I am 27.Am not married but live with my partner of 4 yrs named Chris.Teach primary age children.
I am 27.Am not married but live with my partner of 4 yrs named Chris.Teach primary age children.
Member since:04.11.2001
Reviews:4
Before you book a holiday to somewhere you have never been before, there are a few things pretty much everyone wants to know. Is it expensive? Is it value for money? Is it a quiet resort or an active resort? What's the nightlife like? What are the best days out? What is there to do? I will try to give as much information as I can about these things on the island of Kos because I'm sure that once you arrive you will fall in love with it just as much as I have!
We chose Kos because it was a good, value-for-money last minute deal with Libra Holidays which we found on Teletext. It cost just about £375 each for 2 weeks which we thought was outstanding since it was the last 2 weeks of august and we had to pay extra to pick up our tickets at Manchester airport. It was a long flight but as soon as we arrived and found our coach to Kefalos, where we stayed, we saw the greenery, saw the deep blue sea, felt the exhilarating heat and we were in love with the place.
Kefalos is a quiet resort compared with the more nightlife-centred, non-stop-fun Kardamena. There are beatiful views across Kamari Bay. The main beach is sand and shingle. Where the shingle part is there are sun loungers which you can hire really cheaply, about £2 for the whole day, and the warm, clear water makes up for the shingle! We spent many happy days on the beach just sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling (snorkelcan be bought cheaply in any of the beachfront shops) and there were beautiful fish to see in the shallows very day. If you
wanted something a bit more thrilling, there is aworld of watersport opportunity - banana boats (about £7), jet ski (£7 for 15 mins), ringos, water-skiing, pedalos and windsurfinmg. As you can see it is pricey so if you fancy any of these things bring a bit of extra cash!
There are a few interesting things to see around Kefalos. There are archaeological sites around most placesin Kos (we visited a few at Kos Town as well), and from Kefalos Town there is a breathtaking view of theb and mountains. There is also a harbour where you can go on boat and fishing trips, lots of cheap souvenir shops and, a 20minute walk away, Paradise Beach which is all sand and has a lovely restaurant. We think wouldn't have minded just pottering around Kefalos every day but I can imagine it may have been a bit boring towards the end of the fortnight. To get the most out of your holiday in Kos arrange some excursions and/or hire a car or motorbike. We did both. The excursions are mainly cheap do's as many are boat trips around neighbouring small islands and lots of fun. If you get the opportunity, do go on a boat n BBQ trip coz the BBQ is absolutely excellent with plentiful helpings of Greek salad, feta cheese and delicious souvlaki (pork kebab with spices). We went on Hippocrates' Secret, where we learned about the father of medicine Hipporcrates and saw some picturesque islands. We also really enjoyed Greek night, which happily fell on our last night the.We wandered around the craft shops in Zia (a small unspoilt village in the mountains) and enjoyed the Greek meal and loved the Greek dancing. some of the tourists can get a bit rowdy due to the unlimited amount of Greek wine built into the price, which was the worst thing about the night, so be prepared for a bit of rowdiness if you go. (I wouldn't take the kids to that one.) It was expensive to go to Turkey by ferry (£15) and to be honest, we were treated like cattle getting on and off the boat at the seaport in Kos Town. (We were treated better in Turkey.) They get you to go by saying you will find lots of bargains in Bodrum market but to be honest you won't. All the designer shops were fixed price and the only things you could haggle for was jewellery and fake designer gear (they openly told us it was fake). You do also get harrassed a lot by the vendors hich was a bit of a pain although they were all friendly and extremely help[ful if you did want to buy somehing. Luckily we visited Bodrum Castle which was fantastic and good fro a couple of hours. I was glad I'd gone because Turkey seemed a nice place but it was a dear do for what it was! As my partner is a scuba diver we also went on a day's diving with a diving school. This was also expensive, £15 for the day and the first dive, and another £15 later if you wanted to do the second dive. It seemed good as an experience for first-timers cause the staff were friendly, informative and safety-conscious but if you are an experiennced diver we don't recommend it. There was little to see, new divers were put together with advanced divers, and the instructor didn't seem to mind cutting one dive short because he hadn't taken enough air with him.
