Kalymnos

Any Americans out there been to Kalymnos? I'm looking for any travel info or tips you can give me to make a smoothe trip. I want to hear from people that have been to Kalymnos, not just what you may have read on the net.

thanks

keegan540 wrote:Any Americans out there been to Kalymnos?

Went in April of 2006. This was before the airport on Kalymnos opened. Since then, I've "heard on the 'net" (ha ha) that you can fly from Athens to Kalymnos. Prior to that, you'd fly to Kos then ferry over, which was easy, but, if the winds were high, you might have to go into the main port in town and take a different boat, or, be stuck waiting. Not sure which airlines go to Kalymnos, but, I'll be Olympic Air does. Seems like you can book direct off their website (which is what we did) no problemo.

Smooth trip. Let's see.

I guess I'd suggest to try to get a room figured out ahead of time. We stayed at Studios Lambrinos if I recall correctly. Would again, was inexpensive, nicely located, clean, big rooms, airy, well lit, all that.

With the hotel, have them arrange for a pick up at the airport if possible, to be included with your room, or, something cheaper than a cold call taxi who might over charge you.

You can rent a motorcycle for all or part of your stay, and that is really all you need to get around (two people fit fine and you can nest your pack of gear under your gams). From most hotels on the rock climbing side of the island, you can walk to a number of crags, and, numerous eateries from the hotel, so, a car isn't needed.

Guidebook: nice to have ahead of time, but, not really required at all. Most sectors are well marked, and, most climbs, with grades, are marked too. Easy. There's also a handout you can get I think for free locally which has routes listed along with sectors and grades, to help in planning the day. That said, the guidebook is great, and, Aris stays at Lambrinos sometimes and he's a great guy especially for local beta. Really goes out of his way to help out foreign climbers. So, I'd recommend buying the guidebook.

Food: you can walk to a number of places to shop for breakfast items, and lunch items too. Several small grocery stores within a short walk from most hotels that are on the climbing side. For drinking water, nice to have some larger containers to fill up from the local tap for free. Great tasting water and beats spending money on bottled water.

Beer: Amstel over Mythos.

What else?

-Brian in SLC

I have been and I highly recommend it. It was pretty inexpensive although they are using the Euro, and Kalymnos is becoming very popular so it might not be as cheap. I would plan on renting a scooter it is a great way to get around. glaros bar is the best source for a guide book and he(Steve) uses the proceeds to update the anchors. DO NOT BUY THE ARIS DOICkOPOPULUS BOOK you don't need it and he is not really doing much to further the climbing there. I would not plan on going much after May unless you are planning on waiting till the fall. The place literally caters to climbers it is a large chunk of their economy. there is a climbing hotel although the name escapes me now. If you have any other questions just PM me and I'd be happy to answer them.

That said if you can afford the trip this place is heaven: The climbs are 3D jungles of stalagtites, the Greeks are friendly, food is tasty, and the wine delicious.

Will

Bill Ballace wrote:glaros bar is the best source for a guide book and he(Steve) uses the proceeds to update the anchors. DO NOT BUY THE ARIS DOICkOPOPULUS BOOK you don't need it and he is not really doing much to further the climbing there.

Hmmm. Why do you say that?

Aris' guidebook is really good.

What is the other guidebook?

The praise for the Aris book, beside me, its very high, from a number of notable climbers.

And, I'm not sure I understand the comment about him not doing much to further the climbing there. When we saw him, was quite the opposite. Ditto a number of friends who've seen him since.

Aris is pretty synonymous with Kalymnos and Greek climbing.

So, what do you mean?

-Brian in SLC

Kalymnos –rock climbing guide
2008 Revised Edition
Kalymnos –rock climbing guide
By Aris Theodoropoulos
Published by Acharnes Alpine club
GREECE 2008
ISBN: 960-85644-8-4
296 full colour pages
Form 23X16.5 cm
• Encompass 16 pages addenda of 2007 additions (257 new routes!)
• All 43 rock climbing sectors are covered
• Over 850 sport climbing routes with full descriptions, French grades, useful comments and ratings for the beauty of each route.
• Photo-topos of the sectors with a description of the type of climbing each sector has symbols indicating the character of the climbing on each sector, whether it is in the shade, whether it is dry in the rain, how long the approach walk is, and more info on each route's opening date and the names and nationalities of its equippers
• Foul of inspiring climbing pictures in colour
• Travel and accommodation tips
• 2 Languages: English, Greek.

HOW TO ORDER:
Price: EUR 35 plus shipping charges.
Shipping charges: Europe: EUR 5, Overseas: EUR 10.
To order this book, please contact the author:
Aris Theodoropoulos Email: aritheo@otenet.gr
PAYMENT METHOD:
POSTAL OR BANK ACCOUNT TRANSFER
You could send us the money by post or by order to our bank account. Please contact us to give you the details.

CREDIT CARD - Sorry, we could not accept orders by credit card. However you could contact one of our partners: cordee.co.uk/ or 8a.nu
USER REVIEWS

Neil Gresham –UK
"This is the best guidebook I have ever seen. I am so impressed. I can't imagine how hard you must have worked on this. Full credit. It will do so much for Kalymnos climbing."

JB Tribout – France
”I just receive the guide today and I want to say: congratulation!
It's the best guide book I ever seen. It's nearly a book with a really nice atmosphere. You can see how Kalymnos is about pleasure, friendly group of people, and all level climbing.

