Initially I was looking to book flight tickets to Prague for this dates but I ended up booking a trip to Kos. It was a little bit of inception. I had a discussion with my Dutch colleagues and from them I heard about this paradise. It was love at first sight. When I heard you can bike around I knew I had to come. I forgot to mention that this was a solo trip and it was important for me to move around easily. Renting a car or a scooter is not an option for me because I don't have a driving license.
From the airport there are two options to get to your accommodation: by taxi or by bus. I was heading to Kos Town and a taxi ride was 37€ which is expensive if you travel alone. This leaves me with the second option: public bus. Here it is the updated timetable. One way ticket is 3,20€. I went to the bus stop which is outside the airport and I was prepared to wait one hour for the next bus. While waiting, people start to come and one guy starts to make conversation with me. He was traveling with his cousin and we ended up sharing a taxi to Kos Town. When we arrived in Kos Town the bus hadn't left the airport.
After I checked in, I went to rent a bike (16€ for 4 days) and headed to Lambi beach.
The dinner was a feast. Gods blessed the Greeks with amazing food. And it's more enjoyable when you share it.
This cat brought us a dilemma about happiness. Are indoor cats happy? They should, no? They are safe, food is always coming at regular times. But they are not allowed to leave the house. Compared with stray cats which have to survive every day from being hit by cars, or chased by dogs, or finding food. Given this, what would you choose if you have these options? I think I would choose to be a stray cat, to discover the world and face the challenges that come with the choice.
At the end of the day I knew that 4 nights on the island will be too short and I extended my stay with another 2 nights. I paid 100€ extra for the new return ticket.
If you avoid the main road the route is flat and no traffic.
Tigaki is a sandy beach.
In the afternoon I went to Marmari, another sandy beach, 6km away from Tigaki.
At return I took the side road through villages to avoid again the main road, and the route was enchanting.
After I had dinner (and I was hungry after 33km of cycling), I went for a walk downtown.
Big part of the city walls can be seen among the port.
Yes! You see right. Bike lanes on one side and cows on the other side.
At Psalidi beach there were signs with swimming forbidden so I decided to go back a little bit and spent the morning on the beach in front of Taverna Spiros. Where I had also lunch later.
After lunch I headed to my next stop: Agios Fokas, so far my favourite beach from Kos.
Agios Fokas is a shingle beach with black pebbles. Agios Fokas Beach Club is a lovely place to spend the afternoon. And I forgot to mention how awesome was the water, crystal clear. And it's only 8 km south east of Kos Town. The route to there is flat so biking is a good alternative.
Unfortunately some parts of the castle are under renovation and the visit wouldn't be complete.
In the late lunch break, on my search for a nice restaurant I wandered a little bit.
After a delightful lunch I had to move a little bit. I saw a sign to an early Christian basilica and decided to have a look.
Interesting how something beautiful like these flowers can grow from sand.
And there it is, the early Christian basilica of Ágios Ioánnis.
I continued my walk from the basilica, curious to see where the path takes me.
Where I spent the rest of day, reading, taking a bath in the sea and contemplating the remaining of the day.
I was inspired to stay another two nights on the island.
Which, btw costs only 3.2€ and the bus ride takes ~25 minutes from Mastichari. This is a sand beach with calm and crystal clear water. I could see little fishes swimming around. This a good spot for snorkeling.
After I checked in I went out to dine and explore a little bit the village.
In background is mount Dikeos, the highest one on island of Kos with 846 meters altitude.
Day #1 - Arrival & Lambi beach
My flight from Amsterdam to Kos was at 6am so I had to wake up at 2.30am to get to the airport. During the night the trains run once every hour to Schipol. At least I could doze during the flight. The flight to Kos is ~3.5h. And I paid ~150€ for return ticket.
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| Preparing for landing |
I waited for the two travellers to checkin in their hotel and then we went all three to have lunch. During the lunch I found out more about them. One is Canadian, the other one is American, and they are both original from Israel.
After lunch I went to checkin and decided to meet with the two of them later on the beach.
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| On my way to the hotel I stumbled upon this archeological site which used to be the ancient agora of Kos |
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| Lambi beach |
In the background, on the right side are the shores of Bodrum (Turkey).
Lambi is a shingle beach. From my experience on Lefkada I knew to come prepared with water shoes. I spent the rest of the afternoon at Omilos Beach Club. The best thing about beach bars in Greek islands is: you buy a drink and you can use a sunbed and an umbrella. The guys joined me and after we had enough sunbath we went for dinner.
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| Traditional Greek wooden boats in Kos harbour. |
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| Eggplant salad |
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| Dolmathakia - vine leaves stuffed with rice |
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| Spicy stuffed peppers with feta |
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| Lamb and meat balls |
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| And desert! |
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| The cat also wanted to try the food. It was doing rounds between the restaurant where we were seated (Mummy's cooking) and the vis-a-vis one. |
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| On my way to the hotel I stumbled upon a live Greek music performance. |
Day #2 - Tigaki & Marmari
First stop of the day was Tigaki, which is at 11km west of Kos Town.
