Berlitz Pocket Guide Kos (Travel Guide eBook)

By Berlitz

Berlitz Pocket Guide Kos

The world-renowned pocket travel guide by Berlitz, now with a free bilingual dictionary.

Compact, concise and packed full of essential information about where to go and what to do, this is an ideal on-the-move guide for exploring Kos. From top tourist attractions like the Bros Therma Hot Springs, 'Magic' Beach and the volcanic caldera at Nisyros, to cultural gems, including the zoological floor mosaics and other late-Roman treasures at Casa Romana, the frescoed Agiou Ioannou Theologou Monastery and the Italianate architecture of Kos and nearby islands of Kalymnos and Leros, plan your perfect trip with this practical, all-in-one travel guide. 

Features of this travel guide to Kos:
- Inspirational itineraries: discover the best destinations, sights and excursions, highlighted with stunning photography
- Historical and cultural insights: delve into the island's rich history and culture, and learn all about its people, art and traditions
- Practical full-colour map: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: from transport to tipping, we've got you covered
- Dictionary: quick-reference bilingual language guide to help you with vocabulary 
- Covers: Kos Town; The Northeast Coast; Northwest Coast Resorts; Andimahia; Kardamena and Plaka; South Coast beaches; Kefalos; Mt Dikeos and around and excursions to Nisyros; Kalumnos; Lertos; Patmos and Bodrum in Turkey

Get the most out of your trip with: Berlitz Phrasebook & Dictionary Greek

About Berlitz: Berlitz draws on years of travel and language expertise to bring you a wide range of travel and language products, including travel guides, maps, phrase books, language-learning courses, dictionaries and kids' language products.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Feb 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781785732706

Berlitz

Make the most of your time on Earth with the ultimate travel guides

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Kos, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Kos, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Kos are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Kos. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Berlitz Pocket Guides

The Berlitz story began in 1877 when Maximilian Berlitz devised his revolutionary method of language learning. More than 130 years later, Berlitz is a household name, famed not only for language schools but also as a provider of best-selling language and travel guides.

Our wide-ranging travel products – printed travel guides and phrase books, as well as apps and ebooks – offer all the information you need for a perfect trip, and are regularly updated by our team of expert local authors. Their practical emphasis means they are perfect for use on the ground. Wherever you’re going – whether it’s on a short break, the trip of a lifetime, a cruise or a business trip – we offer the ideal guide for your needs.

Our Berlitz Pocket Guides are the perfect choice if you need reliable, concise information in a handy format. We provide amazing value for money – these guides may be small, but they are packed with information. No wonder they have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

© 2020 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Kos’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Tour Of Kos

Introduction

Kos of the Tourists

A Brief History

Prehistoric Beginnings

Persians to Romans

Byzantium and Christianity

Crusader and Ottoman Conquest

Italian Rule and World War II

Union with Greece: 1948 to the New Century

The Bailout Years

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

Kos Town

Neratziá Castle

Hippokrates’ plane tree, the Loggia Mosque, and the Salt Baths

The ancient town

Archaeological Museum

The Casa Romana

The Ottoman old town: Haluvaziá

Italian Monuments

Platáni and the Asklepion

The Asklepion

The Northeast Coast: Lámbi to Bros Thermá

Bros and Píso Thermá

Northwest Coast Resorts: Tingáki To Mastihári

Tingáki and Marmári

Mastihári

Andimáhia, Kardámena And Pláka

Kardámena

Pláka Forest

South-Coast Beaches: Polémi To Kéfalos

kéfalos – the wild west

The Kéfalos peninsula

Around Mt Díkeos

Pylí: New and Old

Paleó Pylí

Lagoúdi

Evangelístria and Zía

Ascent of Hristós peak

Asómatos and Haïhoútes

Excursions

Nísyros

The volcanic zone

Villages and walks

Beaches and baths

Kálymnos

Póthia and around

Vathýs and Beyond

Brostá: The West Coast

Télendos

Psérimos

Léros

Álinda and around

Remote Sites

Léros Museums

Pátmos

Beaches

Bodrum (Turkey)

