Kos is one of the most popular islands of the Dodecanese. The island has golden sand beaches, crystal clear waters, archaeological buildings and activities for everyone. If you are looking for nightlife you can normally head to Kardamena (except in 2020 due to Corona) and if you are looking for a family vacation, Kefalos is a good choice for a relaxing holiday.
There are many things to do in Kos, but my Kos Island Guide is showing you the 7 best things you should not miss:
1. Old Pyli fortress (Paleo Pyli / Palio Pyli)
How to get to the fortress Old Pyli
On the highway, follow the signs in the direction of Pyli. Before entering Pyli, continue left in the direction of Amaniou / Paleo Pyli. The asphalt road ends at a spring, there you can park your car. Then follow the wood signs up to the fortress. After only 20 minutes ascent you will reach Paleo Pyli.
Taverna Oria
Once you have visited the old fortress you may stop at the Taverna Oria for a cool drink (see video above). From the taverna you have a spectacular view on the fortress itself and into the valley of the north coast of Kos. Especially when the sun goes down, the light gives stunning life to the coast.
2. Therma Beach / Baths Embros
The volcanic origin of Kos offers the inhabitants of the island several hot thermal springs. One of them is the Baths Embros. It is open to everyone and is easily accessible by car.
The Baths Embros is a approx. 25m2 large natural pool, lined with stones. The water source comes from the mountains. At some spots the water temperature can be up to 80 degrees, so you better don’t go to close to the crevices in the rock. In the pool itself, the average temperature is 49 degrees. As the thermal water is rich in minerals, it sometimes smells like rotten eggs due to its high sulphur content.
To be honest, I wasn’t that enthusiastic about the thermal spring as we reached it in the afternoon. 33 degrees outside and even hotter inside, that was a bit too much for me. I preferred to cool down in the cold sea. I can therefore only recommend going there in the evening. On the one hand, there are definitely less tourists and on the other hand you can enjoy the warm spring better without the blazing sun.
How to get to Therma Beach
The Therma Beach is located about 12 kilometers from Kos Town in the east of the island. To reach the Baths Embros you can park your car on a parking lot above the coast. Afterwards you have to walk down to the hot spring for about 10-15 minutes. It a gravel road so you better be careful going down. When you arrive at the beach the Therma Beach Bar welcomes you warmly. You can find the Baths embros by passing the beach bar.
3. Kefalos Viewpoint
The most beautiful view on this island? Definitely the viewpoint of Kefalos! After visting Agios Stefanos Beach in Kefalos and Kefalos Town, you should not forget to end your day with driving up to the viewpoint of Kefalos. Especially when the sun goes down, you can watch the island being bathed in golden light. It is not really touristic up there, only a few goats will maybe cross your road. Anyway, we could be alone up there and watch the nature going to sleep.
4. Paradise Beach (Cavo Paradiso)
Best beach on Kos – but the most difficult to reach: Cavo Paradiso. The Cavo Paradiso is located at the most south point of the island Kos. After half an hour of driving on a bumpy road – the road becomes even more bumpier… Not good for rental cars in Greece. To get to this beach, it’s probably best to take a quad. Since we did not want to break our car, we decided to walk down to the beach. Also not a good idea.
Besides giant ants and scorching heat (because it was 11:00 a.m. when we started our walk) it took us 40 minutes down to the beach. Because we hadn’t planned a hike, flip flops weren’t the best footwear either. So my friend had to walk barefoot on the half way back because her flip flops broke on the way.
Nevertheless, the sight and the beach itself was worth the effort to reach it. Down at the beach a small beach bar plays relaxing music and offers cool drinks, while you can just lean back on the sun beds and enjoy the view. Cavo Paradiso is a sandy beach with turquoise-blue water. After the strenuous journey one really feels like in paradise.
If you want to be more on your own – no problem. Just walk up the beach for a while and you can be all to yourself. This spot isn’t touristic either. I guess because no bus can drive down this bumpy road.
5. Paradise Beach
Our second favorite beach – but this time easy to reach: Paradise Beach. The Paradise Beach is located a few minutes away from Kefalos Town. However, this beach has a parking lot for cars without a bumpy road leading down. It is also a sandy beach and offers a beach bar and a water sports tent. We therefore used the beach to go pedal boating, try out stand up paddle or to be flung around on the water in a UFO.
The water at Paradise Beach is always very clear and the beach clean. You can either lay on the sand or buy a sun bed for a day (which is not really expensive).
Tip: If you have no problems waking up early you can enjoy watching a beautiful sunrise at this beach.
6. Sunset at Zia
Kos has breathtaking sunsets and if you really want to be speechless, you have to go to Zia in the evening. Zia is a village up in the hills. It is the highest situated village on the island of Kos.
From Zia you have a picturesque view on the island Pserimos while the colors of the sky blend into one another. In Zia you can find many restaurants from which you can enjoy the sunset while having dinner. There you should reserve a table in advance, otherwise it is difficult to get one because almost every tourist wants to enjoy the spectacular view from there.
In the stores, which are completely geared towards tourists, you can find traditional, handcrafted products as well as mass-produced goods, which you can probably get cheaper elsewhere. In general, the town
7. Three-Island-Boat-Trip
Despite the many beautiful views and sunsets, the best part of this vacation was our boat trip. Actually we only wanted to go to the island Kalymnos. But in Kos town they only offer 3-island-tours to Pserimnos, Kalymnos and Plati. So we decided to make this trip anyway. In the end, we were glad that we were not only on one island, because all islands were not really big.
Our choice fell on the boat Poseidon, which I can definitely recommend for couples and group of friends. We lay in front on the sun beds of the boat and sailed with cool music and cocktails over the sea. Besides, a really funny guy was telling the stories of the different islands and always made sure that there was a good atmosphere on the boat. Probably I liked the boat trip so much because it allowed me to relax completely. To spend 5 hours on the sea and listen to the sound of the waves is simply something totally relaxing.
The boat trip cost only 30€ and took about 8 hours (including food). Watch the videos below to get an impression of the atmosphere on the boat ;).
