Kos is located in south Aegean and it is the third largest island of Dodecanese, after Rhodes and Karpathos. It is a fertile island with a lot of vegetation.

One of the main characteristics of Kos, is that it has a great number of important archaeological sites and monuments. In fact, the entire island of Kos could very well be described as a huge archaeological site.

During the summer, with a bit of luck, you will get to witness some of the most impressive cultural activities, like theatrical performances of ancient drama, recitation of the oath of Hippocrates, concerts with classical music and many more.

Kos also has to offer a very vivid night-life with many bars and night clubs gathered mostly in the town of Kos. It is the main reason it attracts a great number of mostly young tourists.

Kos has a lot of fantastic beaches, most of them with sand. If you are looking for a quiet beach, you should pick one of the beaches at the west part of Kos. Also have in mind the the northern beaches are open to the wind.

• Kefalos (West Kos): A popular beach with sand on the Kefalos bay.
• Paradise (Southwest Kos): A truly magnificent and vast beach with golden sand and shallow sea.
• Agios Stefanos (Southwest Kos): A well organized sandy beach with shallow sea.
• Kamila - Polemi - Lagkades - Xerokampos (Southwest Kos): Consecutive beaches next to Paradise beach, with calm sea and great golden sand.
• Lampi (South Kos): A long beach with nice white sand, shallow sea and lots of people.
• Mastihari (Northwest Kos): A large beach with nice golden sand and shallow sea.
• Tigkaki (Northeast Kos): Probably the most popular beach of Kos with nice thin white sand and turquoise green water.
• Marmari (North Kos): A large beach with nice white sand but a bit wavy sea.
• Psalidi (East Kos): An organized beach with sand and pebble close to Kos town.
• Thermes (East Kos): Impressive beach with black pebbles and hot springs with healing water.

By ship it will take you approximately 9-10 hours to reach Kos from the port of Piraeus. You can also easily reach Kos by plane, as the flight from Athens to the airport of Kos is no more than 30 minutes.

You can go to most places on Kos using public transportation. The buses are not very frequent, on average (depending on the route) they leave every 1-3 hours, but the bus schedule is known so with a bit of good timing you should manage. If you do not want to be confined by the bus schedule, you will have no trouble renting a car of a motorcycle. There are also many taxis available. A great and fun way to get to know the town of Kos is the little train that will give you a tour. There are two of them, the blue train that departs every hour from Akteon with the trip being 15 minutes, and there is the green train departing from the town hall for a 20 minute trip around the town.

On Kos you can find anything from super lux hotels to camping. You will find most rooms in the town of Kos, but you can find accommodation almost anywhere on Kos, like Kardamena, Mastihari, Psalidi and Lampi. If you stay inside the town of Kos, choose your hotel carefully as to avoid the noise from bars and night clubs. At Psalidi beach there is an organized camping.

One delicious traditional dish of Kos is the meat with pligouri (a type of porridge). For desert, the exceptional syrup sweets (glyko tapsiou) with fresh honey and the sarsoumades with honey are a must.

Kos is famous for its Cheese Possa (winechese), which, as its name suggests, is a spicy type of goat cheese made with wine. It is red outside, due to the wine, and it tastes as well as it smells, so try some and if you like it you can get some for home. On Kos you can also buy great local wine, fresh honey and the unique spoon-sweet (glyko koutaliou) made of tomato.

Castle of the Knights of Saint John

This imposing castle at the port of Kos was built in the 15th century AC by the Knights of the Order of Saint John.

Asklipieio

The most famous archaeological site of Kos and the most important of its kind in Greece.

Kos Archaeological Museum

The Museum is housed in a two-storey classical building, hosting sculptures, statues and burial stones mainly from the Hellenistic and Roman ages.

Casa Romana

A Roman house which was reconstructed in 1940 with amazing mosaics and wonderful architecture. One of the most impressive attractions on Kos.

Odeon

The Roman Odeon was built on Kos during the 1st-2nd century A.C. and it is in pretty good condition.

Plane Tree of Hippocrates

The oldest tree in Europe, with a diameter of 12 meters planted by Hippocrates himself, where he used to teach his students.

Folklore Museums

There are two folklore museums on Kos, one in Kos town and one in Kefalos village.

Hippocratic Museum - International Hippocratic Institute

Dedicated to the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates, the father of Medicine, this building houses both the Hippocratic Museum and the International Hippocratic Institute.

Early Christian Basilicas

Kos has a stunning number of ruins of 22 Early Christian Basilicas, the most important of which being the one at the beach of Agios Stefanos.

Forest Of Plaka

Close to Antimaheia village is the pine forest of Plaka, where hundreds of peacocks live freely.