If you, like us, kind of prefer going off the beaten track, you are better off hiring a car or moto. As soon s you arrive at the welcome meeting your rep will advise you not to hire a moto saying that it's too dangerous. If you don't have much experience on a motorbike I would agree. The road safety regulations seem a bt lax and you get a lot of young, daring, inexperienced riders speeding around with no headlights at night. Hoever, my partner is an experienced rider and I'm used to going pillion so we felt ok to hire one. It wascheer than hiring a car and took less petrol. We used it to visit Kardamena for shopping and a look at the ba, we spent a good while sitting in bars sipping long drinks and watching F1, Only Fools and Horses and Friendson large screenTVs - it was a lot more English than Kefalos and a good break, but I'm glad we weren't the all the time as there wasn't as much in the way of Greek culture there. We also went to Kos Town to see the castle, museum and archaeology...if you like history or if you have kids it's really very inetersting. Kos To as not particularly easy to find on out mini map of Kos however, probably best asking your car hire compan for a decent map! We also rode over the treacherous mountain roads from Kefalos to visit Wave Beach at Agios Nikolaos. It was a beautiful beach full of shells and perfect for beachcombing, as a lot of the beaches at Kos seem to be devoid of shells. The sea was choppier here so I wouldn't have gone swimming there bt it really was picturesque and unspoilt. We also visited Mastichari which, on the whole, we weren't very impressed with. It seems more of a residential place.
This all sounds great but I can hear you asking about car hire, insurance etc. There are lots of car hire places on Kos and in Kefalos, and your rep will recommend one to you. We went somewhere else because we wanted a bike. Insurance is minimal and does not cover you for theft but the Greeks are quick to assure yo t's unlikely to get stolen. I don't know, it never happened to us, but it's up to you whether you take the risk. For bikes, the helmets are not very good quality so unless you have utmost confidence in your ability ay on the bike, I would go for a car. Cars and bikes cost between £15-£30 to hire for a day. I didn't think t was too much to ask, but what was annoying was that if you hired it for a day at 9am, you could only ha t until 8 that night, not overnight, so my advice is to either go really early to book your vehicle (most place open at about 8am) or hire it for 2 days. I really recommend hiring a vehicle if you want to see somethinggoff the beaten track.
Who is Kefalos for? well, travelling as a couple, we loved it. It was relaxed and quiet but if you wanted sothing a bit more upbeat you didn't have to look very far for something exciting to do or a good night out ybus or on an excursion. It also caters well for families. If you're more of a fun seeker, Kardamena is the main place for night clubs and parties etc. You could pop up there on a trip or by bus from Kefalos but you couldn't do it every night.
There are lots of great restaurants and tavernas - the best were those on the beach front for their superview, although delicious food and excellent service could be found on the side roads at Kampos Taverna, one othe few places we went more than once. I also recommend Bravo Cafe Bar where we watched many a sunset over a few fresh, delicious cocktails. Eating out in Greece is really cheap and you get plenty to eat. We ad a self-catering apartment but we just ate out more often than not and could afford to do so for most othe 14 nights we were there.
As you can see, there wasn't much we didn't like and the scenery and atmosphere in Kos and Kefalos in partiular was perfect for romance, relaxation, and just generally escaping from it all. I will definitely go back one day and it has inspired me to try other Greek islands when I go on holiday in future. Kos has got sometig for everyone if you pick the best resort for you. Go to Kos and let your dream holiday come true!
I hope this review has given you the info you wnated about Kos. Have fun on your hols wherever you decide t go!
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Advantages: breeze keeps you cool, you don't notice the intense heat Disadvantages: watch you don't burn, the wind is deceptive: use you sun cream more often. IT IS HOT in KOS
Glynhafod 01.09.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kos (Greece)
Nov 4th, 2001
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