Stormclouds pass above a pedestrian square in Kos Town
The view from our balcony at the Andromeda hotel in Kalami, Samos
One big miss, two great hits: In my earlier posts about Greek Island views, I recounted how we were “on a roll” in terms of picking places to stay where we could see impressive scenery without leaving the hotel premises. Whether it was from our room’s windows or balcony, or the hotel’s dining area or pool terrace, we always seemed to luck out with amazing views of sea and island scenery and sometimes glorious sunsets, too. Well, that run of good views came to a screeching halt at our very first hotel destination in 2010.
Kos was our first island stop in May 2010, and we stayed at Saint Constantin Hotel in Kos Town. When I booked our room, I knew it wouldn’t have a sea view, but I kept hoping there would be something interesting to see from our balcony or somewhere on the hotel grounds. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way, and we wound up with our worst island views ever. Thankfully, good scenery was less than a 10-minute walk away. (The hotel itself was all right, by the way.)
Patmos was our second island, and the Hotel Golden Sun at Grikos Bay more than made up for the lousy views at Kos Town. I was already impressed by the hotel’s views while still sitting in the taxi that drove us to there from the ferry port, and when I walked onto our balcony I was totally blown away by the awesome scenery. We overlooked the full Grikos valley and bay area, and could even see the coast of Turkey. Mountains obscured sunset views, but Tragonissi Island and the mountains surrounding the bay took on a gorgeous golden glow in the late afternoon/early evening sun, and we got to see rainbows above nearby Petra Bay as a storm system moved over the region.
Samos was our final island-hopping destination, and good views continued at both our hotels there. We spent our first night in the island’s largest town, Vathi (a.k.a. Samos Town), staying at the Samos Hotel (which now also calls itself Samos City Hotel). It was situated on Vathi’s main street — a wide waterfront road that curls around the foot of Vathi Bay. Our second floor room overlooked the bay, with great views of the Vathi ferry port and main street, while the hotel’s huge rooftop pool and bar terrace had tremendous views of the entire town and bay. The next day we moved to the Andromeda Hotel in Kalami — a resort region in the scenic “suburbs” of Vathi, a 20-minute walk away. The breathtaking balcony views of Vathi Bay rivalled the Grikos Bay scenery we had enjoyed on Patmos, but came with an added bonus: direct sunset views.
Though Kos was a complete write-off for views, Patmos and Samos clearly ranked among the best we have experienced. So we can’t complain about Kos; as the saying goes, “two out of three ain’t bad.” Below are photos of our views (and lack thereof) from the Saint Constantin Hotel on Kos, the Hotel Golden Sun on Patmos, the Samos Hotel in Vathi, and the Andromeda Hotel in Kalami, Samos. (Unfortunately, the Andromeda doesn’t yet have a website.) To view some short videos of the views from the Hotel Golden Sun, see my May 12 2011 post. There’s a clip of the view from the Andromeda Hotel at the bottom of this post.
Our balcony at the Saint Constantin Hotel in Kos Town looked directly onto the balcony for a room at the hotel next door. Thankfully, our balcony doors had dark-tinted glass to provide a bit of privacy
If we peered over the balcony and looked to the right, we could see the street
This was our view, looking to the left
The hotel’s breakfast area had a view of the street …
… as well as the ground-level swimming pool and bar terrace
This is what the street outside the hotel looked like
At the Hotel Golden Sun on Patmos, our balcony had this fabulous view of Grikos Bay, Tragonissi Island (right) and the coast of Turkey
Our balcony, on the Hotel Golden Sun’s upper level, gave us a panoramic view of the entire Grikos valley and bay area
To the left our balcony overlooked the small harbour on Grikos Bay
To the right, our balcony overlooked Tragonissi Island and Kalikatsou Rock
The outdoor breakfast terrace had terrific views of Grikos Bay …
… as well as the surrounding hillsides of the valley above the bay …
… where construction of new luxury hotels and villas is underway (happily, we weren’t disturbed by any noise from the work activity there, or from lower in the valley where workers were finishing the new 5-star Patmos Aktis Suites & Spa.)
