“I’m off to Kos next week,” I told my friend as we grabbed a coffee at work. “Kos?? Why Kos, surely you want to go to santorini, or Mykonos, or Crete?’ The influence of instagram and tiktok was starting to show. “Whats so great about Kos?” he continued.

I laughed, I couldn’t really blame him, Kos, the third largest dodecanese island, is the historical, mythical , volcanically fiery sister of the other islands that surround Greece, but is often one that is lower on the list to be considered when considering where to go to in Kos, but I had a feeling it was about to surprise me.

Contents

How we got to Kos?

So luckily for us there is an airport right there on Kos, so just a few hours from london, we got a flight directly to there. We went in early June, which was in the low to mid 20 degrees centigrade (roughly 68-75 F).

The island of Kos, is majorly a flat low lying landscape with the exception of the mountains of Dikeos. This combined with the fact that it is surrounded by the Aegean Sea, means that there is a significant lack of microclimates in this region, and so throughout the year, it is never too hot and never too cold, and therefore a perfect place to visit.

Getting to the Hotel from the Airport

For those of you willing, and are able to – hire a car!

As there were enough of us, hiring a car worked out much better for us to travel around the city. As you can see, there is one main road theat covers the entire length of the island, and there are smaller roads that come off it, but its very easy to navigate, and more importantly, no dangerous drivers that we noticed over there!! Hiring a car at the airport is very easy, and genuinely fairly easy to get going (even if you’re used to left hand drive like us!)

But if you aren’t much of a driver, don’t worry!

Taxis are available from the airport, but there are no ubers or any taxi apps that work in this area. You would need the Hotel to order your taxi. I will warn you all this is a pricey option though, as most places are quite far away from the airport and will need at least a 20 minute journey, so expect to pay quite a bit, and confirm the price before you get into the taxi (I’ve made this mistake one too many times!).

The cheapest and most budget friendly option is getting the bus.

This information is from the website (please note, i’m unsure how up to date this information is, so please research this, and ensure it is still accurate for when you need it- this is 2025).

https://www.greeka.com/dodecanese/kos/car-bus/

From/To the Airport

• • Airport to Kos TownAvailability: Every day from 07:55 to 00:15
  Price: €3.50
• • Airport to KefalosAvailability: Every day from 07:30 to 21:35
  Price: €2.90
• • Airport to KardamenaAvailability: Every day from 07:50 to 23:35
  Price: €2.30
• • Airport to MastichariAvailability: Every day at 07:55 and 00:15
  Price: €2.30

The prices are all fairly reasonable and much more affordable than getting the bus

Check out the website above to see the routes available and how to get them.

Where to stay in Kos?

Isn’t this always a tricky one- where do you stay? Somewhere price is reasonable, somewhere theres enough to do, or easy access to places, somewhere you won’t be bored! But what does that mean to everyone. As I said, there are four of us here, and as a family (even an adult holiday) there are so many things that one thinks about before booking a hotel. Sadly for us, we had left it so late that we ended up in a place that was probably not the best place to stay if you are adventurers or want to check out a bit of Kos.

Areas to stay in

Kos town

This is the place i would recommend most people to stay in. The town is the capital of the island, and has lots going on, including bustling shops, restaurants, night life, not to mention the main port of the island. So many of the tours that are sea bound are often setting off from here. Often tour guides will pick you up for free from here if you even need it. If you aren’t driving around much, this is the place i would recommend staying. I would also say the prices here are the most expensive, so definitely check if it fits into your budget, and book early if you can.

Kardemena

The place is known for those looking for a bit more of a night life and those going to hen parties or stag doers. The bars and clubs are all lined up in one area and are generally good for those who want to go on a night out and a few drinks on their trip. Think long beaches and beach drinks.

Tigaki

Beautiful resort town, more for families and for all inclusive resorts. We stopped over in this town, just to check out (and use) the hamam. The town is beautiful, with lots of restaurants and nearby wildlife things to see- pelicans and turtles. (https://kos.gr/natural-beauty/alikes-salt-lake-wetland) – genuinely an amazing sight to see!

Mastichari

This is the place we ended up staying. We stayed in a hotel called Smy Beach and Splash Hotel

https://www.smyhotels.com/smy-kos-beach–splash.html

Mastichari, is pretty much in the middle of no where, so is great for families, who want a bit of seclusion or just a nice lay by the beach. It is unfortunately quite far away from most of the site seeing places, however, there are lots of tour companies around who will help provide buses if you do want to travel. Or if you are able to, like us, get a car, which makes life so much easier!

