Photos
Kalymnos - Pserimos - Plati
We visited these three tiny Greek islands during a day trip - Three Island Cruise - from neighbouring Kos in July 2007. The following short assessment of the islands is based on our own experiences and therefore descriptions given in this guide necessarily contains an element of subjective opinion which may not reflect your own impressions on another occasion.
Kalymnos Island
This small island is easily accessible from neighbouring Kos. The island is very popular with holidaymakers who choose to visit Kalymnos on a daily boat trip (like us!) from Kos Town. Kalymnos is located approximately 12 km - one-hour ferry cruise - from Kos. In 2001 the island had a population of 16,235. This made it the third most populated island of the Dodecanese, after Kos and Rhodes. Kalymnos is known in Greece for the affluence of much of its population, and also is both the wealthiest member of the Dodecanese and one of the wealthiest Greek islands overall.
Pserimos Island
Tiny Pserimos Island is part of the municipality of Kalymnos and had a population of 130 inhabitants in 2001. Due to its remote location it is a popular tourist destination with Greek and other European holidaymakers. On the island you can find several beautiful beaches and a number of taverns, some of which also offer accommodation.
Plati Island
Plati, a tiny island, is situated between Pserimos and Kalymnos. According to one of the travel guides, Plati is only inhabited by a couple of people. According to one story it was too dangerous for Greeks to have uninhabited islands near the Turkish border so the government founded a house for the settlers.
If you are taking the day trip - Three Island Cruise - your ship may probably not anchor directly on the island. However, it will stop just around 100 metres from the shore, so you will have a perfect opportunity for a swim and relax in this idyllic place.
Published on 30th November 2009
By Arek Zasowski
Photographs by Viola and Arek Zasowski
Few points worth considering
Kalymnos - Natural Sponges Here - Vathi Harbour - If you are on a day trip from Kos, your guide may offer you a short visit to the sponge warehouse in Rina. From our experience, we would like to advise you that, although we did enjoy the visit and shopkeeper’s story about divers and sponges, we were really disappointed that we were mislead and bought low-quality sponges made somewhere in America rather the natural original Greek. Our advice is that, if you are looking for a real sponge, you should buy it from one of the numerous street sellers. It was a shame that our guide did not warn us about this and actually cooperated with warehouse owners to attract new customers.
With regard to Vathi harbour and Rina marina, please note that this is really picturesque place with lovely and tiny marina. The crystal-clear sea water and high rocky mountains and numerous caves create a lovely / marvellous landscape. It really is a great place to visit.
Three Island Cruise provided by Nikitas crew is a really fantastic excursion. During the cruise we had 4 stops 2 on Pserimos Island - barbecue, swimming etc. (price of the food was included in the price), one stop in Kalymnos and one beside Plati Island.
