Hi, I'm Daniel and I'm 16 years old. I left school recently and start college in September. I love t...
Hi, I'm Daniel and I'm 16 years old. I left school recently and start college in September. I love to read and write! Leave a message in my guestbook if you want to get to know me.
Member since:18.01.2002
Reviews:65
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I'm back for a second attempt at holiday writing ~ this one has been harder because this holiday seems like so long ago!
We visited Kos in May 2001. The holiday was for a week only ~ but we were excited because it was my first time abroad, and one of the first for my parents. Because we were only there for a week, we probably didn't get around as much as we would have liked (hence my 'Places to Visit' section being quite short), but we did see enough to get a general impression on the island as a whole.
We stayed in the quiet village of Mastihari, so a lot of my review will revolve around it.
~*~
GENERAL INFORMATION (KOS)
Kos is the third-largest of the Dodecanese islands (Rhodes is the largest), with a population of over 27,000. It's actually quite far away from my holiday destination this year (Zakynthos) ~ Kos is closer to Turkey than the Greek mainland! Athens is a fourteen-hour ferry journey away ~ you can also get a ferry to the neighbouring island of Kalymnos.
You'll soon find out that the island is quieter than most ~ our resort must have been the quietest of them all! This is good though, as it means that the island has not lost it's culture due to tourism. Of course there's one resort which is loud and commercialised ~ Kardamena ~ I'll tell you more about it later.
The island is very pretty ~ you'll be greeted with lovely smells from beautiful flowers on your travels. You can also get a taste from the past and visit the ruins of a Roman castle.
Because we visited before the peak of the tourist season, some of the points made in this review could have been different for somebody who visited in August.
~*~
GENERAL INFORMATION (MASTIHARI)
Mastihari is a quiet little fishing
village which lies on the bottom of the northern coast of Kos. First of all, let me warn those among you who love great nightlife, that Mastihari is NOT for you. You'd be much better suited to the livelier resort of Kardamena, which does have bars and clubs.
On the other hand, you'll love Mastihari if you're looking for a quiet holiday ~ you won't be disturbed in the middle of the night by drunk people trying to find their way back home ~ and you'll spend you're days in a peaceful atmosphere. But, if you do want to explore, there are bus services to Kos Town, where you can change for other locations.
You can explore Mastihari quite easily ~ it's only small, and not very easy to get lost in! There are plenty of places to eat, considering the size of the village.
Mastihari and the island in general will be explored further in the following topics.
~*~
ACCOMMODATION (KOS)
If you have read my review on Zakynthos, you will probably want to skip this section as the state of the accommodation is very similar on both islands.
Accommodation in Kos is very, very basic ~ hotels are okay and are generally comfortable ~ but holiday apartments are just looked upon as 'a place to sleep at night' and not much else. Of course you have the basics ~ a tiny kitchen, consisting of two cooking rings, a sink and a small fridge with freezer box.
The bathroom has the obvious, as well as the simplest of showers (hand held, doesn't have anything between boiling hot and freezing cold, and prone to flooding the bathroom).
Don't worry though ~ as basic as the apartments be, at least they're CLEAN ~ and this is the main thing. They also have a maid service ~ she comes every other day, changing your bins and occasionally mopping up. She also changes your bed covers on a weekly basis.
Because I've only stayed in Greek apartments twice, I might have just been unlucky, but I get the feeling all apartments are just the same. You do get used to living the simple life soon enough though.
~*~
THE BEACH (MASTIHARI)
Mastihari Beach is very long ~ you can see it go right off into the distance! It's also not one of those nasty narrow beaches ~ it's wide, which means that the beach isn't crowded and spoiled by rows and rows of sunloungers, they're spread out.
The area in which we usually stayed on the beach had sunloungers for hire quite cheaply, but if you looked up the beach, you could see that the 'sunlounger spots' ended, which means that you could just use your own beach towels and hunt for a quieter spot.
It's also very clean, and has beautiful sand!
There are restaurants along the seafront, these usually sell lolly ices to cool you down on the beach. Although, when we visited in May, there was a breeze by the sea which kept us cool.
~*~
EATING & DRINKING (MASTIHARI)
Mastihari is only small, so you obviously can't expect streets and streets of restaurants, but there are enough to provide some variety during your stay. Our favourite was El Greco, which provided a good view of the sea. We found ourselves going back there on numerous occasions!
There are plenty of Greek specialities on the menu ~ and it's always great to try something new. All of the fish in the sea must have been swimming off in all directions once they found out that my Dad had arrived ~ no fish was safe!! Although for the less adventurous, there are some pleasant reminders from home on the menu ~ and Children's Menus.
Drinking is limited, so perhaps you want to go to a different resort if you're planning on stumbling home every night!!
~*~
THE PEOPLE (KOS)
Although the locals in Zakynthos were great, the people of Kos were even better! They welcomed you with open arms if you wanted to eat at their restaurants, and do their best to make sure that you're comfortable.