But one of the best things is the beach nearby, that every morning, you can walk down for the sunrise or see the sunset. It is genuinely beautiful.

Mythology in Kos

One of my favourite things about Greece in general, is that you can turn in any direction, and it will somehow associated with new mythological story.

Kos is filled with so much beauty and honestly such interesting stories, that I will go into this in a different post. So 100% read if you love mythology as much as I do! (yes yes, a definite nerd alert on my part!)

Our 7-day Kos Itinerary (Day by Day)

As you read below, I am by no means a travel expert and I am sharing my journey there! SO please add anything additional in the comments that I have missed and would love to see it the next time I’m there (because no country or even region should be visited only once).

Day 1

We arrived kind of late in the afternoon, and reached our hotel quite late. As stated above, we decided to go for an all inclusive deal in mid June, so a time when the prices had begun to rise, and after a few hours of travelling we were all exhausted.

So for us the first day was to check out the local beach, wander around the hotel and get our munch on. Yes that means eating everything we can see in sight.

Whats not to love with a bit of family time watching the sunset and enjoying the sun.

If you get there earlier, of course you can do more things, but for us after a long week and some of us having driven for hours to the airport prior to the flight, we were exhausted and needed some time to ourselves .

Day 2

Hippocrates Museum

This may be one for those of us who are more medically inclined, but since three of the four of us were medical doctors, we couldn’t help ourselves.

Hippocrates, for those who knew or not, was a greek physician and philosopher who was often thought as the father of modern medicine. Before, this it was often thought that diseases came about due to the wrath of god, or not following certain superstitions. He was thought to be the first person who thought these diseases were caused naturally. Although medicine has come a far way from that time, its very interesting to see the history behind this.

cost: 3 euros

^^ say hello to my brother

The entirety of the whole of the museum is about 2 -3 rooms in total, with the room shown above being the longest with multiple plaques of information around them. We were the only people in the whole museum at the time we visited, so I’m not sure it gets very much traffic, however, its worth going to visit if you are interested in this kind of stuff. It doesn’t ususally take more than an hour or two max, so its worth going to visit.

While you’re there you can also take a little sweep around the garden. The garden, here has many herbs that are grown and used in traditional medicine. Interesting to see, especially if you find plants interesting.

The Asklepieion

Now in terms of my favourite part of history in Kos, this wins by landslides.

Originally this was temple, dedicated to Asclepius, the healing god, the first doctor demi god in Greek mythology. His healing powers were so great that they were thought to bring the dead back from life.

So people would end up making pilgrimage to this temple, which was HUGEEE. There were rooms for ‘temple sleep’, where they would be sent dreams from Asclepius and be interpreted by the priest and told what medicines that were needed. There was an alter room and many others.

The remains here date back to the 4th century. And what’s survived in genuinely amazing to see. I wouldn’t miss this one! It’s very close to Hippocrates museum, so if you wanted to do both, I would do them both together!

Ancient Agora and Roman Odeon

Now whilst in Kos town there are few extra ordinary remains to see. Some very free to see, whilst others do cost little to enter.

• The Roman Odeon

We’ve all heard of the famous Roman theatres where great plays were played, stories told and music seen. Kos town being the main capital, had one of these (if not more too)

It’s smaller than expected, and totally free to enter. So it’s a great stop, when you’re going to Kos town (or if you already are staying there). it dates back to the 2nd AD, but the marble seating is pretty well preserved so amazing to see!

We went in June and didn’t find it crowded at all! So it’s a really quick stop over

• The Roman Agora

Just by the harbour of Kos town, there is this magical little place which represents the old bustling centre of Kos. It dates as far back as the 4th- 3rd century BC, and was thought to have a whole market place, where goods arrived by sea.

It’s good to visit, to walk around the ruins, and imagine what it once was as.

Extras in Kos town

• Tree of Hippocrates

The tree of Hippocrates is near the harbour. A very short walk, and is thought to be the tree that he taught students under. It isn’t the original tree but a possible descendant of the same tree.

• Castle of Neratzia

This was sadly closed when we visited however the views are said to be lovely of the whole city! Check it out and let me know who it is!

