The small and charming Pserimos island also known as Kapari (they grow wild everywhere), is a little jewel between Kos and the island of Kalymnos island.

We find it north of Kos and can only be reached by sea. From Kalymnos every day except in winter, there is a route while from Kos, you can visit it either by participating in one of the excursions of the three islands (www.infotourskos.com) or by privately renting a boat.

Its origins are ancient, Homer and the historian Pelinius mention it in their writings and like all of Greece and its islands it underwent the dominion of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, then passing under Italian sovereignty in 1912 and then definitively returning under the Hellenic flag in 1948.

It covers an area of just 15 square kilometers with an irregular shape with jagged coasts and a mainly rocky and barren territory. The only settlement where to find human beings is Avlakia the only village of Pserimos built on top of an ancient settlement is presumed to date back to the Hellenistic era so much so that even today the remains of ancient houses can be observed and sometimes found in the sand parts of ceramics from the era. In Avlakia there is the main port (let’s say the largest mooring) and it develops in a beautiful bay with a wonderful beach of soft light sand bathed by a sea that is almost always calm and calm since it is enclosed by headlands with clean waters and crystalline waters with gently sloping seabeds, perfect above all for families with children. A few typical taverns offering breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks, a supermarket, a few souvenir shops, a church and a few lodgings for the lucky ones who manage to grab it is what Pserimos offers. Inhabited by a hundred permanent people all year round, it is undoubtedly an oasis of peace at least after the afternoon as during the summer season many boats arrive from Kos for the classic and unmissable tour of the three islands, but when they leave, only the sound of the sea remains and an almost spectral stillness.

In Pserimos there are no paved roads only dirt roads and you can get around completely on foot.

Avlakia beach for a matter of comfort is undoubtedly the most exploited, but if you are a born discovery and above all you will have time, you can discover other secret corners of Pserimos where there is a high probability that only you will be there. Right in front of the port on the north coast along the only road is Marathonda beach. Surrounded by high cliffs that form a channel, it has a coast of coarse sand mixed with pebbles with a blue and transparent sea. There is also a small pier where you can dock your boat. Two kilometers to the east instead we find the Vathi beach with its fantastic blue waters, and still one kilometer to the west the Grafiotissa beach a long sandy coast with picturesque reddish rocks behind and the small Church of Panagia Grafiotissa which gives the beach its name. Once there were two, the older one was practically consumed by the sea and atmospheric events while the current one, the more recent, was built on top of the fragments of an ancient monument, thus confirming the fact that Pserimos was also inhabited in remote times. Finally, the Tafos Beach which can be reached with a nice walk up and down the hills and here too we recommend that you have suitable clothing especially for shoes and that you bring enough water since you will be perpetually under the sun. There are other very difficult coves to reach that only the locals know about but if you are lucky maybe someone will accompany you there. The names are unknown only those who were born and live in Pserimos know them and are careful not to reveal their secrets. It goes without saying that everything is perfectly preserved in its natural state as Mother Nature did and that services or other services do not exist.

An almost lunar landscape made of rocks, shrubs, rough terrain, little vegetation apart from the huge olive trees, goats and sheep that run around free and happy and a sea where you can enjoy a regenerating swim. Coming from Kos, you will notice a military zone with a huge Greek flag drawn on the cliff, all this because the inhabitants and the Greeks in general are very proud of their land but above all to remind the nearby Turkey that these islands are their property.

Furthermore, since 2022 five exciting hiking trails have been opened through the rocks around the port so if you are a lover of discovery and you like trekking do not miss the opportunity to go and visit them.

A must to do it if you decide to stay a few nights in Pserimos. Go during the full moon period, from the beach with the sun the sound of the surf and maybe a nice cold beer in hand you can see the moon appear and show itself in all the its beauty right above you, an experience not to be missed.