Kos is one of the nicest places I have ever been to.
It’s fair to say that I love Kos.
A couple of reasons for my declaration are as follows:
I feel that the people of Kos have realised that they are an island that relies almost entirely on tourism. One of the bi-products of this realisation is you don’t get hassled all the time by people trying to get you into their shops, bars and restaurants. Don’t get me wrong it does happen a bit (mainly in the evenings) but in my experience, they ask you once and if you politely so no they leave you alone.
I went on this trip with my fiancée Serena. Very often we’d be walking back late at night when we’d encounter large groups of teenagers hanging out near the crêpe van close to where we were staying in Lambi. Now, in most countries, I’d automatically be on my guard and I’d be thinking about the martial art techniques I learnt in the Special Forces 🙂 that I need to deploy in case it all went bad, but the crêpe fuelled teenagers didn’t even bat an eyelid as we sauntered past.
I’m not saying that Kos is some crime-free Shangri La but my time there did go some way towards restoring my faith in humanity, especially because I’m writing this just after the Orlando shootings and while watching England v Wales in the Euro 2016 tournament that has seen it’s fair share of hooligan related violence.
Where we stayed
Our trip to Kos was a bit last minute and because it was half term we were looking to find something cheap and cheerful because I really resent paying double the normal price for a trip just because you want to go away during half term.
We stayed at a hotel called Alice Springs which is a family run hotel in Lambi. Elias was our host, a very friendly man who always made a point of chatting to us every day to see what we were up to and making sure we were ok.
Our room at the Alice Springs hotel was pretty basic but it was clean and secure so I could live with the fact there was no TV and the shower was a bit piddly. The Alice Springs is no 1 out of 53 hotels in Kos Town so they must be doing something right.
What we did
- Wandered around Kos Town, Harbour and Castle
- Watched the world go by at Eleftherias Square
- Hired a scooter and bombed around the island at approximately 40kms an hour!
- Ate lots of Tzatziki, Gyros, Crepes and Waffles and drank lots of Greek beer
- Visited several of Kos’s beautiful beaches and swam in the warm and clear Mediterranean sea
- Relaxed in the natural volcanic thermal spa known as Therma or Bubble Beach
- Saw Hippocrates Tree where the famous Greek Physician is said to have taught his students
- Bought lots of Korres shower gel because it was £2.50 a pop instead of £15 which is what you pay in the UK (in fact we bought so much of it we had to get rid of some stuff out of our suitcases on the way back)
- Watched the sun go down while eating a lovely meal in Zia
- Fed lot’s of stray cats
- Generally had a great time
NEWSFLASH – England has just equalised!!!!!
Getting around
I love hiring a scooter to get around, it cost 6 Euros to fill it up so it’s a very cheap mode of transport.
Because Kos is such a nice place we had no problem with leaving our helmets on the handlebars of the scooter safe in the knowledge they would be there when we returned. I even saw several scooters around town that had the keys left in the ignition.
We also walked a fair bit because we were only 15 minutes walk from Kos Town. Most evenings we would walk into town to eat at one of the many great restaurants.
NEWSFLASH – England has scored in injury time and won the game !!!!!
Refugee Crisis
I’m sure you have seen and read in the press that Kos has experienced a few problems in the recent past with refugees arriving on their shores from Turkey but this is no longer an issue.
Conclusion
Kos is ace. Writing these blogs really allows me to solidify my memories of a place and I can honestly say I have no negative things to say about Kos.
I can’t wait to go back.
The people are great, the weather is fantastic, it’s not that far from the UK and there’s loads to see and do.
Go to Kos now, you won’t regret it.