Beaches in Kefalos
The island's south-west corner, and the best run of sand on Kos.
Key Beaches to Visit
The named coves along Kefalos Bay, each with a different character.
Paradise Beach
Fine white sand and shallow, exceptionally clear water on the south-west coast.
Camel Beach
A small sandy cove below the road, named for the hill that shelters it.
Kamari
The central beach of Kefalos, with the village and harbour behind it.
Limnionas
A traditional fishing harbour and small beach on the northern side of the peninsula.
Polemi Beach
A long, quiet stretch of sand backed by dunes and open country.
The Kefalos Coast
One bay, a long line of beaches, each with a different character.
The south-west peninsula is the least developed end of Kos, and the drive down to it is part of the appeal. The road climbs away from the central plain, and the whole bay opens up below in a single view before you descend to the water.
The water is exceptionally clear here. The seabed is sand rather than weed across most of the bay, which keeps the colour bright well into the afternoon, and the rockier edges at either end are worth a snorkel.
Choosing Your Beach
One bay, but the experience varies a lot along it.
Kefalos Bay runs along the south-west of Kos and holds the best concentration of sand on the island. Headlands break it into separate coves, so although they share a bay each one feels self-contained, and the difference between them is mostly a question of how organised you want your day to be.
Some, like Paradise and Kamari, are fully set up with sunbeds, umbrellas and beach bars within reach of a car park. Others, Polemi and Kavo Paradiso among them, are reached down unmade tracks and offer nothing but sand and sea, which is the point of them.
The bay faces west and south-west, which has two consequences worth planning around. It is sheltered from the meltemi that blows down the island's north coast in summer, so the water here is usually calmer. And it means this side of Kos gets the sunset, so an late afternoon swim followed by dinner in Kefalos village is a well-worn plan.
You will want wheels
Kefalos sits about 40km from Kos Town, and the coves are spread along the bay.
Calmer water
The bay is sheltered from the summer meltemi that hits the north coast.
Sunset side
West-facing, so this is the coast to be on at the end of the day.
Family friendly
Several of the beaches shelve gently into shallow, clear water.