“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” – Epictetus
We doubt Epictetus was talking about climbing in Kalymnos, but after a week here, you really don’t need much: good rock, a warm sea, excellent food, and maybe a few more days than you originally planned.
Kalymnos is one of the most iconic sport climbing destinations in the world, and for good reason. The climbing is good, the setting is absurdly beautiful, and the whole place feels built for long days outside. With more than 3,000 routes packed onto a tiny island, there is no shortage of options.
While Kalymnos is best known for its steep caves and massive tufas, the climbing is more varied than people often expect. There are wild, three-dimensional features, technical face climbs, lower-angle routes, and plenty of moderates that make this an incredibly fun place to climb for a full week. Whether you want to improve your lead climbing, get more mileage outside, or just spend your days climbing on beautiful limestone above the sea, Kalymnos delivers.
It’s also just a lovely place to be. The drives are short, the views are huge, and after a full day of climbing you can swim in the ocean and eat an unreasonable amount of very good food. There’s a reason we keep coming back.
Kalymnos Climbing Retreat
- Regular price
- $4,550.00 USD
- Sale price
- $4,550.00 USD
- Regular price
What's Included & Not Included
What's Included & Not Included
Included:
- Low-ratio, personalized guiding from fantastic guides with local expertise.
- Transportation to and from climbing.
- Six nights’ accommodation at the Carian Hotel.
- Daily breakfasts at the hotel.
- Fantastic welcome and farewell dinners filled with our favorite local foods.
- Gratuities for hotel and restaurant services.
- All group climbing gear (ropes, anchors, etc).
Not Included:
- Transportation to the Carian Hotel
- Trip insurance.
- Airfare.
- Personal climbing equipment (we will send a list of what's required).
- Meals outside of our opening and closing group dinners
- Gratuities for your guides. We recommend around 10% depending on your experience.
Room Selection
Room Selection
- If you’d like to room with someone specific, each person should book the shared room option. As long as two shared spots are available, we can place you together. Our guest info form will include a place to tell us who you’d like to room with or you can send us an email.
Cancellation & Trip Protection
Cancellation & Trip Protection
We have a very strict cancellation policy. We recommend purchasing trip protection to protect your investment.
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What Makes This Trip Special
World-Class Climbing, Island Style
Kalymnos is one of the most iconic sport climbing destinations in the world, and for good reason. The island is famous for its steep caves, giant tufas, and beautiful limestone, but the climbing here is more varied than many people expect. Beyond the dramatic cave routes, there are technical faces, lower-angle climbs, and a huge number of excellent moderates. With short approaches, endless options, and the sea never far away, it’s the kind of place that makes it very easy to have a really fun week of climbing.
Carian Hotel
With its view of the Aegean Sea, beautiful terrace, and proximity to climbing, the Carian helps shape the whole rhythm of the trip.
Breakfast on the veranda is one of our favorite parts. There’s a pool for slow afternoons, a terrace bar for the evening, and the kind of setting that makes it easy to settle in and actually enjoy being off the rock for a few hours.
It’s a beautiful home base for the week: climb all day, come back to the sea, have a drink on the terrace, and do it again tomorrow.
A Taste of Kalymnos
Breakfast at the Carian is genuinely one of the highlights of the week. You can linger over the hotel’s well-known breakfast on the terrace, with coffee, a generous buffet, and views out toward the Aegean before heading off to climb.
We’ll also have dinner at Aegean Tavern in Massouri, which is one of our favorite spots on the island. It’s right by the water and known for its sunset views toward Telendos, so it feels like the kind of place you want on a trip like this: good food, sea air, and a long dinner after a full day outside.
Who This Trip Is For
Kalymnos is a great fit for a wide range of climbers. Whether you’re new to climbing, looking to build mileage and confidence, or already climbing regularly and wanting a fun week on beautiful limestone, this trip offers a lot of room to tailor the experience to your goals.
Because we guide Kalymnos with a larger guide team, we’re able to split into smaller groups based on experience level, comfort, and what each person wants from the week. Some climbers may want to focus on top-roping and getting comfortable outside. Others may want to lead climb, improve movement on limestone, or simply climb as much as possible on really good rock.
The climbing itself also makes that range possible. Kalymnos has everything from lower-angle and technical face climbing to steep caves, tufas, and more sustained routes, so there are options for many different styles, strengths, and interests.
The variety of climbing on Kalymnos gives us the flexibility to meet climbers where they are and provide everyone the chance to learn, try hard, and have a really fun week.
Schedule
Day 1 | Welcome to Kalymnos!
You get yourself to Kalymnos and we'll have a cozy room and a nice bed waiting for you at the Carian Hotel. You’ll be free for the day to dip your toes into the sea or your finger into the world of Kalymnian food at one of Massouri's many delightful restaurants. As folks will be arriving by air and by sea and at all different times, we'll officially start the trip with breakfast the following day.
Day 2 | Climbing Day #1 & Welcome Dinner
We’ll start the day with breakfast at the hotel, gathering the whole team together and getting to know each other before we head out to climb. We’ll break into small groups and head to a variety of destinations depending on everybody's goals and abilities. Some crags will be a short drive, while others are just a walk from the hotel.
Wherever we go, we'll start the day with a quick review of belay skills, and perform lead tests for those interested in leading throughout the week. After that we'll spend the day on the rock before coming back to town in time for a welcome dinner and some local specialities at one of our favorite restaurants.
Day 3 | Climbing Day #2
We’ll repeat our routine again with breakfast at the hotel before heading out to climb. We may reshuffle our groups and guides depending on skill levels and goals, and we’ll pick our objectives based on what type and difficulty of climbing folks are after, and whether we’re looking for sun or shade. After another day on the rock, we’ll come back to town and you'll be on your own for the evening.
