I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Kos and Josh and I got engaged here!

Here are some activities I recommend doing and places I recommend you check out. Kos is part of the Dodecanese cluster of islands in Greece. It has an airport with direct flights from London. It has a port that connects you to other islands within the Dodecanese islands.

Where to stay
Definitely in the main town. There are loads of restaurants along the water between Lampi beach and Kos harbour. Somewhere near there would be central to the bus, supermarkets, restaurants and the port for day trips or to visit other islands. 

Getting around
If you can hire a car, it’s good to get out and see the island but not essential as there are buses. If you have an Australian license you will need an international permit (Greece is very strict on this now). If you want to get a taxi in Kos, a pre booking is essential. 

What to do

• Natural thermal beach. It’s cool because the water is so hot but meets the sea that is cold!
• Tigaki beach is a really nice sandy beach with white sand. 
• Paradise beach is a long stretch of white sand. You can do organised water sports on there 
• Agios Stefanos Beach has beautiful clear water. It’s at the other end of the island. 

• Day trips to some islands are good day outings if you have the time. We went to Kamimnos and some other smaller islands i na full day excursion. There vendors selling tickets near the port. I think it was €20-25 for the day and included lunch.

• You can do a day trip to Bodrum in Turkey which is a cute little tourist town. Shops, beach etc. The boat is about 40 minutes.

Where to eat

Lofaki needs to be #1 on your list! You need to go to this restaurant for sunset. It’s the most gorgeous view and where Josh and I got engaged. It’s so perfect!!! You will need a car or get a taxi there. 

One thing I didn’t know about Kos is you always need to pre book a taxi. I thought the guy at the hotel was joking but we couldn’t get a taxi to dinner and missed our dinner reservation (and unknowingly our engagement) lol wherever you’re staying, get the taxi number if you’re not getting a car. 

Jordan is an amazing country filled with great food, culture and history.

Jordan borders Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and Israel and Palestine to the west. If you have the opportunity to head to Jordan here are a few things that will help plan your trip:

• 💰 Jordanian Dinar is used and is basically the same conversion as GBP £
• 🇯🇴 In Jordan, they speak Arabic
• 🚕 Uber and Gett are transport apps to use
• ✈️ You will need a visa that costs around £60 (or Jordan pass)
• 🎫 The Jordan pass costs around £70. It waives the visa cost and covers your entrance fees into most top attractions. Highly recommend it!
• 🌡 Average temperature in summer is 32 and winter it’s 10.
• 🍽 Average meal was 6-7 JOD. We ate lots of mixed grills, hummus and Middle Eastern food.
• ⛑ We found Jordan to be relatively safe. People were friendly. We have heard taxis can scam you but we had a great driver (contact me if you need his details.

Places to visit:

Petra was by far my favourite place to visit and is an absolute must. We stayed right across the road from the entrance which was convenient as it opens at 6am. Between 6-8am there were no tourists and it was much more enjoyable. Again camel rides are available here but I recommend doing the 2K walk to the monastery. It was well worth it.

Amman is the capital city. You will most likely fly into here. There are some sights outside the city including: Ajloun Castle and Jerash (ancient city). Apart from that, it’s a busy city with markets and shops.

Aqaba is a really nice city filled with restaurants, bars and hotels. It’s on the beach! We only spent a few hours there but it is a nice stop if you’re passing through.

Wadi Rum is in the south of the country and is in the desert. Here we went on a Jeep ride and there was the option to do a camel ride as well. I strongly urge you not to as I saw animals being mistreated but each to their own. We camped here (and got eaten alive) so bug spray is a must!

The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth reaching 430 metres below sea level. It’s 33% salt and is called the Dead Sea because of the high levels of salt no fish can live there. If you have done a float tank it’s similar to this but way better. The water feels slimy but you can wear a normal swimsuit there and shower after. You need to bring your own towel or buy one there. 

As there are quite long distances between these destinations, it would be best to join a tour. We did the Travel Talk tour and made some amazing friends but it was targeted at budget travellers. The tour guide was super knowledgeable and shed light on some different tour companies and what they focus on. If I was to go again, I’d look into the intrepid tour as it’s smaller groups and the itinerary is slightly different.

Neighbouring countries are Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. I highly recommend visiting Egypt and Israel and I know you can do longer tours that cross into these countries. We came from Israel so if you have questions about crossing the border you can see the info here.