Kos is a large island, convenient because of its airport, which avoids long ferry trips from Athens, and an excellent gateway to the Dodecanese, allowing you to then hop over to Kalymnos, Leros, Patmos, Samos, Astypalea. On the positive side, it is rich in ancient ruins, including the Agora, the Asklipeion, the Gymnasium, the Roman Odeon and a reconstructed Roman house. We also found the stark white imagery of Alikes salt lake mesmerizing. Hippocrates garden is not worth seeing; on the other hand Plaka forest was a surprise, with a large population of cats and peacocks. On the other hand it is a mass tourism destination. The main town of Kos has a main shopping and bar street that gets rowdy at night. The other towns such as Kardàmena or Kefalos are ok, but disappointing if you are used to charming islands. We found a great Armenian pastry shop and café, Varouz in Kos, a good place to take a break from the heat after seeing the historic sites. There are some good restaurants in Kos town, and one we enjoyed very much called Oromedon, with a beautiful view of the sunset from the mountain, located in Zià (a tacky touristy village). There are some excellent resorts that will get you away from the crowds, in particular on the North coast beaches (we stayed at Diamond Deluxe, and Lango). We think we made the best use of this island. We flew in and out of here, stayed at top resorts both on arrival and departure, enjoyed visiting the historic sites, and island hopped in between.

Brilliant. Friendly safe island. Airport is clean and modern. Would encourage anyone to holiday here.

Kos is a beautiful island in the Aegean Sea. A great variety of things to see and activities to do: nature, good food, culture etc. Just relax in the Mediterranean climate!