What To Do

Sports

Watersports

Hiking

Mountain-biking

Rock-climbing

Horse-riding

Shopping

Winery Tourism

Entertainment

Music and Dance

Nightlife (and Daylife)

Children’s Kos

Calendar of Events

Eating Out

Where to Eat

When to Eat

What to Eat

Appetisers

Fish

Meat and Casserole Dishes

Cheeses

Dessert

What to Drink

Reading the Menu

Useful Expressions

Menu Reader

Restaurants

Kos Town and Suburbs

Around the island

Nísyros

Kálymnos and Télendos

Léros

Pátmos

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airports

B

Bicycle and Scooter Hire

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Car Rental (see also Driving)

Climate

Clothing

Crime and Safety

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies

G

Getting There

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

L

Language

LGBTQ

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Times

P

Police

Post Offices

Public Holidays

R

Religion

T

Telephones

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

V

Visas and Entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Recommended Hotels

Kos Town

Around the Island

Nísyros

Kálymnos

Télendos

Psérimos

Léros

Pátmos

Dictionary

English–Greek

Greek–English

Kos’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Alamy

Casa Romana

Zoological floor mosaics and other late-Roman treasures. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

iStock

Climbing Hristós peak

For the Dodecanese’s best views. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

Shutterstock

Windsurfing

Breezy Kos has several suitable shorelines. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

Getty Images

Bros Thermá hot springs

Healing waters right on the beach. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

Shutterstock

‘Magic’ Beach

The best of many on the island’s south coast. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #6

Shutterstock

Volcanic caldera

Sulphurous marvel at the heart of Nísyros. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

iStock

Sunset behind Télendos

A dramatic frame for spectacular sunsets. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

Shutterstock

Italian architecture

On Kos, Kálymnos and Léros. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

Corbis

Scuba-diving in Léros

A rich trove of war debris. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

iStock

Agíou Ioánnou Theológou monastery

The crowning glory of Pátmos, frescoed and treasured. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Tour Of Kos

Day 1

First swim

At Kos airport, pick up your hire car and head straight to Kardámena for some fresh seafood. Have a cooling swim off Polémi or Psilós Gremós beach before hotel check-in at Kos Town, Psalídi or Ágios Fokás.

Day 2

Kos Town

Explore the Archaeological Museum and the Casa Romana museum in the morning. Swim near Tingáki or Marmári before lunch in or near Tingáki. Visit the hillside Asklepion in the late afternoon, before dinner at a Platáni taverna.

Day 3

Southwest coast

Ogle 1920s–30s Italian architecture before driving across Kos, visiting Andimáhia’s castle before lunch at Mastihári. Continue to the far southwest around Kéfalos, perhaps stopping to windsurf at Kamári. Spend sunset on a pre-booked, north-coast horseback ride from the Salt Lake stables. Dinner is at Ambeli Taverna, outsideTingáki.

Day 4

A climb and a soak

Try more advanced windsurfing near Cape Psalídi, before lunch at Old Pyli taverna in Amanioú. Afterwards, see Lagoúdi village’s frescoed church before climbing Khristós peak in the late afternoon. Dinner at Ziá’s Oromedon taverna; then drive to Bros Thermá hot springs to soak away aches and pains.

Day 5

Nísyros

Take a morning excursion boat to Nísyros, where you overnight. On a scooter, tour the entire island besides its famous volcanic caldera – Pahiá Ámmos beach, the archaeological museum, two castles, two inland villages. Have lunch in Emboriós, dinner in Mandráki or Pálli, and visit the thermal bath-house.

Day 6

Kálymnos

Board the catamaran from Nísyros to Kálymnos, arriving at lunchtime. From your Póthia base, head for Myrtiés by bus or scooter and take a little boat to peaceful Télendos islet. Return to Kálymnos to enjoy the sunset from a west-coast taverna at Melitsáhas.

