Kos (Greece) > Reviews > Kos - an island of two halves!!

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Good
Sightseeing	Average
Shopping	Poor
Nightlife	Good
Ease of getting around	Average

Advantages:	Some lively parts & some very quiet parts ! Rent a quadbike !
Disadvantages:	Packed in Summer,do not book with Manos !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

In early 2007 I began looking for a holiday as a few friends (all students aged 18-19) and I had decided we wanted to get away for a while. The usual 'young persons drinking holidays' came up, such as Zante, Magaluf, and Faliraki, but the thought of going to a really rowdy place like Faliraki turned my stomach! Its the idea of going to a place so crammed with English people that you may as well have just gone for a week in Croydon, and having thousands of drunk and sunburned English people mooching around that just didn't appeal to me.

On the other hand, a few years earlier I had visited the small remote island of Symi in Greece, where the locals all stared at you and the only activity to do was to sit on the one, ridiculously small and pebbly beach. So, although my friends were eagerly pushing a holiday in Kavos or somewhere similar, I kept looking and found Kos.

It seemed on paper to be the perfect mix - an island which had some unspoilt and beautiful parts, with a busy centre bursting with nightlife and daytime activities.

After some extensive looking we chose a holiday with MyTravel, through the ever-useless Lastminute.com. The holiday in total came to £200 each, including flights, transfers, accomodation and insurance. A bargain! However this was mainly due to the fact that we were travelling at the end of May/early June (we have that luxury as students!!)

ARRIVAL AND ACCOMODATION

On arrival in Kos we piled into a coach, at about 10pm, and were escorted to our hotel, the Daphne appartments. We were staying in Kardamena which is the liveliest part of Kos.
Having been to a Greek island every year of my life, due to my Dad's love of Greece, I pretty much knew what to expect when it comes to Greek accomodation. White tiled floors, white walls, white bedsheets and faulty electrics, and this is exactly what the Daphne offered. It is pretty average Greek accomodation and I didn't have any complaints. We had a nice balcony and a fridge, so compared to some Greek accomomdation it was very nice! It also boasts a nice swimming pool and a 'cafe/bar' by the pool.
The staff, however, are NOT friendly or helpful.

The best thing that can be said about the Daphne hotel is the location. It was in a quiet street so you could easily get a good nights sleep, yet it was literally about a four minute walk to the main town and beach. We couldnt believe our luck!

KARDAMENA

That first night I suggested going for a walk to get our bearings (it was about 11.30pm) so that we would know where the town was the next day. This, however turned into a full on night out as the town was very easy to find and so we ended up 'exploring' the main bars.

The next day we found the beach which was pleasant enough. The only disadvantage was that it was a fair walk up to the quiter parts of the beach with the nicer water. The water right next to the town was riddled with Sea Urchins!!!

As we walked around the town we saw loads of places offering day trips, excursions etc. We booked a day trip to see the sunset from the top of a mountain. This was later cancelled however and man (english) was really rude. It was a small shop in the main square with boards outside. (Avoid!!)

There are lots of diving and boating excursions, and although we didnt get to go on one, they looked like lots of fun!

There are lots of restaraunts to suit all tastes in Kardamena. There was even a McDonalds which I was less than happy about!!

For me, the highlight of the holiday was renting quad bikes. For about £11, you can rent a quad for the entire day and use them to travel anywhere you want on the island.We used them to drive to the other side of the island and went on a beach only accesible to members of an enourmous hotel complex, but people with transport can also access it; there are no signs to say you can't go on there.

I would DEFINATELY reccomend renting a quad bike, it was a great way to see the quiter parts of the island that you wouldn't normally see.

NIGHTLIFE

The bars in Kardamena are unbeatable. All the staff in the bars are English who have moved to Kos for the summer months. If you go out often enough they get to know you and will give you free drinks. And, unlike in some places, they do not bully you into going in to the bars. They simply try to lure you in with the ludicrously cheap drinks prices! BEWARE of the measures, they dont measure any spirits out they just throw them in!! I got alcohol poisoning on the last night of the holiday, and it was so severe I didnt think they would let me fly back. So make sure someone each night tries to be a responsible drinker!!

The nightclubs, however, leave a lot to be desired!! From what we gathered, there were only 4 in Kardamena. A cheesy club ('downtown') an indie club, and two dance clubs. The drinks were dear and the atmostphere was not good! However the bars are open late to compensate.

THE DISASTER!

The one thing that has tarnished my fond memory of this holiday was one instance where after returing to the apartment late one night, our key broke in the door. One of our friends, however, had not come out this night so she was locked in the apartment. We called the emergency number that Manos had given us, and an extrodinarily rude man swore at me for waking him up at that time. It was a 24hr number!!!!
When he arrived at the hotel it became clear he was trying to blame us for this, just because it had happened after a night out and not in the daytime. We werent even drunk though and the key would have definately broken at any other time!
To try to cut a long story short, it culminated in this horrible young guy pulling my friend headfirst out of a window over solid concrete, even though i was desperately trying to stop him. He also tried kicking down our door and as he was doing it, he was saying 'Youre gonna have to pay for a new door' I was like, stop kicking it then!!
In my quick thinking state i filmed him on my camera phone. The next day when they tried to charge us for a new lock, and a new door, I had to resort to blackmail and tell one of the reps that I had video footage of him pulling my poor friend out of a window! and kicking our door in! So, for this reason I would NOT recommend booking a holiday with Manos, as I was disgusted with all of their staff members.

TO SUMMERISE
So, to summerise, the beach was fine but it had some undesirable patches of water! The private beaches are better if you can get to them! I would not recommend car hire as its not really necessary, if anything a moped or quad bike is fine for transport needs. The weather was glorious, not too hot that you just want to be totally inactive but hot enough to get an amazing tan!!

Typical Meal price - about £8 per head. Drink prices - about £3 for a large cocktail and free shot

Kos was a great place out of season. However, due to the large number of bars and accomodation you can tell that in high season there are thousands and thousands of people there, so I would recommend going no later than June unless you dont mind being crammed like sardines on a beach!