Why hire a car in Kos
Kos is one of the flattest, most easy-going islands in the Dodecanese, and that makes it one of the best in Greece for driving yourself around. At around 45 km long, the island stretches from Kos Town in the north-east down to Kefalos in the south-west, with the airport tucked away near Antimacheia in between. Unlike mountainous islands such as Rhodes or Corfu, Kos rewards a relaxed pace behind the wheel — which is also why it's popular with cyclists, but a car gets you further, faster, and with air conditioning on a hot August afternoon.
Kos Town itself is worth a full day: the medieval Castle of the Knights guards the harbour, the ancient Agora sprawls a few streets back, and the enormous Hippocrates Plane Tree in the main square is traditionally said to mark where Hippocrates — the "father of medicine" — once taught. A few kilometres outside town, the Asklepion sanctuary sits on a hillside with sweeping views across to Turkey, and it's a site best reached with your own transport since there's no dedicated public bus route running frequently. From there a hire car opens up the rest of the island: the windsurfing beaches of Tigaki and Marmari on the flat north coast, and Kefalos in the south-west with Paradise Beach, Camel Beach and the little islet of Kastri just offshore.
