Kos

Beach life is what most people come to Kos for, and the island has plenty of it, mostly sand rather than pebble. The north coast runs in long, open strands from Tigaki through Marmari to Mastichari, with shallow water and room to spread out. The meltemi wind blows hard here in high summer, though, so the sea can be choppy. The south side around Kardamena is more sheltered, and on the Kefalos peninsula in the far south-west lie the island's most beautiful bays, Paradise Beach and Agios Stefanos, the second facing a tiny chapel on the islet of Kastri.

The sea is warm enough to swim from June to October and reaches about 25°C in August. The clearer, calmer coves are on the south coast. Closer to Kos Town, Lambi and Psalidi make easy beaches for anyone staying in town.

Food on Kos is good-natured Greek island cooking: grilled fish and octopus, meze, village tavernas, and a few local things worth looking for, such as pitaroudia (chickpea fritters) and krasotyri, a cheese matured in red wine. The best meals tend to be in the hill villages like Zia and Pyli, by the fishing harbours at Mastichari and Kamari, and in the back streets of Kos Town rather than its seafront. A few small wineries near Kefalos and Antimachia round things out.

In the big resorts much of the food is aimed at package tourists, with menus in several languages and plenty of all-inclusive dining. You can eat well here, but nobody chooses Kos for its food.

Kos Town wears its history openly. Roman and Hellenistic ruins lie among the streets, including the Ancient Agora, the restored Odeon, the western excavations with their mosaics and the Casa Romana villa. The harbour is guarded by the Neratzia Castle, built by the Knights of St John. Nearby stands the plane tree said to have shaded Hippocrates. The Italian period left a tidy grid of rationalist buildings around the archaeological museum.

The island's main site is the Asklepieion, a terraced healing sanctuary on a hillside a short ride from town, with views across to Turkey. Elsewhere there are the castle at Antimachia, the ruined Byzantine village of Old Pyli and the early Christian basilicas at Agios Stefanos. Together they fill two or three good days, not a week.

Going out on Kos is a summer resort affair, running from about June to September. In Kos Town, the lanes of the old quarter are packed with bars that stay loud into the small hours, and there are a few beach clubs along the coast at Lambi. Kardamena on the south coast is the island's party resort, with late clubs, cheap drinks and a young crowd, mostly from Northern Europe.

Outside those two places the evenings are quiet. Families and couples in Tigaki, Marmari or Kefalos usually finish with a seafront drink. The scene is lively but not varied, and it shuts down almost completely out of season.

Kos is mostly low and dry, with farmland and scrub, but a spine of hills, the Dikeos range, rises to over 800m behind the villages of Zia and Pyli. Walking trails climb through pine woods up to Mount Christos, and the sunsets from up there are known across the island. In the pine forest of Plaka, near Antimachia, peacocks wander among the trees. In spring and winter, flamingos gather on the Alikes salt lake by Tigaki.

The flat coastal roads and cycle paths around Kos Town make cycling easy. The steady summer meltemi wind makes Marmari, Tigaki and Psalidi good for windsurfing and kitesurfing. It is a fine island to be active on, but its landscapes are not why people travel here.

The best day trips from Kos go by boat. Bodrum, on the Turkish coast, is a short ferry ride from Kos Town, with its crusader castle, harbour and bazaar, though you will need a passport. About an hour south lies Nisyros, where excursion boats from Kardamena and Kos Town call at the white village of Mandraki before buses climb to Nikia on the rim of the island's volcanic crater.

From Mastichari it is a short crossing to Kalymnos, a sponge-diving island with a busy harbour town at Pothia. Day cruises also visit little Pserimos and Plati for a quiet taverna lunch. Most other islands are too far for a comfortable day, and in summer the trips depend on the boat timetables.

Kos is an easy island for families with young children. The north-coast beaches at Tigaki, Marmari and Mastichari shelve gently into shallow water, and many resorts are built around pools, kids' clubs and all-inclusive dining. There is a large water park near Marmari. Distances are short, the coastal land is flat, and families cycle the paths around Kos Town together. Greek tavernas are relaxed about children at the table late into the evening.

What Kos lacks is anything made for children beyond the beach and the pool: there is no zoo, aquarium or science museum. Older children who like ruins and castles get a day or two out of Kos Town. Avoid Kardamena if you want quiet nights, and expect the midday heat in July and August to shape the daily routine.

Kos is long and narrow, so nowhere is much more than an hour's drive from anywhere else. Kos Town is flat and easy to walk, and a network of cycle lanes makes bikes a popular way to reach the beaches either side of it. Public buses run along the main road between the town, the airport and resorts such as Tigaki, Mastichari, Kardamena and Kefalos.

The buses rarely reach the hill villages, quieter beaches or Paradise Beach and the far south-west, so most visitors hire a car, scooter or quad for a day or two. The roads are good and easy to drive. Ferries and excursion boats to nearby islands leave from Kos Town, Mastichari and Kardamena.

Shopping on Kos happens in the lanes of Kos Town's old quarter, which are mostly souvenir shops selling leather, sandals, jewellery, sponges and beachwear, with a few better shops for olive oil, honey and ceramics. The Italian-era market hall on Eleftherias Square is the place for herbs, spices and local produce. The resorts offer little beyond beach shops and minimarkets, and anyone after fashion or design will find almost nothing here.

Kos is one of the more moderately priced Greek islands, mostly because it is built for package and all-inclusive travel. That means plenty of mid-range rooms and apartments, especially in Kardamena, Tigaki and Marmari. Tavernas away from the seafront, buses and bike hire are all reasonably priced, and the main archaeological sites cost little to enter. Prices rise in July and August, and harbour-front restaurants and sunbed rentals add up. Overall it costs about the same as mainland Southern Europe, not budget levels.

Performing arts on Kos are limited to summer. The Hippokrateia festival brings concerts, theatre and dance to the island's historic settings, with the Asklepieion, the Roman Odeon and the castle as stages. Village festivals on saints' days add live Greek music and dancing. Beyond that, the only regular live music is resort entertainment and Greek-night shows, and there is no year-round theatre or concert life.

The island's best-known spot for unwinding is Therma, on the south-east coast beyond Agios Fokas. There, a hot sulphur spring runs down to a pebble beach, and bathers pile up stones to make pools where the hot water mixes with the sea. It is natural and simple rather than a spa, and best visited early or late in the day. Beyond that, wellness means hotel and resort spas, which are common among the larger beach properties.

The pace does most of the work. Days on the quieter coasts around Kefalos and Mastichari, or in the hill villages of Zia and Pyli, are slow and unhurried, especially in May, June and September.