Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022

Several mornings during July, I ran into Kardamena from where I was staying.  My hotel, Acti Beach, is around 2 miles away from Kardamena.  Getting up early and watching the sunrise develop during the Golden Hour is an unforgettable experience.  Two years ago I was here in August and the sun rose over the sea. In July, the sun rises behind the mountains. Therefore I saw the sun start to rise by the golden colours appearing on the white buildings of the town as I ran towards Kardamena.

Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022
The rising sun creating shadows on the walls of the whitewashed buildings.
Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022
The sun appears from behind the mountains.

I run with my iPhone13 and I was able to stop for a few minutes and capture the golden rays. The fun is getting back to the hotel and seeing what the results are like.  These pictures were taken on different mornings and when posted on my social media, they received a positive response.  I certainly want to get back to Kos in the future and experience more sunrises on this beautiful island. This is the last of my Kos Island sequence and hope you enjoyed them.

Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022
Sunrise on the sun loungers at Malibu Beach
Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022
A view of the sunrise from a jetty at Kardamena.
Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022
Sunrise in the harbour with golden rays on the Pirate ship.
Sunrise in Kardamena, Greece, July 2022
The day begins.

Here are my links to Kardamena and Kos

I love Kardamena 2022

Reach for the sky

Back in 2020 when I first visited Kardamena

And where it all started with my daughter’s wedding on the beach in Kos


Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022

A return visit to Kos and more pictures of the beautiful seaside village of Kardamena. An idyllic spot and a perfect base for the rest of the island. The long straight harbour front with the tropical trees adds character to the place and there are some delightful places to eat out and watch the world go by. Food is a must in Kardamena.

Thomas’s Meze is a favourite restaurant of ours and I enjoyed the traditional Greek foods that were served. The sea bass was particularly tasty and the bones were expertly removed by our waiter. The pictures show the before and after result. Other favourites included home made Moussaka and Feta Filo.consisting of feta folding in pastry, sprinkled with sesame seeds. The local honey that is poured over the pastry comes from those bees that I saw in the mountains. It was also a chance for me to become re-acquainted with Retsina. The taste of this Greek resinated wine is not to everybody’s liking with some people spitting it out as soon as they taste it! For me it is a refreshing taste and goes well with fish and other Mediterranean foods.

Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Spot the bottle of Retsina.

We also dined at the restaurant, Avli, which is based in one of the oldest houses in Kardamena. The restaurant is in an old courtyard which is cool and adds a local greek atmosphere to the proceedings. My choices here were the home made stuffed vine leaves to start with followed by the catch of the day which was red snapper. Both were delicious and prepared well.

Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Vine leaves starter at Avli restaurant.
Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Entrance way to Avli restaurant.

Breakfast was taken at the Harbour lounge on the sea front where you could watch the yachts and the various ships such as the Pirate ship leave for a tour of the islands. The owners prepare a sumptuous breakfast which can either be English or Greek depending on your tastes.

Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Greek breakfast at the Harbour Lounge.
Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Watching the sails from the Harbour Lounge.

Coming back from Kos Town on our final evening, we had our last meal at Chris snack and cocktail bar. A friendly family run restaurant where we had some simple but tasty home cooked food. The seating is on several tiers and we sat close to the sea, enjoying the sight of local children catching a crab and watching the pirate ship come home for the evening.

Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
The pirate ship on its way home to Kardamena.

Eating out in the town was excellent and was a welcome break from the all-inclusive food at our hotel, which was fine but unadventurous. After breakfast or evening meal, then it was only natural that we wandered along the streets of Kardamena. There was a chance to see the shops, view the boats in the harbour or see the antics of the local cat population. Here are a selection of photographs out and about Kardamena during the day.

Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
View of the islands south of Kardamena.
Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Villagers in the setting sunlight.
Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
Villagers and the tourists.
Kardamena, Kos, Greece.July 2022
The central building.

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My last post on Kardamena was back in 2020 and is fun to compare to this one.


Sunrise and boat

The village of Kardamena was not far from the hotel where we stayed for Natasha and Rob’s wedding.  It is a small resort with an attractive harbour and a big heart.  I was very impressed with the place.  It has many backstreets which are pleasant to stroll through and are relatively cool in the midday sun.  The harbour front contains many bars and restaurants which come alive in the evening.  Every morning, I ran into Kardamena and took many iPhone pictures which often included the sunrise.  This did depend on whether I got up in time. 