On our first night, we were overwhelmed at some of the waiters hovering around us as we ate, but they even went as far as refilling our glasses when they were getting half full!!
My guess is that we got the nicest of the locals in Mastihari ~ it's only a small village so they obviously need your custom more, hence their positive attitudes towards tourists. The Greeks have to earn enough money to last them for the entire year during the tourist season ~ so they're very welcoming towards us.
The majority of the locals speak English very well, and so they can understand your requests.
~*~
THE WEATHER (KOS)
During our visit in May, the temperatures didn't really soar (high 70s/low 80s), and we were very unlucky as we got some rainy days! We were disappointed because it was our first holiday abroad, and we were expecting heat!!
The temperatures are bound to rise to the 90s like the other Greek islands in July/August, but during our stay there was a nice cool breeze ~ I'm unsure about whether it stays in the blazing months!!
~*~
MONEY/PRICES
We visited Kos before the conversion to the Euro, so obviously I cannot give you any up to date information on prices. When we did visit, it was extremely cheap for meals, drinks and general shopping.
The conversion to the Euro has probably given the locals an excuse to round all of the prices up, but even then, you'll still find things much cheaper than at home.
1 Euro is around 65p.
~*~
GETTING AROUND
~~~~~~~~~~~ Hiring Transport ~~~~~~~~~~~
It's quite easy to hire your own transport on the island. Mastihari is too small to have any real companies that hire cars/motorbikes/scooters/push bikes, but there's plenty in Kos Town and Kardamena. Prices should be pretty competitive considering the amount of companies which do this.
~~~ Bus ~~~
Because we visited before the height of the tourist season, the bus service was very unreliable ~ but our rep informed us that it gets better in August. I can't vouch for that ~ but from experience in Zakynthos, the bus service on Greek islands can never be truly relied upon.
Most buses leave from Kos Town, so if you want to visit another resort, you'll most likely have to take a bus to there, and then change for another ~ providing a bigger chance of being let down by the buses!!
~~~~ Taxi ~~~~
There are taxi ranks in various places, but beware! Make sure you ask for your taxi driver to pick you back up at a time of your choice ~ we nearly ended up stuck in another resort one night, because there wasn't a taxi in sight! The taxi driver will be happy to pick you back up, but you can't expect him to be there on the dot.
You should agree on a price before you set off ~ also remember that taxis can sometimes be shared.
~*~
PLACES TO VISIT
~~~~~~~ Kos Town ~~~~~~~
Kos Town is a mixture of old and new ~ there are some real narrow streets which make you feel like you've stepped back in time, but there are modern parts too with bars and places to eat all around.
There's a land train which will give you a tour of the island's capital ~ and a huge harbour with loads of boats. There's beaches too ~ so even Kos Town would be a good place for people looking for a livelier holiday.
There's regular (unreliable) bus services running from Kos Town to all over the island.
~~~~~~~~ Kardamena ~~~~~~~~
Kardamena is the place for those looking for a real lively resort ~ there's bars and clubs all over the place, so it's the perfect holiday resort for a lot of you. I didn't think much of the beach though ~ it seemed too crowded and full of sunloungers!!!
~~~~~ Kefalos ~~~~~
Kefalos is relatively quiet ~ but still well worth a visit. It's a resort that's very spread out, and there's a huge seafront if you want to stretch your legs!! The beach is nice and sandy, and there's lots of nice bars and restaurants along the seafront.
~*~
THE END
Kos is a quiet yet beautiful island, and is the perfect holiday destination for families. Although Mastihari was quiet, it was the prettiest of all of the resorts ~ although some will probably get bored easily. I certainly enjoyed it there though.
There's plenty of things to do to keep you occupied ~ although I'm sure you'll just want some days just lazing about on the beach!
Sorry if this opinion seems a bit hazy ~ I know it was only a year ago, but my holiday to Zakynthos seems to have overshadowed my memories of Kos! But one thing I do remember is that it was really beautiful, the people were great, and it's well worth a visit.
Well done good op!! Our family are a bit of a greek island junkie. Our most recent holiday was to Kos and i loved it we stayed in kos town. I have also been to zante. Off to read that review now! lol. I would highly reccommend cofru as that has been the best holiday so far for me. great op
Lancashire_Angel 02.05.2004 23:02
We visited Mastihari when we hired a motorbike and didn't much like the look of it but I guess we didn't get the proper feel of the place in just a visit. Kefalos (where we stayed) is definitely worth a visit, the beach in particular we thought was the most beautiful on the island and the tavernas were lovely. Sharron xxx
Esless 07.10.2002 23:12
I went to Kos for a day trip from Bodrum in Turkey, and thought that it was a lovely little island, even though I didn't see all of it - I'm now keen to take a proper holiday there. Lovely op. Niki
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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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Review of Kos (Greece)
Aug 23rd, 2002
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