View Kalymnos in Google Maps here
Kalymnos is a beautiful island belonging to the Dodecanese islands. The island is known for its production of natural sponges, and previously sponge-fishing was the most common source of income on the island. The main town of Kalymnos is Pothia, which is also the city the ferries arrive to. Pothia is located on the eastern side of Kalymnos and it is only a short ferry ride from Kos, where the majority of visitors arrive. Pothia has a long harbor promenade with lots of cafes and taverns and so really not much else. There is no old cozy city center as in many other island’s main cities. There are many tour boats in Pothia and several one-day tourists from Kos. Taxi from the port of Pothia to Massouri costs only 15 euros.
“The island is known for its production of natural sponges, and previously sponge-fishing was the most common source of income on the island”
Most Kalymnos tourists live in the towns of Myrties and Massouri, located on the west coast of the island with the small island of Telendos beautifully located in the sea beyond. Myrties and Massouri are both nice cities that have actually grown together into one larger city.
From the small port of Myrties you can go by sea to the small neighboring island of Telendos, which is only 800 meters away. From the harbor there is also the possibility for day trips to Leros and Pserimos. If you do not wish to stay at Telendos, it is strongly recommended to go on a day trip over there, as it is a wonderful nice island with nice little tavernas and some nice little streets where the local sells their crafts. A boat trip to Telendos costs only 2 euros per person each way.
“From the small harbor of Myrties you can go by sea to the small neighbor island of Telendos which is only 800 meters away”
We have contact with a small guesthouse in Massouri, where the owner rents eight rooms. We usually use one of the top three where there is an amazing view of the sea and the island of Telendos as a beautiful setting. Nice clean rooms of good size, with bathroom and small kitchen area. Sitting on this terrace with a glass of iced retzina and enjoying the sunset is not the worst one can experience (-: The owner also runs a small mini market on the ground floor and bakes himself fresh bread and different pies every day.
If you rent a car or scooter, you must be aware that the road through Myrties is unidirectional, so you have to go straight out of town and return on a different road when driving from Myrties to Massouri.
“Kalymnos is very popular for people interested in climbing”
Kalymnos is very popular for people interested in climbing, and it is reportedly very good conditions on the steep cliffs. If you drive out of Massouri to the north, you will find many places scooters parked on the road side. Looking up the rocks, you often see a person hanging like a spiderman high on the rocks. Very impressive. Otherwise, the trip to the north offers fantastic vistas and small towns with nice bathing coves. The trip back can for example go through the rugged landscape on the inner island and a peek at the cozy town of Vathi, located on the eastern side of the island at the bottom of a long narrow wig a little north of Pothia. The distances are not much, so the island can easily be explored on scooters.
You eat well at Kalymnos and the local food is most of the places of the high standards. One of our favorites is the tavern Kokkinidis in Myrties.
“Kalymnos is a really nice place to be”
An article from the Politics of Kalymnos can be seen here
To sum up, one can say that Kalymnos is a really nice place to be. There are not too many tourists. There is good food and very good local. There are reasonably good beaches with sand or pebble. The island does not really have so many attractions to offer, besides being nice to be there (-:
View more photos from Kalymnos on Instagram #KruseTravel.dk.