Day 4 | Rest Day or Climbing Day #3
Our guides will be ready to go for those who want to keep on climbing. For folks who'd like to relax a little and give their bodies a rest, there's a ton of fun to be had that's not climbing too. We recommend renting a scooter from one of the many vendors in Massouri— explore a little and discover the island's secluded beaches, ancient temples, and the charming harbor at Pothia.
Alternatively, you could take a boat ride to the nearby island of Telendos, enjoy a day of sailing or diving, or simply relax by the pool. Whatever you do, it's going to be a good choice
Day 5 | Climbing Day #4
You guessed it: we’ll start the day with breakfast and once more head out to climb! We'll try our best to make sure everyone gets a chance to climb as many routes as they want, and to take advantage of our guides to help work on any skills or movement coaching you may be interested in.
Day 6 | Climbing Day #5
For our last climbing day of the trip, we’ll once again start with breakfast before heading out to the crag. It will also be our last night together, so we'll make it a special one with a farewell dinner and drinks.
Day 7 | Heading Home
All good things must come to an end, though it will really just be the beginning of your journey home. Today we'll part with you after breakfast and you'll be free to keep exploring, or head back to wherever it is you call home.
FAQs
Age & Physical Requirements
Physical Requirements:
- Hike up to 3 miles over uneven terrain while carrying a 10–15 lb daypack
- Move comfortably on rocky trails, uneven footing, and short uphill approaches.
- Climb for multiple hours in a day with breaks between routes.
- Perform 20 controlled bodyweight squats
- Step up onto a knee-high ledge or stair repeatedly with good balance
Travel Information
1. The easiest way to get to Kalymnos is with a connecting flight from Athens right to the island. The airport is about 20 minutes away from our hotel. The catch is that flight options are limited, and can be unreliable as they often get cancelled by high winds.
2. Your second and more reliable option is to fly to the nearby (and much larger) island of Kos and take a ferry to Kalymnos. The ferry takes about 30 minutes. The ferry will drop you off in Pothia, there will be a bunch of taxis and it's about a 15 minute drive to our hotel from the port.
3. Your third option is to take a ferry all the way from Athens (the port is called Piraeus), which is an overnight adventure, but could be fun if you're feeling up for a sea voyage.
However you choose to do it, if you're on a really tight schedule Kalymnos might not be the best fit for you. Nailing a four-flight, two-ferry sequence all in one go doesn't always go according to plan, and since a delayed flight could spell disaster, we strongly recommend building in some room for error by planning to spend a night in Athens or Kos before continuing on to Kalymnos.
How many participants come by themselves?
About half of our of climbers come to our retreats alone. Often we do have groups of friends who sign up together, and we have couples pretty often, but we also have a lot of people just come by themselves looking to meet people and make new friends. If you are hesitating to join because you would be coming solo, please know that we expect a lot of our participants to be joining by themselves.
I've never climbed before. Can I still attend?
You do not need to be an experienced climber to attend, but we recommend some climbing experience before signing up for a week of climbing. We recommend that everyone attending is able to top-rope a 5.9 in a climbing gym without taking or falling. While climbing 5.9 in a climbing gym is different than climbing a 5.9 outside, having the ability to climb 5.9 in the gym will set you up to have a great time in Kalymnos.
I'm an advanced climber. Will I be able to lead climb?
Probably. Lead climbing is certainly not a requirement for anybody on the trip, but we're happy to let you lead as long as you have prior experience as a leader and can pass a belay test similar to those found in most gyms (minus the falling).
Our main goal is to keep everyone safe, so on our first day out together we’ll just want to see that everyone is able to manage the rope, communicate, lead and belay safely before being cleared to do it throughout the week. If you don’t plan on leading, we’ll just want to go through a quick belay test to make sure you’re good to go belaying those who are.
For those aspiring to lead, we will try our best to coach you through the process throughout the week with the aim of you learning to do so safely.
What is the average age of climbers who attend?
We generally have a wide range of ages at our retreats. The average tends to fall anywhere between the ages of 26 to 45. But we have had quite a few women in their 60's join as well. It really is up to the attitude and physical ability of the participant.
How many people will be on the trip, and is it mostly men or women?
If the trip fills, we'll have 16 climbers and 4 guides. Our daily groups will consist of 4-5 climbers per guide, letting us have our ropes on 2-3 routes at a time.
Also our trips are 90% women. Men are perfectly welcome, but they tend to be outnumbered.
What if I have dietary restrictions?
The food we'll be eating is, for the most part, traditional Greek food as Leonidio is a small, rural village. We will not be cooking meals for the group, so we only have as much control over what goes into your food as you would going to any restaurant. That said, we've had participants with gluten-free and vegetarian diets on this trip before and they did just fine. Gluten-free bread and other options are provided at breakfast and are usually available at dinner. Vegetarian options are also available, but vegans may find navigating the Greek love of meat and dairy to be difficult. Celiacs may have a challenging time as well.
I'm plus sized. Am I able to climb?
If you can:
- Hike up to 3 miles over uneven terrain while carrying a 10–15 lb daypack
- Move comfortably on rocky trails, uneven footing, and short uphill approaches
- Climb for multiple hours in a day with breaks between routes
- Perform 20 controlled bodyweight squats
- Step up onto a knee-high ledge or stair repeatedly with good balance
CLIMBING IS FOR YOU!
Are payment plans available?
Yes we have two types of payment options. Please visit our Payment Plan page for more information.
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