Kalymnos, 28 Apr - 13 Mai 2008

We started to plan a holiday scanning the most famous climbing areas in Europe. Kalymnos was the winner: this rocky island is very popular among the climbers worldwide - it has it all: over 1000 climbing routes, impressive rocky crags, wild beaches, great food, cheap accommodation.
We chose to take the plane to Athens and further to Kalymnos. The cost of the ticket is around 400 euros with Olympic Airlines. A cheaper possibility is by car until Athens or Thessaloniki and then by ferry until Kalymnos. You would save around 200 euros, but the trip from Thessaloniki takes about 20 hours.

As we were changing the planes in Athens, we decided to spend 3 nights there. We were disappointed by this city - it's too noisy, dirty and full of beggars. From my point of view, the only place that is worth visiting are the ruins:)

Kalymnos, on the other hand, was a very nice surprise. As someone said, "Once you have been to this island, you won't even think about climbing anywhere else".





















The owner of the place we stayed, a very nice women called Popi, came and took us from the airport. If you're not that lucky, you can take a taxi for 8 euros till Myrties and probably 10 euros till Massouri.

We booked 3 rooms in a village called Myrties, at Popi's Studios , very close to the sea.

For 17 euros/night/room, you would get a room with kitchen, private bathroom and breakfast included. The only disadvantage was the distance to the crags: you could reach some of them by foot (Odyssey, Poets, Grande Grotta, Spartacus), but you can also rent a car or a moto.

The price for one day of car renting is 35 euros/day, but you can negotiate the price if you rent the car for more days.

We climbed around 8 days, "visiting" a small percentage of the sectors in Kalymnos: Poets, Afternoon, Schools (only easy routes), Ianis, Grande Grotta (spectacular), Spartacus, Odisey, North Cape, Arhi, Cave, Palace, etc.


You can climb all day long at "Spartacus" because the crag is in the shade; here's the famous route called "Danyboy", 8a.

Grande Grotta and Odisey are probably the most famous, crowded, spectacular but also polished crags in Kalymnos.

Cave sector is also impressive, the rock has holes and strange shapes.

Arhi is the first crag in Kalymnos, with a large variety of routes. You can find here the hardest routes in the island.

We discovered North Cape at the end of one day, just a few routes on tufas, but nice place and uncrowded. Later Ioni did a very nice 8a here called Helios.
Palace has just a few routes, but it's worth going there, the landscape and the rock are fantastic.
During summer, you can climb all day at Afternoon, Odisey, Spartacus, Ourania, Jurassic Park and Sikati, because they are in the shade.
Arhi, on the other hand, is not recommended during summer.

There are many bars and cozy restaurants, most of them in Massouri.
Many bars have pictures with climbers, some owners are climbers or used to climb.
I remember seeing a placard in front of one restaurant: "Welcome to all climbers".
We spent some time in a bar called Fatolis: one beer is about 2.5 euros, 1/2 liter of wine 3-4 euros, a coke 1 euro, etc

Food was very good everywhere: kalymnian salad: 6 euros, pasta: about 6-7 euros, fish about 10 euros, etc.

We found a fish tavern in Myrties, with interesting and strange food: octopus filled with feta cheese 6.5 euros (strongly recommended), fouskes, see snake, etc
Many places offer menus: for calamari, fried potatoes and a bier you would pay about 8 euros.
I would recommend the Archipelagos restaurant, the food is excellent, the owners cook, serve you, come to the table and ask if everything is ok. And you would get free ouzo and donuts with honey and cinnamon.

There are also some markets in Massouri, 2 stores with equipment for climbing, where you can also rent it, some stores with souvenirs, etc.
For the climbing guide of the island you have to pay around 28-30 euros. It's very well structured and extremely useful.
After a day spent climbing, you can also get a massage in Massouri.
Many crags are 5 minutes away from the beach. There are some crowded beaches, where you can enjoy a coffee for 2 euros and free seats at the beach, but you can also find lonely, small and friendly beaches.
More pictures from Kalymnos can be found here.
We also went to Rhodes, Bodrum, Kos, Pothia or simply enjoyed a day at the beach.
Rhodes is very nice, the old town is simply charming. The room was 50 euros/night.

The food is also great, but the prices are bigger than in Kalymnos.
The owner of a tavern we eat told us that he was on holiday in Rhodes, he fell in love with the place and moved there.
We all agreed:)
It can be crowded during high reason, but it's worth visiting, anyway.
The beach is everywhere and the water has an incredible blue color.
In may you can lay at the beach or even swim, if the temperature of the water doesn't disturb you.

I liked the harbor, castle and food in Bodrum. Otherwise, it's extremely crowded.
For 35 euros you can go there for a day and see a different world.