CLIMBING magazine No 257 (May 2007)
The Greek island of Kalymnos is Mediterranean heaven: The blue-green Aegean sprawls at your feet, and an escarpment of bullet limestone laced with tree-sized tufas and tacky grey/orange plaques sits just uphill. Dream vacations also need dream guides, and the tireless mountain guide and first ascentionist Aris Theodoropoulos kills it with his revised Kalymnos Rock Climbing Guide. In Greek and English, this sexy, photo-rich resource lays out 43 sectors, with photo topos, brief route descriptions, and approach and sun/shade information. But mainly it lets you dream - a good mix of scenic, lifestyle, and climbing shots show just why this small, otherworldly desert island is so damn special.

CLIMBER magazine, Dave Musgrove (Feb 2007)
"Kalymnos is fast becoming one of the most important rock-climbing destinations on the planet!" So says Aris Theodoropoulos in the introduction to his latest guidebook to this fabulous Greek island and having visited 5 times in the last 2 years myself, and met and mixed with climbers of all ages and abilities from 'all over the planet' I find it impossible to disagree.
The new guide exudes enthusiasm, and a passion for the sheer delight of movement over steep rock but also is a great advertisement for the culture, history and delightful ambience of this superb location. The layout is full colour with photo topos, and hundreds of photographs showing routes, climbers, interesting archaeology, local ecology and geology and places of interest. In short a tour guide to the island of Kalymnos as well as a very well documented guide to the climbing.
The introductory chapters and crag approach descriptions are written in both English and Greek, but all route descriptions are in English, now accepted
as the universal climbers' language on the island by all cafe, bar and hotel owners as well as most taxi drivers and shop keepers. There are now 850 routes on around 40 crags all have which have been developed within the last 9 years. The total has more than doubled in 3 years since the previous guide was written and some of the top pioneers from all over Europe are still involved in creating mega sport classics of every grade. This is by no means an elitist location nor an elitist guidebook; climbers of all abilities from gnarly world famous alpinists to fresh faced wide-eyed beginners rub shoulders on the crags, in the bars and on the beaches. The guidebook reflects this with stars being liberally allocated to grade 4s and 5s with the same enthusiasm as to the 7cs and 8bs. It really is quality climbing that counts here with the Remy brothers and other top climbers seeming just as happy to create excellent new easy slab routes as they are to produce superb pumpy tufa-fests through some of the most amazing cave roof features you will ever encounter. Our own Neil Gresham has bolted up grade 3s and grade 8s!
In fact the climbing quality is so good here that the guide uses the familiar 3 star system with addition of a 'premier league' of exceptional must-do routes that get a musical note. However, there is so much good, still undeveloped, rock on the island that very few routes are poor. Some of the inevitable grade anomalies of the previous guide have been ironed out but this is still an area of generally sensible grading and high quality bolting where you will be unlikely to feel too demoralised if you seek out routes that suit your favoured personal style and physique.
Whether you are a dedicated sport climber or a just a happy holiday bolt clipper the comprehensive index-cum-tick list gives ample opportunity to record and date your best efforts. If you are just a holiday bolt clipper but want to learn more about pushing your grade and maximising your red-point potential the 10 point guide on page 54 will tell you all you need to know. If you've never visited the island before the section on flights and ferries, transport and accommodation is invaluable.
All in all this is an inspiring guide to a brilliant holiday rock destination. Buy one, leave your nuts and Friends at home, and go enjoy. Aris and his team should be congratulated on a very timely and professional product which at 35 Euros is well worth every penny.

Matt Heason -UK (Planetfear.com)
"One neat feature which I really liked is the index which features a series of tick boxes so that you can record which routes you have climbed and in what style (onsight, flash, 2nd go, red point, hangdog, top rope). In fact the information section at the beginning of the book is one of the biggest I've ever seen in a guide, comprising 30 pages of English text and covering everything from 'When to Go' to 'Socialising'. No doubt this will come in particularly handy when waiting to catch the plane or on the beach during a rest day."

Chris the Tall –UK (ukclimbing.com/forums)
"I think the new guide is absolutely stunning - Most foreign guidebooks that I've seen are simply topos - nothing but the facts man - a few B&W photos if you're lucky. OK that's all you really need, but I like something more. I want a guide that will inspire me before I go, but also help me remember the routes when I get back.
Aris has clearly picked up some ideas from Rockfax, but he's taken it further. Not only have you got route descriptions, stars and lots of action pics, but you've also got lots of non-climbing photos and info. I reckon he's managed to infuse his guide with a flavour of the atmosphere of island. I defy anyone to have a look through it and not want to go there - I'm also hoping to go back in May!"

Federico Furia -Italy (planetmountain.com)
"The guidebook is bilingual (English-Greek) and is easy to understand with plenty of obvious symbols and photos. Every crag has a brief description, access info, orientation, climbing style, first ascent info etc. Photo topos have been used which render things even clearer, and each route has a star rating and a brief description. At the back of the guidebook there is a alphabetically-listed route check-box - for those all-important holiday ticks! Excellent".

Pablo,

How hard would it be to find shade to climb in June and July? Would the temps be reasonable in the shade?

Thanks

I just got back from a two-week trip to Kalymnos. Fantastic! Email or PM me if you have questions. I'll be happy to pass along any useful information.

Wow, that is a lot of good information. I appreciate all of your help. I think I will hold off until the fall to beat the temps but other then that this looks to be a solid trip. Thanks for all of the great and resourceful responses!