Table in the sun
A breakfast table in the sun
Church on the Road
A small Church on the Road that I ran past every morning.
Church and sea
Church and sea
Boat in the harbour
Boat in the harbour

The light on the Island is best in the early morning when the first rays break though over the waters.  At night the sun sets behind a small mountain ridge but some of the last rays of the day still make for a pleasant picture.  In the town we ate at several restaurants and the food was always tasty and delicious.  It was also good to drink Retsina again which I know is an acquired taste but it brings back memories of my time Greek island hoping when I was a student.  These are some of the pictures that I took which are all on my iPhone. It was not practical to bring the grown up camera out on either a run or in the evening when alcohol was flowing.  However I know that I will visit Kos again taking my cameras to catch the beautiful light. 

Sunrise at Malibu Beach
Quiet streets of Kardamena
Bike in the sun
Bike in the sun
Main Church
Main Church
Greek Meze
Greek Meze
Boats in harbour
Boats lined up in the harbour
Sunrise and boat
That boat again on the final day of the holiday

The final picture is not in Kos but taken at the Sunset Taverna in Zia on the mountains.  It was an adventurous journey in the mini bus up and down the steep mountain roads from Kardamena to Zia but as the picture shows is was worth it for the sunset. This was taken with my Canon 5D with two pictures stitched together.

Sunset at Zia
Sunset at Zia
Natasha Wedding

The corona virus almost scuppered Natasha my daughter’s wedding plans.  She and Rob wished to tie the knot on the Island of Kos in August.  The planning started at the end of last year and everything was in place, hotel booked and plane tickets all sorted.  What could go wrong?  The rest of 2020 does not need an explanation but it did cause the family much stress and anguish.  The government were opening and closing travel corridors to different countries.  Luckily Greece had a low infection rate and the wedding was on.  It was touch and go and there were causalities as some of the family were unable to come due to work restrictions.

Natasha Wedding
Proud Mum and Dad with Natasha
Natasha Wedding
Natasha with her Bridesmaids Kirsty and Sian

Kos is a beautiful island and we were booked into the Akti Beach hotel complex on the south near to the village of Kardamena.  It was very safe on the Island as most hotels and restaurants were lightly booked and there was not a large number of tourists present.  The weather was glorious and every day, it was on the right side of 30oC.  

Natasha and Rob Wedding
The wedding took place on the beach
Natasha and Rob
Natasha and Rob
Wedding on the beach
Undying love on the beaches of Kos


Natasha and Rob’s Wedding took place on the beach.  There was a small secluded part of the beach that was set up with chairs and a horseshoe decoration.  The scenery could not have been more idyllic.  Following the simple but moving ceremony, there was a short walk up to the reception.  This took place in the Malibu Beach Bar. There were only 14 close family that attended the wedding and we had the Beach bar to ourselves.  The setting was very tropical with bar and swimming pool. Following the cutting of the cake there was the bridal meal consisting of tasty BBQ food.  There were the speeches and a video collage of well wishers of people who could not get to the wedding.  This had been put together by Kirsty, Rob’s sister and there were some surprise guests included.  Following some fleeting fireworks, most people took a dip in the swimming pool and enjoyed the rest of the evening.  Natasha was so happy as she finally had her wish come true.

Natasha Wedding
Natasha and Rob on their wedding day
Malibu Beach Bar
Wedding Cake
In front of the cake
The wedding Dance
The first dance being recorded

After the wedding? I went banana boat surfing on the sea which is an exhilarating white knuckle ride.  We also made it to the Sunset tavern restaurant in Zia on top of one of the highest mountains in Kos.

Night at Kos
Moon, Saturn and Jupiter over the sea

As for the travel.  It was a weird experience wearing facemasks on the flight there and back plus all the quarantine form filling that had to be done.  Everyone got there and back safely without any infection from the corona virus.  On reflection it was a highlight of 2020 and we were so pleased that we could be there to celebrate Natasha and Rob’s big day.  I was pleased that I was able to take my cameras out to the event and was happy with my unofficial photographs.

If you enjoyed this post then you can view the wedding of my youngest daughter Sian who was married in Solihull with a reception at Tanworth in Arden a few years ago.