the island of Kalymnos, the neighbouring island to Kos. We got a taxi to Mastichari which took about 20 minutes for our EARLY ferry at 7am. There are only 3 or 4 ferries a day.

We checked into Kantouni Beach Hotel where we found paradise! It’s right on the beach and has the most amazing pool bar staff. There were restaurants along the beach on either side of the hotel and you could walk to the resort area of Elies Square for more choice. This was traditional Greece, you ate out and socialised with local people.

For such a small island there is still a lot to see and do if you want to. We did quite a bit on the island, including hiring a car and exploring the island at our own pace. We visited the small village of Vathi which is the home to the deepest natural harbour in Greece to the opposite end of the island and the tiny village of Emporios. The area is particularly popular with climbers.

We went over to the little island of Telendos by water taxi from Massouri and spent the afternoon there (walked round the island in about 40 minutes!) then spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach. There is no transport on the island at all so it’s lovely for a peaceful day of relaxation.

We found so many amazing restaurants and taverna’s during our stay, although probably one of our favourites was the Aegean restaurant in Massouri with gorgeous food and a view of the entire bay of Massouri and the island of Telendos. We ate there at sunset and even now it’s one of my favourite memories.

There was plenty of nightlife on Kalymnos if you wanted it from Bouzouki clubs to nightclubs, coffee bars to ouzeri’s. You really got a sense of the culture and everyone was so friendly, speaking to you and welcoming us to their island.

I loved both islands, but my heart has stayed in Kalymnos…… I need to go back to fetch it!