Kalymnos Trip Favorites / Recommendations ?

Girlfriend and I are heading to Kalymnos for three weeks , very shortly.

Looking for favorite spots to eat, enjoy a glass of wine, or literally any recommendations you have!

We realize it's going to be scorching hot, so we'll be getting up early and climbing until it's too hot, then relaxing!

So basically it's hard to go wrong there. The locals are very nice and happy to see tourists, as well as the fact that every place I ate in was awesome. As of the heat there are a lot of crags that will have shade for most parts of the day so just plan ahead.

enjoy

Food: Harry's Paradise is unique and tasty. All of the restaurants in and around town are great, but some of my favorite meals were the less-traveled spots in Myrties (like Anna's restaurant). The Aegean was the best and most expensive food we ate while there. Home made gelato in Masouri on the second story towards the northern end of the strip was phenomenal...can't recall the name right now but it's owned and operated by a great Italian couple and all of the dairy is local . Ron is right, it's hard to go wrong with an early wake-up, climbing in the shade, and then afternoon(s) at the beach. Have a great time.

For fresh fish my favorite is Avra Aigaiou in Masouri, but haven't had a bad meal anywhere.  Check out Glaros in Masouri for afternoon coffee and eats, and some climbing history.  Traditional Flats is a nice quiet place to stay, but off the beach. The new guidebook will steer you to the shaded climbing.

Best breakfast/coffee place?

There's a great place just as you head east from Masouri.  Don't remember the name but it's just past Bob's Cycles. Maybe 1/2km from the intersection of the upper and lower road.  Nice terrace overlooking the sea.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Question, between my girlfriend and myself should we get two scooters, or could we get away with one!

I second the Aegean and Harry's recommendations. We also like "On the Road". Sofrano is a great coffee place that serves breakfast too. The Gelateria is simply called Gelateria Italiana, and I can confirm that it is fantastic.

Plenty of crags to hit when it is hot: most of the Masouri crags, some telendos crags like Eros, Lambda, Pescatore, Summertime crags, Secret garden... even Arhi can be climbed for a little while in the morning. Just don't expect too much from the tufas when it is humid or windless :)

Many people rent a single scooter for two people. Not sure about requirements for Canadians, but I have heard that rental places now demand an international drivers license for USA licensed people.

How long will you be there? We'll be there soon too! Maybe see you there.

For two people, I would recommend that you rent a 125 or 150cc scooter.  A 50cc scooter isn't much fun on a steep grade with two people and their gear.  I have had good luck with this guy:
http://kalymnos-scooter-rental.gr

He is located right beside "On the Road".  He has good equipment and he takes care of it.

You will need an international drivers license (fellow Canadian) - get it at CAA.

One possible issue is that he may want a motorcycle qualification on the license to rent a larger scooter.  It wasn't a problem for me since I have my motorcycle license.  He does respond to email, so you can check that out in advance. 

We just got back...most people do requite motorcycle license for renting over 50cc. We did 50cc with two of us since we didn't have license for bigger. Doable, just a bit of a pain but not a deal breaker, buy we're easy to please.   Tio's tavern was our favorite spot, a little out of town, I forget the area but it's close to the summertime crag. All the food was good and cheap. Oh, we enjoyed mateos as well. It's a second floor spot in town. Super quiet, people wise, and all the food was awesome. 

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Messaged the scooter place you guys recommended, inquiring about a 125cc without a motorcycle license.
We do have our international drivers permits, good to go.

Max, we are there June 23 - July 10. How about yourselves?

I'm also looking to propose to my girlfriend on this trip! I'm thinking a sunset picnic somewhere, or something. I don't think it'll be too hard to go wrong here - but does anyone have any recommendations for a beautiful view of the sunset, or any other ideas for a romantic setting?

Romantic setting with beautiful sunsets--basically anyplace on the west side of the island (where the main climbing/lodging areas are)!!!! Most specifically I'd suggest the quieter areas further north along the west side road--such as Emporios or the "Pirate Beach"--see Arias' guidebook or maybe high up on the road to Palianosis. Plenty of suitable spots on Kalymnos!!!!

How is this for a sunset view?  Taken from the Prophet Andreas sector.  All you need to know about it here:

https://climbkalymnos.com/prophitis-andreas-a-new-major-crag-on-kalymnos/

You may already know this, but an 80m rope, while not essential, is a very nice thing to have on Kalymnos.

Thanks Mike. That may be the spot!!! I'll pack a bunch of picnic stuff and head up there with her on pretext of an evening climb...

Regarding the 80, I have noticed that. I checked out one of the climbing shops online and it showed they were out of stock on the 80m's. I wonder if it's worth further investigating ability to purchase one on the island and leaving our 70 behind.

We're arriving the 9th, so not much overlap.

I would also recommend an 80m rope. I never bought a rope there, but I don't remember prices being too outrageous at the local shops.

Proposal venues... My wife and I actually went to Kalymnos for our honeymoon :) Previous recommendations are good, and I can add to them: any of the crags on the main Massouri cliff band, i.e. Spartacus, Grande Grotta, Panorama, Poets etc. For more privacy, Olympic wall. There is also the excellent Aegean Tavern terrace (reservation highly recommended). Also, these bluffs are nice and have a good view : google.com/maps/place/Kalym…@36.9931067,26.9302761,19.62z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x14bdef4eeb34cc49:0x71f3906a072460be!8m2!3d36.9533092!4d26.9798133

Fwiw, I only took a 70 and was super rare I had to pick a different route due to length, including fun de chichune  (or however it's spelled) and other goodies in the grotta. That said, there are some tall things there too. For me it wasn't worth getting another rope for the trip and I wasn't disappointed. Ymmv!