Day 3

A trip to NISYROS – some volcanic fun

Our trip to Nisyros was one to beat for sure! I am a hugeeee fan of booking excursions when you go on holiday! It’s easy to sort out, and helps when you have either a larger group or if you’re travelling yourself.

This one was brilliant.

Nisyros itself is an island about an hour from Karmenda Harbour, and is known as a nearby volcanic island, which is (yes!) active. For people like me who, had never seen one before this is absolutely amazing to see!

The boat takes you to Mandraki, Nisyros’ port village. The little village is very sweet and there’s lots to do here. Especially the small little restaurants with fantastic food!

There’s also a lovely viewpoint from the monastery of Panagia Spiliani. The monastery itself is Greek Orthodox, dedicated to the Virgin Mary dating back to the 14th century. It’s roughly 3 euros for entry, and mainly for the views.

If you do take the tour, I would advise getting the coach ride they offer to take you up to the Stefanos crater, which sits in the largest of the caldera on the volcano.

Geologically, this is an active volcano, but it hasn’t erupted in recent decades. But if you go there you can smell the sulphuric gas, and still feel the heat up here. June is a hot month anyway, but the temperatures were close to 38 degrees at the top! Can you believe it!? Compared to a much cooler 26 degrees at the base!

Day 4

Plaka Forrest

This is a place is one of the places we discovered from the locals while we were there. The Forrest is found in antimachi, a little while away from Kos town. It’s a small stopover place, a definite visit if you have a car. Why? To see the amazing cats and more impressively the masses of peacocks, which you can actually feed!

Brilliant if you have kids, or love animals!!! (Or just a big kid at heart like I am).

Tigaki and Hammam experience

So I won’t lie, my last hammam experience was in Turkey and very budget friendly, and I won’t lie..it was an experience, though I came back the softest and cleanest I have after a massage. So when my family suggested this, I was not so keen initially.

But this was lovely. With foam washes, with swimwear on and massages. It genuinely was so relaxing. A well needed one, after working so hard!

• We spent the rest of the day relaxing, and enjoying some traditional greek dancing and trying it out! We recommend you find one locally as well! It’s really fun!

Day 5

The 3 island tour

This was my favourite excursion on the trip by far!!!

The 3 island tour is run by many companies, we got ours through get your own guide (not sponsored). The three islands being Kalymnos, Plati and Pserimos.

We set off in the morning, heading from the harbour from Kos town. The water, a beautiful aqua blue, one somehow only found in Grecian waters. The boat filled with fellow travellers, families, couples all headed in the same direction. The day itself would be 7-8 hours long, with a Grecian meal included on this tour. My family and I were excited.

Not long into our journey, our boat stopped. Just enough to show us the dolphins that come in these waters, which can be spotted at any time and are often playful around here!

The islands themselves are stunning!!

With multiple stops for snorkelling and good bit of canonballing into the sea (it’s fairly safe!)

This trip was genuinely lovely! The islands themselves get about an hour each. So you get to enjoy the islands themselves as well!

If you all try it let me know what your favourite part was!!

Day 6

Thermal Baths

Another recommendation by the locals and research! The locals visit this regularly. The thermal baths on Therma Beach in Kos, are hot springs rich in minerals. Emerges when the volcanic rock meets the Aegan sea, which ultimately results in an area of the sea which is warmed up.

I won’t lie, this feels amazing. But a fair warning to those with sensitive skin, be a bit wary about this water. As with any hot springs this is enriched with a higher mineral content which can exacerbate some symptoms.

But for those of you who are happy to go in, it’s worth checking it out!!

Zia and its beautiful sunset

Zia is a small mountain village, and shows Kos’s traditional village life, as well and the beautiful traditional colours that we often see when we think about Greece. However, the main reason people make the trip up here is to see the sunset. Its a well known spot which can get pretty busy in the evenings! so if you plan to come, come early! either by coach or by car (theres plenty of parking space if you come early enough).

Some extras

If you have time, check out the beautiful view points and hidden beaches by a road trip to the mountains, which is dominated by Mount Diekos. This leads to the highest point on the island rising to 846 meters, and is a much cooler greener landscape. It also gives views to the valley below which is a genuine must see.

Final Thoughts: Is Kos worth visiting?

So what did i think of Kos??? I loveed it! it surprised me, i’ll admit. The island is much quieter than its sisters, but with its history, beautiful seas and dramatic views, really captured me. So its a 10/10 from me! I would love to know what you all thought of it though! And what you would add to this list!!

Till next time!