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After Rhodes, Kos is the second largest and most popular island in the Dodecanese, and there are superficial similarities between the two. Here also the harbour is guarded by an imposing castle of the Knights of St John; the streets are lined with grandiose Italian public buildings; and minarets and palm trees punctuate extensive Hellenistic and Roman remains. Although its hinterland for the most part lacks the wild beauty of Rhodes' interior, acre for acre Kos is the most fertile of the Dodecanese, blessed with rich soil and abundant ground water. Mass tourism has largely displaced the old agrarian economy amongst the population of just over 28,000, and outside the main town and Kardhamena this is very much a family-holiday isle, where you can turn the kids loose on pushbikes. Except for Kos Town and Mastihari, there aren't many independent travellers, and from early July to early September you'll be lucky to find any sort of room at all without reservations far in advance, or a prebooked package. The tourist industry is juxtaposed rather bizarrely with cows munching amidst baled hay, and Greek Army tanks exercising in the volcanic badlands around the airport. All these peculiarities acknowledged, Kos is still definitely worth a few days' time while island-hopping: its handful of mountain villages are appealing, the tourist infrastructure excellent (including such amenities as regular city buses and cycle paths) and swimming opportunities are limitless - virtually the entire coast is fringed by beaches of various sizes, colours and consistencies
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