Greece
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
287km²
Area
129km
Coastline
846m
Highest point
Dikeos
33,387
People
25°C
Warmest sea
August
When to go to Kos
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (25 °C) and coolest in March (17 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Greek island
Kos is an island in Greece. It covers 287 km², with 129 km of coastline. Its highest point, Dikeos, rises to 846 m. About 33,387 people live on it.
Getting there
- Kos International Airport "Ippokratis" (KGS)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at KGS airport (Kos Island)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKálymnos - Kos (Mastichári), Nisyros - Kos (Kardamaina), Kalymnos - Kos, Nisyros - Kos
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kos.
- 82beachesTropical Beach, Lagada Beach, Fkk Beach and 79 more
- 40viewpointsKefalos, View from Kos Town to Marmari, view to south coast and 37 more
- 4lighthousesCape Louros, Cape Ag. Fokas and 2 more
- 2ferry terminalsMastichari, Kardamaina
- 4marinasPorto Bello Marina, Kos Harbour, Kos Marina and 1 more
- 7named peaksDikaios, Kefala, Sympetro and 4 more
- 7castles and fortsKastelli of Kefalos, Tower of Drakissa, Palio Pyli Castle and 4 more
- 57ruins and archaeological sitesEarly Christian Basilica, Ancient Stadium, Altar of Dionisus and 54 more
- 1dive centresScuba Diving Center Kos - Sea world
- 437hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 515restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Kos in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kos, each with its own numbers.
2beaches and covesCoastya
24mountainsPeakyas
1lakeLakeyas
Highest point
846m
Dikeos
according to Peakyas
Largest lake
0.69km²
Alikes Salt Lake
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
34.1°C
Alikes Salt Lake
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
25.1°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
2 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Agkáli Emprós Thérmacove25.1°C
- Ormískos Moschalíoucove24.6°C
24 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Dikeos846m
- Palaio Pyli300m
- Krotiri
- Mount Dikaios
- Mount Lathra
- Oros Zini
- Vigles
- Koutsouri
16 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
1 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Alikes Salt Lake0.69km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 113 m above the sea. 83 % of it is below 200 m.
- 38 %0–50 m
- 46 %50–200 m
- 14 %200–500 m
- 2 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Kos19,244 people
- Kéfalos2,713 people
- Zipári2,706 people
- Pylí2,430 people
- Antimácheia2,251 people
- Kardámaina2,132 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 16 |
| Night low (°C) | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 14 |
| Sea (°C) | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 |
| Rain (mm) | 134 | 99 | 58 | 37 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 43 | 88 | 127 |
| Wet days | 12 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| Sun h/day | 4.2 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 8.9 | 10.8 | 12.6 | 12.9 | 11.9 | 10.0 | 7.7 | 5.7 | 4.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 24 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +1.5 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +1.8 |
| 2021 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −1.3 | +0.1 | +1.1 |
| 2023 | +1.7 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.5 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +1.2 | +1.8 | +2.1 | +1.9 | +2.4 | +1.8 |
| 2024 | +2.1 | +1.0 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +2.0 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +1.9 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +1.2 | +1.5 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q187027) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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