Social Programme

City Tour

Aeolos Travel

The guided tour of the city of Kos and its monuments starts with the visit to Asclepeion, the ancient temple dedicated to the God of health, Asclepius. The Asclepeion of Kos was the best and the most important “Asclepeion” of Ancient times. Situated 4km from the city centre on a hill surrounded by a forest with cypress trees, it is divided into three levels, each totally different from the other, with a magnificent view of the gulf of Kerameikos and the Middle East coasts. The tour around Asclepeion and the “journey” into the World of Hippocrates takes about one hour.

After the Asclepeion, follows the visit to a vinery named "Inambelos" just before Zia village, where one will have the opportunity to listen to the procedure of wine making and even taste some wine.  

The next stop will be the visit to the “West excavation zone”. Here are located the foundations of the ancient gymnastic ground “Xysto”, (which means scratch, scrape), so named because the athletes coated themselves with olive oil before the games and scraped it off afterwards. Also found here are the “Thermes”, the roman public baths, the “Early Christian Basilica”, the “Nymphaion” a “Vespasiani” of 3rd century BC, with a yard full of mosaics together with a Corinthian colonnade, and the roman house with the magnificent mosaics of “Europe’s Abduction” of the “Nine Muses”. Just opposite the “Xysto”, is found the ancient “Odeon”, a well constructed roman theatre.

Walking through the small streets of the old town, we reach Freedom’s square, the central square of the city, which is surrounded by Italian-constructed buildings, such as the Museum (the Italian Palace of 1936), the Agora (the Market) and the Library.  

Passing through the “Toll Gate” entrance, the central gate of the ancient city Wall, this leads through the ancient “agora” to the square of Hippocrates’ Plane Tree, the oldest tree in Europe. The bridge, which crosses the Palm Trees Avenue, joins the square with the Medieval Castle of Neratzia, which was built by the Knights of St. John in 1478, and which dominates the port. Platanos Square is rich in monuments of all the Island’s periods of occupation. The mosque of Loggia, built in 1786, is the monument of the Turkish occupation. Here, under the shadow of the Hippocrates Plane Tree, the three-hour journey into the history of Kos comes finishes.

Heading Cruise to the volcanic island of Nissyros

Nissyros is a unique volcanic island in the southeast Aegean Sea, with rich and extremely diverse flora and fauna. In the volcano area there is one of the best-preserved craters. In accordance with the Legend, Nissyros was a part of Kos and was created after the war of giant Polyvotis and the God Poseidon.

Villages with a unique architecture and very friendly people, Nissyros welcomes the visitors who come to walk to the monastery of “Panagia Spiliani”, Mandraki, the capital of the island and of course those who would like to visit the volcano and its crater Stefano of 260m diameter and 30m deep.

The departure from Kos is at 08:30-09:00 and the trip takes about two hours. Arriving at Nisyros follows the trip by bus from the harbour to the volcano and then on foot to the crater with the ‘blow holes’ where steam escapes and also where mud has been bubbling away from under the surface.

The sulphur crystals make an interesting display and it is possible to even stand over the top of a Geo-Thermal spring and hear the water running away below you. On the way back and at the altitude of 450m is the monastery of “Our Lady”, with a superb view along the east side of the island.

The visit in Nissyros will finish with a lunch in one of the traditional taverns and a walk around the port. (Lunch is not included in the price)

Nissyros

Nisyros (Greek: Νίσυρος; also transliterated Nissiros) is a volcanic Greek island located in the Aegean Sea. It is part of the Dodecanese group of islands, and lies between Kos and Tilos. Its shape is approximately round, with a diameter about 8 km, and its area is 41.6 km². Several other islets are found in the vicinity of Nisyros, the largest of which is Gyali. The island has a mountainous interior and in its center several craters are found. Its coasts are generally rocky or pebbled, but there are also a few sandy beaches.