Kalymnos
The regional unit has 34 official bathing-water sites; of the 34 with a classification in the 2024 season, all were Excellent (EEA). At most of these beaches the average sea temperature is 22 °C or higher from June to September (NOAA, 1991–2020). In the largest town in the regional unit the weather is most comfortable for walking and sightseeing from April to June, and in October.
- Municipalities
- 6OpenStreetMap, 6 Oct 2026
- Official bathing-water sites
- 34YPEN register, EEA
- Excellent in 2024
- 34 of 34100% of classified sites (EEA)
- Sea at 22 °C or more
- Jun–Sepat most beaches, NOAA average 1991–2020
- Airports
- 3list of commercial airports
- Ferry ports
- 14ports with ferry terminals (OpenStreetMap)
- Natura 2000
- 12 sitesoverlap the area (YPEN)
- Wildfires 2016–2026
- 15 firesabout 339 hectares burnt (EFFIS)
- Zone prices 2021, per m²
- 600–2,150 €36 zones, a tax value and not a market price
When to go
This section is about Pothia, the largest town in the regional unit; OpenStreetMap names no seat. It is not about the whole regional unit.
- Jan14°17°
- Feb14°17°
- Mar15°17°
- Apr17°19°comfortable weather
- May20°22°comfortable weather
- Jun24°23°comfortable weather, warm sea
- Jul25°24°warm sea
- Aug26°24°warm sea
- Sep24°22°warm sea
- Oct21°21°comfortable weather
- Nov18°19°
- Dec15°17°
- Top figure: air, bottom: sea
- Comfortable weather for walking
- Sea 22 °C or warmer
The weather is most comfortable for walking and sightseeing from April to June, and in October (average temperature around 20.3 °C, little rain).
The sea is 22 °C or warmer from June to September (up to 24.3 °C).
Monthly rain reaches 80 mm or more from November to February.
Day length is 9 h 37 min at the winter solstice (07:21 to 16:58) and 14 h 42 min at the summer solstice (05:52 to 20:34), Greek time.
- Mean temperature °C
- Rain (mm, right axis)
- Sea °C
- Sea 22 °C or warmer
| Month | Mean temp. °C | Rain mm | Sea °C | Daylight h |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.5 | 134 | 16.7 | 9.9 |
| Feb | 13.6 | 98 | 16.6 | 10.8 |
| Mar | 14.8 | 58 | 17.2 | 11.9 |
| Apr | 16.6 | 37 | 19.1 | 13.1 |
| May | 19.9 | 21 | 21.8 | 14.1 |
| Jun (sea 22 °C or warmer) | 23.5 | 5 | 23.1 | 14.7 |
| Jul (sea 22 °C or warmer) | 25.4 | 1 | 24.3 | 14.5 |
| Aug (sea 22 °C or warmer) | 26.1 | 1 | 23.9 | 13.6 |
| Sep (sea 22 °C or warmer) | 24.1 | 18 | 22.4 | 12.5 |
| Oct | 21.2 | 43 | 20.6 | 11.3 |
| Nov | 18.2 | 88 | 18.8 | 10.2 |
| Dec | 15.1 | 127 | 17.4 | 9.7 |
Temperature and rain: NASA POWER (MERRA-2), period 2001–2020, model cell about 11 km away. The temperatures are monthly averages from a regional model. Sea: NOAA OISST v2.1, period 1991–2020, nearest cell about 15 km away (0.25 degree grid). Daylight: calculated for the 15th of each month. These are regional model values and typical conditions, not a forecast.
Municipalities
The 6 municipalities of the regional unit, with the main town and the official bathing-water sites of each.
