Kos is not your typical resort island, not if you are expecting something classic like Santorini and Mykonos, but Kos has all the beaches, villages, history, museums, archaeology, architecture, cuisine, nightlife and excellent weather that a tourist could ever ask for on an island.

Historical Kos

The island of Kos has been inhabited since the very ancient times and was colonised by the ancient Greek tribe of the Carians and fought during the infamous Trojan War. The Dorians invaded the island around the 11th century BC, and according to Wikipedia, many settlers from Epidaurus on the mainland migrated and settled on Kos and even brought with them the religious cult of Asclepius cult, building sanctuaries on the island. The island of Kos has been historically famed for its wine and silk production activities and was especially prosperous during the Hellenistic age. The ancient Greek doctor, Hippocrates, was born on the island of Kos.

During the Roman Empire, Kos actually gained freedom in 53 AD, though later conquered by the Venetians, and later again by the Ottomans. Italy was offered the island in 1912 and Kos was finally reunited with mainland Greece in 1947.

Modern Kos

Today, Kos is a bustling and cosmopolitan tourism resort with the best bars and clubs open until all hours, the tastiest meals in its multitude of tavernas, music from traditional Greek to club and dance blaring at every street corner, and a hospitality uniquely offered by a people who are proud of their island and what they have to offer their international visitors.

Kos is definitely a town of bars and restaurants, but there is also an excellent archaeological museum that must be seen for its exhibits of archaic, Hellenistic and Roman artefacts. There are some amazing mosaics, ceramics, statues and other findings from the island’s ancient history.

For a glimpse into the developed of Kos from ancient to modern times, the Kos folk museum is the perfect place for a day’s excursion out of town as it is situated in Kefalos, approximately forty kilometres from Kos town.

Kos landmarks

With the presence of the world’s most famous doctor – Hippocrates – on the island, there are numerous landmark testament to the ancient physician. In Kos town there is Hippocrates’ plane tree on the site of where he once taught. There is an International Hippocratic Institute in Kos town and also a museum dedicated to him. Situated close to the institute are the amazing ruins of the Asklepieion, where Hippocrates studied medicine under Herodicus.

Situated at the very entrance of Kos harbour is Nerantzia Castle, also known as the Castle of the Knights of Saint John. It was constructed from local Kos stone during the reign of the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, otherwise known as the Knights of St John, who bought the island from the Venetians in 1315 and held onto it for two hundred years before abandoning the island to the Turks in 1523.

Kos activities

Most of the action on the island of Kos centres around the busy and cosmopolitan island capital of Kos town, where the bars never seem to close and the taverns are the best places to listen to live Greek music and dance all night after a hearty traditional meal. The town has an outdoor cinema, which is always popular with locals and visitors.

As far as beaches are concerned, the closest beach is Psalidi and that is situated only three kilometres from Kos town centre. Other beaches are scattered about the island, all easily accessible and all with excellent facilities. These are Kardamena, Kefalos, Lambi, Marmari and Mastichari, to name a few of the best.

Before you leave the island of Kos, make sure you take a day trip only 12 kilometres from Kos town to the village of Agios Fokas and soak your self in the therapeutic hot springs, at Thermes. Even the journey itself to get there is mythical as you pass through cape and cove and beaches. You’ll feel you’ve made a journey of epic proportions. Indeed, Kos is the perfect place for such excursions