Kos - Which Greek Island (2024)

What's Kos like

Kos is a Greek island in the south-eastern Aegean Sea, it’s part of the Dodecanese island group and measures approximately 40km long by just 8km wide. It’s northeast coast lies a minuscule 4km from Turkey which can easily be seen on a clear day, there’s boat trips available too if you fancy hoping over to Turkey for a look around.

Kos is the second most popular Dodecanese island for tourists, Rhodes being first, but it still manages to maintain some beautiful unspoiled areas as well as catering for the needs of it’s many visitors.

Kos is a great base if you are looking to do some island hopping in the Dodecanese as it has direct flights from the UK and makes it easy to get to other nearby islands like Rhodes, Kalymnos, Nissyros, Patmos, Leros, Lipsi, Simi, Tilos, Halki and many other of the smaller islands in the region too.

How to get to Kos

Kos is one of the most simple islands to get to in Greece as it has it’s own international airport with regular flights from most of the UKs major airports. Flight time is usually between 3½ to 4 hours.

Best time to visit Kos

Kos is most popular in the normal summer months from late April to early October. This is when the weather is hottest and driest, particularly in the peak of summer where it will regularly get to over 30°c. If you prefer to go when it’s not as crowded then outside of the school holidays is a must. Early September is a good choice as the sea has had all summer to warm up, the beaches aren’t heaving with people and the temperature is still in the high 20s.

Who would enjoy Kos

Pretty much anyone, the best thing about Kos is that it has a wide variety of attractions to suit all tastes. There are some fantastic historical sites like the Ascelpeion where Hippocrates taught medicine as well as the ancient agora and Neratzia castle in Kos Town. For the young ones there’s a good sized water park with one of the best wave machines ever! There’s also a ton of fantastic beaches, most of them sandy and organised but there’s a few hidden gems too. The weather is rarely anything other than hot and sunny. What more could you ask for?

Where to stay in Kos

This will depend on your personal preferences and our resort guide will help you to make that decision. The package holidays tend to be based in the villages on the north coast, Tigaki, Marmari and Mastichari. the 18-30 party people will all be in Kardamena and those wanting the buzzing atmosphere of the harbour, bars and sights will obviously have to be in Kos Town.

Kos ResortsIf you're looking to find somewhere to stay in Kos then head over to our Kos resort guide which tells you all about the best places to stay including what the town or village is like, what amenities it has and if there's a nice beach nearby.Kos BeachesIf you're going to Kos you'll probably want to visit at least one of the stunning beaches whilst you're there, if so then use our Kos beach guide to find the best beaches that have all the amenities, or lack of, that you want and which ones are close to where you're staying.Kos SightsKos is blessed with huge amounts of historical sights from ancient castles to the Asclepeon but that's not all Kos has to offer, go to our Kos sight seeing guide and it'll tell you all about the various sights and what to expect at each one.

Interactive Kos Map

Kos photo gallery

Kos Town Harbour byKees Wielemaker

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Where Next

Kos ResortsGo to the Kos resort guide to find out about the great towns and villages on the island.Kos BeachesGo to the Kos beach guide to find out about some of the best beaches on the island.Kos SightsFind something to keep you entertained whilst in Kos with our Kos sight seeing guide.KosGo back to the main Kos guide to find out more about this lovely Dodecanese island and what it has to offer.The Greek IslandsFind info on another Greek island, whether that’s to hop from Kos on a day trip or to research an alternative destination.

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