How to Get Around Kalymnos by Bus (2026 Guide): Routes, Stops, Times & Fares

Kalymnos has a municipal bus running out of the harbour at Pothia, and in 2026 it is running a reduced one. Since 29 June the island has been on a temporary single-bus timetable while the fleet is repaired: three corridors, four published stops and 28 departures in total, operated by Kalymnos Municipal Bus (Δημοτική Συγκοινωνία Καλυμνίων). This guide covers what still runs, what does not, and how climbers get up the west coast.

The Kalymnos bus network at a glance

Everything starts at Pothia, the sponge-diving port capital where the ferries dock; the bus stand is on the harbour front. From there three lines fan out: north-west along the coast road to Armeos, just beyond Masouri, at the foot of the climbing crags; further on to the hamlet of Emporeio at the top of the island; and east over the ridge to Vathy, where the road ends at the small harbour of Rina.

The Armeos line is far and away the busiest, with 18 of the island's 28 departures, and it is the only one with a Sunday table. Vathy has six trips and Emporeio four, neither of them on a Sunday.

A temporary, single-bus timetable

This matters more than anything else on the page. The current schedule is headed ΠΡΟΣΩΡΙΝΟ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ — temporary programme — and the municipality's notice explains that services are reduced while the buses are being serviced and repaired, μέχρι νεοτέρας: until further notice. The published file is named, literally, "programme with one bus". One vehicle is covering the whole island.

Two consequences. First, the routes you may remember are missing because they are suspended, not because we have failed to list them: the usual local services around Masouri, Myrties, Kantouni, Vlychadia and the Argos and Chorio villages are not running under this timetable. Second, the normal network can come back at any moment, without notice. Check the current Kalymnos bus timetable before you build a day around a departure.

Main Kalymnos bus routes

• Pothia ↔ Armeos (Masouri): the island's main line and the climbers' bus, running up the west coast to the crags above Masouri — route details.

• Pothia ↔ Emporeio: the long run to the far north of the island, continuing past Armeos to the end of the coast road — route details.

• Pothia ↔ Vathy (Rina): east across the island to the citrus valley and the narrow inlet at Rina — route details.

Getting to the climbing: Myrties, Masouri and Armeos

Kalymnos is one of the world's best-known sport-climbing islands, and almost all of that is on this one line. The Pothia–Armeos bus physically passes Chorio, Panormos, Kantouni, Myrties and Masouri on its way up the coast, so you can ride it to your room in the climbing villages — but the temporary timetable prints times only for Pothia and Armeos, and none for anywhere in between. Tell the driver where you are getting off, and plan around the published Pothia and Armeos times rather than hunting for a Masouri departure that does not exist on paper.

Armeos, the last stop, sits just north of Masouri where the crag sectors of the same name begin. Allow roughly 25 minutes up from Pothia: the Sunday table has a bus leaving Pothia at 10:00 and turning round at Armeos at 10:25.

One bus, two timetables

Because a single vehicle covers everything, the Armeos and Emporeio tables describe the same bus at different points in its day. The 08:40 out of Pothia carries on to Emporeio, leaves there at 09:30 and comes back down past Armeos at 09:50; the 16:00 does the same, reaching Emporeio for a 16:50 departure and Armeos at 17:10. If you only want the climbing villages, those are extra chances to travel that you might otherwise miss by reading one table in isolation.

Tickets and fares

You pay the driver in cash as you board. The temporary timetable publishes no fares at all, so we quote no figure for Kalymnos and you should distrust any blog that does — ask the driver. Kalymnos tickets are not yet sold online through Greek Island Buses; where an operator does sell through us the price is identical to the counter and you travel with a QR code on your phone. The information line printed on the timetable is 22430 51760, and the municipal transport office answers on +30 22430 29299.

Ferries, Telendos and Kos

Ferries use Pothia, so boat and bus stand are a short walk apart. Two onward connections are worth knowing. The car-free islet of Telendos, the steep rock across the water from the climbing coast, is reached by small boat from Myrties — ride the Armeos bus and tell the driver. And the short crossing to Kos lands at Mastichari on the Kos north coast rather than in Kos Town, so you will need an onward leg at the other end; see our guide to getting around Kos by bus.

Before you rely on the bus

With one vehicle and 28 departures spread across three lines, the Kalymnos bus is usable but unforgiving: miss the last run up the coast and you are looking at a taxi, and Vathy and Emporeio give you nothing on a Sunday. Check the full Kalymnos bus timetable the morning you travel — this schedule was published as provisional and can be replaced without warning — and see our Kalymnos island page for what is worth the ride.