In the main town of Vathi on Samos, the rooftop terrace at the Samos Hotel offers tremendous views of the city, the port, and Vathi Bay
Our balcony overlooked the Vathi ferry pier (plus other balconies on our floor)
Here’s a daytime view of the ferry port from our balcony …
… and a night view of houses on the hillsides above Vathi Bay
To our left, we could look down the main waterfront street in Vathi
At the Andromeda Hotel in the Kalami area of Samos, our room had a narrow, small balcony with a really, really big view
To the immediate left of our balcony were some luxury rental villas on the hillside
Also to the left were views of Vathi Bay
This is the first view we saw each morning when we walked onto the balcony
We rode bikes to the scenic seaside village of Kokkari on the far side of the bay
To the right we had views of houses on the Kalami hillside above Vathi Bay …
… as well as other bay-view balconies on our floor. (I know it doesn’t look very private, but hotel guests tended to watch the scenery and sunsets, rather than their neighbours, whenever they sat on their balconies.)
There was a long, narrow terrace overlooking the bay next to the Andromeda’s breakfast room; if we got up early enough, we could eat outside (those tables were popular, and almost always occupied).
During breakfast, we watched tour boats travelling to and from Kusadasi, Turkey
The Andromeda had a huge swimming pool with great views of Vathi Bay
At the bottom of the hill, the hotel had a private seaside sunbathing area …
… with great views of Vathi Bay and the surrounding hillsides
Each evening, almost everyone at the Andromeda Hotel relaxed on their balcony with a bottle of wine while watching the gorgeous sunsets
This was one of the sunset views we enjoyed watching from our balcony …
… and this was another — we saw a beautiful sunset every night
A giant wave of bougainvillea cascades over a stone wall in Kos Town
Starting point: Kos wasn’t on our travel radar for 2010 until I discovered it would be the easiest (that is, the fastest) island to get to after our overnight flight from Canada arrived in Athens. And when I realized it would be a convenient starting point for island hopping to Patmos and Samos, two islands we really wanted to see, I immediately booked two tickets to Kos on Aegean Airlines.
We spent only three nights on Kos, but that gave us enough time to relax and recover from jet lag, explore colourful Kos Town, and spend a day bicycling around, visiting the Tigaki area and the Asklepieion. (We had hoped we’d have time to take a day excursion to Bodrum, Turkey, but it just didn’t work out.)
Things we liked the most about Kos:
The ruins. At home, we can’t walk very far without passing a Tim Horton’s coffee shop or a McDonald’s. In Kos Town, you can’t walk very far without encountering historic ruins and monuments from centuries past, like the castle overlooking the harbour.
Cycling: Kos is a great island for bike riding! There are dedicated bicycle lanes on some of the main streets in Kos Town, and it’s an easy bike ride to some of the island’s beach areas, including Tigaki. We also rode the bikes to see the Asklepieion, rather than take the little tourist choo-choo train that makes regular trips from Kos Town.
What we liked the least about Kos:
We knew Kos would be extremely touristy and commercial, but we didn’t expect to be hounded and hassled as much as we were whenever we walked past restaurants in Kos Town, or strolled along the harbour past the excursion tour boats. I couldn’t begin to count the number of times restaurant staff actually came running — and I do mean running! — out to the street to urge us to stop in for a meal. Some even followed us part way down the street, with one fellow actually pestering us for nearly two blocks! It happened so often it was ridiculous, not to mention extremely annoying.
At some future date I hope to post a more detailed report of our short visit to Kos. In the meantime, you can find plenty of information about Kos at the kosinfo.gr website and on travel-to-kos.com.
We stayed at the St Constantine Hotel in Kos Town. Convenient location, pleasant & helpful staff, decent breakfast, OK room
It took about 15 minutes to walk along this street to get from the St Constantine Hotel into the heart of Kos Town. The street is lined with shops, tavernas and cafes all the way.
Colourful fishing boats and tour boats in Kos Town harbour
A huge church in Kos Town
Tavernas and shops on the street leading to the big church
The view toward Kos Town harbour from one of the beaches just a short walk away from the St Constantine Hotel
Colourful lounge chairs and umbrellas on one of the Kos Town beaches
Palm trees line Finikon Avenue outside the Castle of Neratzia in Kos Town
Inside the Castle of Neratzia at Kos Town
Inside the Castle of Neratzia in Kos Town
A street in Kos Town
There are archaeological ruins in Kos Town practically everywhere you walk
More archaeological ruins in Kos town
Mary’s House restaurant in Kos Town, where we had an amazing dinner — friendly hosts and an absolutely wonderful food!