- Agathonisi MunicipalityMegalo Chorio
- Lipsi MunicipalityLipsi, 1 beach
- Municipality of AstypalaiaAstypalea, 7 beaches
- Municipality of KalymnosPothia, 8 beaches
- Municipality of LerosAgia Marina, 9 beaches
- Patmos MunicipalityPatmos, 9 beaches
Best beaches
The 6 official sites with the most seasons of Excellent water since 2011; ties are settled by the latest classification (2024 season). It is the EU's classification by season, not a reading on the day.
| Beach | Latest class | History |
|---|---|---|
| Agios Konstantinos | Excellent | Excellent in 14 of 14 seasons |
| Agriolivado | Excellent | Excellent in 14 of 14 seasons |
| Alinta | Excellent | Excellent in 14 of 14 seasons |
| Arginonta | Excellent | Excellent in 14 of 14 seasons |
| Vagia | Excellent | Excellent in 14 of 14 seasons |
| Vromolithos | Excellent | Excellent in 14 of 14 seasons |
Towns to know
Cities, towns and villages of the regional unit that have a page of their own, larger ones first. Population only sets the order and is never shown.
Cities and towns
- Pothiatown, Kalymnos
- Skalatown, Patmos
- Agia Marinatown, Leros
- Choratown, Kalymnos
Villages
- Patmosvillage, Patmos
- Alindavillage, Leros
- Analipsivillage, Astypalaia
- Astypaleavillage, Astypalaia
- Drymonasvillage, Leros
- Gournavillage, Leros
- Lakkivillage, Leros
- Livadiavillage, Astypalaia
- Masourivillage, Kalymnos
- Myrtiesvillage, Kalymnos
- Platanosvillage, Leros
- Vothynivillage, Kalymnos
- Vromolithosvillage, Leros
- Telendossettlement, Kalymnos
- Emporiossettlement, Kalymnos
- Vlychadiasettlement, Kalymnos
- Arginontasettlement, Kalymnos
- Armeossettlement, Kalymnos
- Kamarisettlement, Kalymnos
Islands
The inhabited islands of the regional unit that have a page of their own, largest first. Areas come from OpenStreetMap outlines.
Sights
A short selection from Wikidata, not a ranking of importance: only entries that have a Wikidata item, those with a page of their own on this site first, then those with an English label, then the oldest item. Up to 3 per kind. Coverage is uneven.
Castles
- Castle of Chora of KalymnosKalymnos
- Chrysocheria CastleKalymnos
- Panteli CastleLeros
Archaeological sites
- KalymnosKalymnos
- LepsimandusKalymnos
- Partheni early Christian basilicaLeros
Museums
- Archaeological Museum of AstypalaiaAstypalaia
- Archaeological Museum of KalymnosKalymnos
Monasteries
- Monastery of Saint John the TheologianPatmos
- Metochi Monis Panagias Kyra-Psilis, VathyKalymnos
- Agioi Saranta, AlintaLeros
Caves
- Cave of the ApocalypsePatmos
Natura 2000 protected areas
12 Natura 2000 sites with a page of their own in the regional unit. Each page says what the site protects, from the European Environment Agency's Natura 2000 database.
- Nisides Voreion Dodekanison kai Thalassia PeriochiSPA, 47,123 ha
- Anatoliko Tmima Astypalaias Kai Nisides Kounoupoi, Fteno, Chondropoulo, Koutsomytis, Moni, Agia Kyriaki, Tigani, Chondri, Ligno, Fokionisia, Katsagreli, Pontikoussa, Ofidoussa, KteniaSPA, 28,316 ha
- Nisides Kalymnou: Epano, Nera, Sari, TelendosSPA, 18,847 ha
- Arkoi, Leipsoi, Agathonisi Kai VrachonisidesSCI, 12,461 ha
- Nisoi Kinaros Kai Levitha Kai Nisides Liadia, Plaka, Glaros, MavraSPA, 10,720 ha
- Astypalaia: Anatoliko Tmima, Gyro Nisides Kai Ofidoussa Kai Thalassia Zoni (Akr. Lantra - Akr. Vrysi)SCI, 7,032 ha
- Voreia Amorgos Kai Kinaros, Levitha, Mavra, Glaros Kai Thalassia ZoniSCI, 6,027 ha
- Vrachonisia Notiou Aigaiou: Velopoula, Falkonera, Ananes, Christiana, Pacheia, Fteno, Makra, Astakidonisia, Syrna - Gyro Nisia Kai Thalassia ZoniSCI, 4,582 ha
- Thalassia Periochi Notias PatmouSCI, 4,414 ha
- Nisos Syrna Kai Nisides Megalos Adelfos, Mikros Adelfos, Katsikas, Mesonisi, Plakida, Stefania, NavagioSPA, 977 ha
- Nisides Karpathiou Pelagous: Megalo Sofrano, Sochas, Mikro Sofrano, Avgo, Divounia, Chamili, AstakidonisiaSPA, 337 ha
- Nisides Patmou: Petrokaravo, AnydrosSPA, 33 ha
Getting there
The airports and ferry ports of the area as our sources record them. We do not copy timetables or fares, because they would go stale; where an official source exists it is linked below.