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| I cycled all the way to Tigaki |
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| The effort was worth it |
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| Two elders contemplating the sea |
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| Marmari beach |
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| Take me to the beach! |
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| Me, the road and the landscape |
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| Another archaeological site discovered when I was returning to Kos Town. |
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| One of the main streets of Kos town with restaurants and shops |
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| A side street with a small shop and charming lights |
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| The remaining of old city walls with the old trees and a cat passing by |
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| Hippocrates tree |
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| Another section of the wall with climbing plants |
Day #3 - Psalidi beach & Agios Fokas
The two destinations for this day were closer to Kos Town. I started with Psalidi, which is 3 km south east of Kos Town.
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| Picturesque view |
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| Beach bar from Taverna Spiros |
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| My imperfect heart ♥! Take it or leave it! |
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| The terrace of Taverna Spiros. Later on I found out there is a Romanian family helping Mr. Spiros with the restaurant. |
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| Squid in tomato sauce with feta and fish roe salad |
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| The island vegetation is dry because it hasn't rained in days. Locals say in the winter it's raining a lot and everything is green. |
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| There it is: Agios Fokas |
Day #4 - Bodrum, Turkey
I have never been to Turkey before and since Bodrum is so close to Kos I decided to take a day trip. In the port you can find some companies that offer boat trips to Bodrum. Later on I found out there are more options if you go here. That's also the place from where the ferries depart. I bought the ticket from the port one evening before the departure. I paid 20€ for return ticket. The trip takes about 40 minutes.
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| Bodrum castle guarding the entrance in the port |
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| Charming streets with cafes and restaurants |
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| A typical street of Bodrum |
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| A stroll down Bodrum Milta Marina |
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| Strolling down the streets |
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| Whitewashed houses combined with dark-blue lined windows and ornamented with pink and purple bougainvilleas |
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| Turkish coffee. A must to try if you are a coffee lover as I am. |
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| I think I spent some good hours strolling down the streets with shops |
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| Colourful lights |
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| One of the streets with shops |
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| And another one. You can loose track of time here |
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| Acma (Turkish bagel) with Turkish tea |
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| Candy pebbles! I've tried this before and I love them. I had to buy some for home. |
Day #5 - Mastichari
After I had breakfast I checked out and headed to Kos bus station to catch the 10.30 bus towards Mastichari village. The bus stop is here. Once you are there you have to ask which one is the bus going to your destination (you will see many and not all have the destination displayed) . One traveller told me that all buses to Kefalos or Kardamena stop in Mastichari. You always buy ticket in the bus. The trip to Mastichari takes ~25 minutes and costs 3.2€. The buses are clean and equipped with air conditioning.
After I checked in at the hotel in Mastichari I went to the beach.
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| Mastichari is a small village port |
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| It has white sand beach and emerald water |
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| That was a delicious donut! |
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| Whitewashed houses ornamented with purple bougainvilleas |
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| And I found a cozy taverna with lovely window view |
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| @Traditional House Restaurant |
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| On one side there are the sand dunes and the sea |
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| On the other side there are again the sand dunes and some vegetation |
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| Sand lilly |
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| View over Mastichari beach |
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| What's left from the basilica |
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| And it led me to Dolphin Bay |
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| They say Mastichari is the place with the most beautiful sunsets on the island and they're right |
A craving for a late night gyros got me out of my hotel room. On my way back I followed what seemed to be music coming from a bar next to my hotel. That led me to a live show in a resort nearby.
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| I stayed for the rest of the show! |
Day #6 - Paradise beach & Kardamena
I woke up early to catch the first bus to Kefalos to spend the day on Paradise beach.
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| A ticket to Paradise, please! |
In the afternoon I returned back to Mastichari to collect my backpack from the hotel and to jump in the next bus to Kardamena where I spent the last night on the island. The bus ticket is 2.1€ and the ride is ~25 minutes.
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| Looks like an abandoned pool |
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| The village can be charming |
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| Someone is going on diet when she gets back home! |
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| Twilight walk |
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| The main street going to port |
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| The traditional Greek wooden boats in the harbour |
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| Cozy street of Kardamena with terraces, and its whitewashed houses ornamented with characteristic purple bougainvilleas |
Day #7 - Departure
In this last day on the island I went to beach to soak up as much sun I can. Rainy and cloudy days await me in Amsterdam.
Another calm place on the island. There can be pebbles close to the shore, but once you passed that it's only sand.
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| @Malibu Beach Bar: Bye bye beach, sea and sun! |
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| A last stroll down the streets of Kardamena |
In the end I would like to share with you this map that I have created with all the places I have explored on the island (beaches, restaurants, beach bars and others).
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