Kantouni Beach Hotel - Kalymnos island, Greece

On Kalymnos we have lots of beaches. Excellent if you want to spend your days swimming and sunbathing! Kalymnos attracts nice visitors, so people you meet on the beach tend to be friendly and interesting. Sea swimming is generally safe, there's very little tidal movement, and waves are rarely large. Several hotels have pools that are open to all, complete with poolside lounging and bar. Snorkelling is good too - the chance to lose yourself in a magical undersea world of rippling plants and brilliant darting fish. A few sea urchins lurk off some beaches. Look out for them underfoot and if you are unlucky use olive oil to help get the spines out. Average summer temperature ranges from 26 to 30°C (about 77 to 84°F) and the days are long and sunny. Average hours of sunshine range from 10 in May to 12 in July and August. The usual commonsense rules apply to sensible sun exposure, especially for children and the fair-skinned. Use lots of suncream, wear a hat, cover up before you've overdone it. When you arrive on Kalymnos, get accustomed to the sun gradually. Kalymnians love children - our island once held the record for the largest average family size in Europe! This is a safe place where talking to strangers is normal and taking good care of the youngsters is reckoned to be a shared community task. Here, most family members keep the same hours. After summer siesta, everyone from granny to baby will go out for the evening together. This means that all children are welcomed in tavernas, cafes and bars. They are talked to as people, and have their needs considered. Visiting children enjoy the sunshine, beaches and swimming pools, the boats, the availability of chips and spaghetti bolognese, the warmth and friendship they receive, and the freedom to wander and play with local youngsters. It's a safe place.

How to get to Kalymnos :

From Athens take a domestic flight to Kos with either Olympic Airways or Aegean Airlines. Both airlines run two flights daily in winter and more in summer. Or travel direct to Kalymnos by ferry from Piraeus, the port of Athens. There are two ferries every afternoon all year round and their journey takes about 12 hours. From Thessaloniki, fly to Kos via Athens or take the ferry to Kos - a weekly service. From other islands: There are excellent connections with Kalymnos from many other Greek islands by large DANE and G&A ships or the smaller car ferry F/B Nisos Kalymnos from: " Kastellorizo " Karpathos " Rhodes " Symi " Tilos " Nisiros " Kos " Leros " Patmos " Lipsi " Agathonisi " Samos " Astypalia By Kyriacoulis Hydrofoils from Rhodes, Samos and most other islands in the Dodecanese group. From the Cyclades islands, connect in Samos. By the Dodekanisos Express catamaran which runs daily between Rhodes and Samos, stopping at other islands en route.