| Airport | IATA | Municipality |
|---|---|---|
| Astypalaia Island National Airport "Panaghia" | JTY | Astypalaia |
| Kalymnos Island National Airport "Pothaea" | JKL | Kalymnos |
| Leros Island Airport "Dodekanisos" | LRS | Leros |
How the numbers were counted
Each municipality belongs to the region and regional unit that OpenStreetMap records for it, and the figures on this page add up its municipalities. Beaches, airports, ports and sights belong to the municipality that contains them (up to 3 km outside the boundary for those on the shore).
Ports: a port is a group of ferry terminals mapped in OpenStreetMap within 1 km of each other (a harbour is mapped as many berths). The name is the nearest settlement. The number of terminals shows how closely the harbour is mapped, not how large it is or how many ferries call.
Fires: the count covers EFFIS burnt areas (roughly 30 hectares and above) whose reference point lies in a municipality of the area, with dates from 23 Mar 2016 to 12 Sept 2026. Natura 2000: each site is counted once, even when it overlaps several municipalities.
Zone prices: the lowest and highest value among the 2021 objective-system zones whose reference point lies in the area. They are tax values, not market prices.
See also
- South Aegeanregion
- All regions of Greecelist
- Greece month by monthlist
- Androsunit of the same region
- Thiraunit of the same region
- Karpathos-Kasosunit of the same region
- Kea-Kythnosunit of the same region
- Kosunit of the same region
- Milosunit of the same region
- Mykonosunit of the same region
- Naxosunit of the same region
- Parosunit of the same region
- Rhodesunit of the same region
- Syrosunit of the same region
- Tinosunit of the same region
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the sources below, with the date each was updated.
- Designated bathing waters (locations)Ministry for Environment and Energy: YPEN geoportal · Current bathing season register · Date:
- Bathing water quality classificationEuropean Environment Agency: WISE Bathing Water Directive database · Latest assessed season in the EEA database; every season from 2011 is kept as a per-beach history · Date:
- Monthly climate normalsNASA POWER, MERRA-2 meteorological model · 2001–2020 climatology period returned by NASA POWER · Date:
- Sea temperature (NOAA OISST)NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information / Physical Sciences Laboratory · OISST v2.1 monthly long-term mean climatology, 1991-2020 period · Date:
- Burnt areasEFFIS: European Forest Fire Information System (Copernicus EMS) · Rolling archive of mapped burnt areas · Date:
- Natura 2000 protected sitesMinistry for Environment and Energy: YPEN geoportal · Current national Natura 2000 network · Date:
- Objective property value zonesMinistry of National Economy and Finance, via data.gov.gr · 2021 revision of the objective value system · Date:
- AirportsFraport Greece; the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (ΥΠΑ/HCAA); Wikipedia (cross-checked for IATA/ICAO codes and coordinates) · Checked 24 September 2026 · Date:
- Everyday places, tourism, transport and natureOpenStreetMap contributors, via the Overpass API · Live database at the time of the query · Date:
- Wikidata landmarks: castles, monasteries, museums, archaeological sites and natural landmarksWikidata contributors · Live SPARQL query snapshot, taken 25 September 2026 · Date:
- Region, unit and municipal boundaries, settlements, seats and ferry terminalsOpenStreetMap (Geofabrik Greece extract, 24 Sep 2026), ODbL · Date:
Page updated .