Vathi Port - Rina

At the head of a narrow inlet on the eastern coast of Kalymnos, the village of Vathy sits where steep rock walls close in around the sea like a fjord. The settlement lies about 13 kilometers northeast of Pothia, the island's capital, and the valley behind it has been farmed since antiquity — remnants of an ancient shrine and citadel point to habitation stretching back to the Neolithic period. Citrus groves now fill the fertile ground between the cliffs, a quiet contrast to the bare limestone rising on either side of the water.

At the inner end of the valley, the port of Rina gives boats a sheltered, deep anchorage protected almost entirely from the open sea. Depths inside the cove generally run six to ten meters, enough for yachts of varying sizes to anchor close to shore and swim directly off the boat into clear, calm water. There is no beach to speak of, so most visitors go ashore in sturdy shoes to browse the handful of tavernas and shops selling natural sponges, a nod to Kalymnos's long-standing identity as Greece's sponge-diving island.

Hikers and climbers are drawn to the surrounding limestone cliffs, among the more respected sport-climbing destinations in Greece, and the fjord itself remains one of the anchorages you'll visit on a private gulet cruise in Greece.