Kalymnos

Kalymnos sits in the southeastern Aegean between Kos, some 12 kilometres to the south, and Leros, less than 2 kilometres to the north. At 134.5 square kilometres it's the third most populous island in the Dodecanese after Kos and Rhodes, home to 17,752 residents according to the 2021 census. Its history follows the familiar Dodecanese pattern — dependent on Kos in antiquity, then passing through Byzantine and Venetian control, Knights of Rhodes rule from 1310, Ottoman rule from 1522, and Italian occupation from 1912 until union with Greece in 1947.

What sets Kalymnos apart is its identity as the "sponge-divers' island." For generations, men left each spring on months-long voyages to harvest sponges from across the Aegean, and the wealth and hardship of that trade still shape local memory, even though a disease that devastated sponge populations has since reduced the industry. In recent decades the island has built a second reputation, this time among climbers: its limestone cliffs now offer more than 3,000 bolted routes, drawing visitors year-round.

Between the sponge-diving legacy and the climbing crowds, Kalymnos has become a popular stop for gulet charter guests exploring Greece, who anchor off its coast to explore quieter bays away from the island's busier port.