The bicycles we rented to explore Kos, seen here at a stop along the coast during our ride to Tigaki and the Asklepieion
Tall grasses near the coast on the way to Tigaki
Vegetation on dunes near the beach at Tigaki on Kos
Lounge chairs along one of the sandy beaches near Tigaki
The Asklepieion ruins near Kos Town
The view toward Kos Town and Bodrum Turkey from the hillside at the Asklepieion
Fishing boats in Kos Town harbour
The imposing Kastro (castle) towers above whitewashed mountainside houses in Chora, the main village on Astipalea island
Look familiar? This blue-domed Church in Firostefani village on Santorini has been pictured on countless postcards, posters, travel brochures and websites.
Sunbeds at popular Elia Beach on Mykonos overlook the sparkling Aegean Sea
Spectacular cliff scenery on the north side of Folegandros island
The Panagia Church on Folegandros sits high above the island`s main village, Chora
Syrmata (fishermens houses) in the seaside village of Klima on Milos
A Cycladic-style house overlooking Agios Prokopios beach on Naxos
The Venetian fortress next to the old harbour at Iraklion on Crete
No sandy beach? No worries! In the Greek Islands, there’s literally thousands of miles of coastline with secluded coves and inlets…
…and countless more great spots to relax in the sun, fish, play or swim in the sea, like this rocky point near Kalithea Bay on Rhodes
Historic archaeological ruins on the hillside and seaside below Mt Kynthos on sacred Delos island
The “Little Venice” area of Mykonos Town is a perenially popular spot for tourists to enjoy a cocktail while watching a spectacular sunset…
…like this one, viewed from the Little Venice seaside
The Portara (Temple of Apollo) is one of the symbols of Naxos island…
…and a popular spot for tourists to visit for sunset viewing
A tourist sketches at the Knossos Palace ruins on Crete
A view over the volcano island (Nea Kameni) off Santorini at sunset
Not a soul in sight on the soft sands of Mikri Vigla beach on Naxos…
or on the soft sands of Achivadolimni Beach on Milos…
…or at Mikri Vigla beach on Naxos…
…while the people in this boat have the sparkling waters of this entire quiet bay all to themselves on Milos
Fira, the bustling main town on the immensely popular island of Santorini
The white cliffs at Kleftiko on Milos
Part of the long sandy beach at Ammoudara near Iraklion on Crete…
…and looking to the right along the same stretch of Ammoudara beach
Looking toward Mykonos Town from the northwest tip of Mykonos island
Some of the hillside hotels and houses overlooking Mykonos Town
Elia beach on Mykonos island
Beach chairs and umbrellas on Elia Beach at Mykonos
Windmills in the village of Chora on Astipalea island
The medieval castle in Rhodes Town on Rhodes
The mountainside village of Filoti on Naxos island
Going for an early morning sail on calm seas off Milos island
Chora, the mountaintop village on Astipalea island
Mountains in the distance off Vathi Bay on Samos
Naxos Town, the bustling main port town on Naxos Island
A rabbit shaped rock formation in the sea off Milos island
Platis Gialos beach on Mykonos
Temple of Apollo at the Asklepieion on Kos
Looking down on Super Paradise Beach on Mykonos
Waves crash against the rugged coast below the Chapel of Seven Martyrs on Sifnos
Amoudi Bay below the village of Oia on Santorini
Beautiful Agriolivadi Bay on Patmos
Pelicans, like these two seen waiting for a fish dinner at ever-popular Niko’s Taverna in Mykonos Town, are famous mascots of Mykonos island…
…while the incomparable Paraportiani Church is another Mykonos landmark
Seagulls trail a fishing boat as it returns to port at Egali on Amorgos
The village of Kastro on Sifnos
On Amorgos, the spectacular 900-year-old Chozoviotissa Monastery is carved into the face of a cliff, 300 meters above the sea