Day 7

Tiny Psérimos

Take the daily caique from Póthia harbour to Psérimos islet, with its idyllic beaches and laid-back pace; lunch at Avlákia port. Evening return to Kálymnos, with dinner in Póthia.

Day 8

Léros

Pop into Póthia’s Archaeological Museum before getting the catamaran to Léros, arriving for lunch at Pyrofanis, after hiring a scooter. After an afternoon swim and a look at Lakkí’s Italian monuments, head up to the Knights’ castle above Plátanos for superb sunset views. Dinner near your hotel in Krithóni, Álinda, or Vromólithos.

Day 9

Pátmos

Visit the Álinda Historical/Folklore museum before mid-day catamaran to Pátmos, with a swim and lunch at a beach and then an atmospheric evening pilgrimage to Hóra’s magnificent monastery. Dinner at Votris in Skála.

Day 10

Back to Kos

Take the morning catamaran from Pátmos to Kos, arriving in time for your afternoon or evening flight home. Spend any spare time in Kos Town.

Introduction

It is impossible not to feel the weight of history when you arrive in Kos. The marble of Hellenistic and Roman sites, the sandstone of medieval churches and castles, are all tangible legacies of a long history. However, to imagine that Kos only appeals to archaeology buffs would be a mistake. With long, hot summer days, a balmy sea lapping numerous beaches, and lots to do, the island is a holidaymakers’ paradise.

Kos belongs to the Dodecanese, an archipelago scattered in the southeastern Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey. Originally made up of twelve major islands (dódeka nisiá means ‘twelve islands’ in Greek) that coordinated action against Ottoman repression during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the group is now an administrative sub-region of Greece comprising nearly 40 islands and islets, though only twenty have permanent inhabitants.

Admiring the view from the Asklepion

Britta Jaschinski/Apa Publications

Kos ranks third among the Dodecanese in size – but second in population at about 35,000 – and has been settled since ancient times, thanks to wide fertile plains, and a good harbour opposite Asia Minor, just three nautical miles away. The island is roughly 40km/24.7 miles long, 11km/6 miles across at the widest point, 287.2 sq km/111 sq miles in area, and orientated northeast to southwest on its long axis. Its coastline, a mix of sheer cliffs or beach, measures 112km/70 miles. Sand dunes are stabilised by important groves of strictly protected sea juniper (Juniperus macrocarpa), in Greek kédros and thus invariably, wrongly, translated as ‘cedar’. There are more junipers, and pines, up on the central mountain. Geologically, Kos is of partly volcanic origin (in the southwest), and rose from the seabed in stages between 1 million and 158,000 years ago. There are important wetlands at Alykí and Psalídi, which attract dozens of species of migrating birds annually.

Kos has always been a ‘breadbasket’ island, with a very limited maritime tradition, and could still be agriculturally self-sustaining should the need arise. In antiquity, Kos was renowned for its silk and wine; the silk industry is long gone, but wine-making has recently revived with a bang, and tasting local bottlings should be part of any visit. Unlike many holiday islands, farming has not completely been elbowed aside – herds of cattle grazing amidst wire-bound bales of hay are still very much part of the landscape, and local cheese is quite esteemed.

The melon island

Near Linopótis, roadside stalls sell melons. The island has always been famous for watermelons especially, formerly exporting them in quantity to other parts of Greece. Old-timers on barren nearby islets remember, as children, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the summer watermelon boats from Kos.

Kos was never strong enough to rule itself, but desirable and strategically located enough to be coveted by every east-Mediterranean empire or nearby state. It has, by turns, been part of the Dorian Hexapolis, the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Athens’ Delian Confederacy, ancient Karya, the Alexandria-based Ptolemaic kingdom, the Roman republic and empire, Byzantium, Crusader principalities, the Ottoman Empire, the Italian ‘Islands of the Aegean’, and only since 1948 the modern Greek state. Each of these possessors, from the Ptolemies onwards, have left their mark on the island. Uneasy relations with adjacent Turkey mean that Kos has been heavily garrisoned by Greece since the 1950s, and you shouldn’t be surprised to see tanks or armoured