The Kefalos peninsula

The west end of Kos is a single bay several kilometres long, and the beach along it has been cut up into stretches with their own names, car parks and beach bars: Agios Stefanos with the basilica ruins and the islet of Kastri offshore, then Paradise, Lagada, Markos, Magic and Camel. They are the best sand on the island by a distance, and the water stays shallow a long way out.

Over the spine, the ocean side is a different place entirely — Agios Theologos and the coves near it face open sea, take the swell, and have one taverna and no sunbeds. It is where you go when the organised bay feels like too much. Kefalos village sits on the ridge between them, with a castle ruin and views both ways.

The catch is distance. This is the far end of the island from Kos Town, the bus is slow, and nothing here is within walking distance of anything else. Hire a car, or accept that you will be on one beach all week — which, given the beach, is not the worst outcome.