Zia Sunset

Loved the adventure, amazing sunset, great gift shops, beautiful taverna's friendly people

Just back from Kos (May) buses to Zia not running yet taxi approx 40 euros sorry to have missed this was well recommended by locals pics look beautiful..has to be said the view of sundrop was spectacular from our balcony

Our third visit to Zia, and this time we found a lovely little Greek Taverna called "Sunset Balcony".  You have to climb up through the winding alleyways of small shops towards the Old Watermill.  Carry on up past here until you reach the Sunset Balcony Taverna perched right on the edge of the rocks and by a lovely small church.  Great view of the sunset from here and great traditional Greek food.  If you ever go there try their dessert called "Traditional Tomatoe Sweet".  Never seen it anywhere else in Kos, and it was lovely.  They preserve the tomatoes to make them sweet (like glace cherries) and serve with thick Greek Yoghurt and Honey !!!!!  Gorgeous!!! 

Zia is a lovely village and the sunset is ...... well like most places that have sunsets!  We ate twice in Zia.  The first rooftop restaurant on the right as you enter the village is the one I would recommend - don't try the one opposite - slow service and disappointing food.

  Zia is beautiful by day especially and special at night for the sunsets. Shop around for the restaurants as they want you in their roof top balconies as they'll tell you it's the best place to see the sunset when actually you can see the sunset perfectly from the wall at the edge of the village!!  It may just be nice to sit having a meal and a drink while you watch the most amazing sunset! but you can make that your choice there is some lovely greek food on offer as well as continental stuff. The shops really do sell other stuff, things you may not see in other parts of the island so it's worth a look around the shops. We got some red cinnamon drink that is made only in that village to take away and it's lovely you can have it in your coffee or on deserts and it's so cheap, this is also good for the village to to keep these local traditional crafts alive. A fantastic place and the local people are so friendly

The sunset is a beautiful sight from here.  We watched it from the taverna at the top with a roof terrace.  Best view I think but the food left a lot to be desired.  We were advised after that we would have been better to eat at the Dikeos taverna which is very pretty and makes traditional home cooked food.  We panicked though and just wanted to find a good place to view the sunset.  The views of the villages below were also well worth the trip up.  We could pick out Tingaki high street easily which is where we stayed for the two weeks.  The sunset was also viewed just as good from Tingaki beach.  The village of Zia is very pretty with lots of little shops selling mats, oils and various other tourist trinkets.  We also went back in the daytime in a hired jeep.  It was stifling hot though and I enjoyed the evening much better.   

To see the sunset at Zia is beautiful and to have a meal at one of the resturants with a roof terrace as the sun goes down is even better.

First visit to Zia and loved the place. Fantastic sunset and lovely meal. Everyone seemed exceptionally warm and friendly. Will go back for a full day next time and try and get there early and walk up to the top of the mountain. If anyone is visiting I would recomend a visit to the watermill cafe. Worth seeking out. Great coffee and conversation with the owner. Tried the octopus in vinegar that he caught and prepared himself. Really nice guy.

Me and my partner (now FIANCE) went for a 'Sunset Evening' on Saturday 16th June 07.  Zia is beautiful, breathtaking scenery and friendly people. Has a few lovely restaurants and shops but most of all that Sunset overluking the sea is amazing!

I will always remeber Zia as on the eve of the 16th June 07, my partner Simon proposed to me at the top next to a greek church overluking a beautiful sunset over the sea. I was left speachless, it was a very romantic and emotional moment.  We will definately be going back for anniversaries, amazing! (Alison)

we went here as part of a greek night,and it was well worth it,shops sell the usual stuff,but it was the sunset you go for,it was amazing

Zia although only a small village selling the usual stuff was our fave place . Mainly for the excellent walk up to Mt Dhekios which takes anout 1hr30min but offers views in all directions and is well worth the fair effort on hot days .Follow the path out of the  back of the village , it's the only way to make Kos look scenic .

We stayed in Tingaki and hired a jeep for 9 days, therefore we visited Zia quite a few times; we also took the excursions for the sunset and the Greek Night (Fantastic Evenings Entertainment and plenty of food and drink). The Sunset at Zia can be very good; providing there is no haze, everybody congregates on the bend at the bottom of Zia to view the sunset. The restaurants on the bend offer the best views whilst having a meal, we found the food in these restaurants to be alright but nothing special - you pay for the exceptional view.

For authentic Greek food in Zia, I (like Ian Storey) recommend the Olympic Tavern; this Restaurant is at the top end of Zia on the back road up to the village houses. We ate here 3 times and had excellent meals along with a warm and friendly greeting/service from the owner. On the 3 occasions we ate here we were the only British family in the restaurant, the place was full of Greeks (which said it all), we tried Rabbit Stifado, Roast Goat (only served Saturday night & Sunday Lunch), Wild Boar & Doe all of which were excellent. The owner went out of his way to make us welcome and the memory of watching the Greek Families dancing during their Sunday Lunch is something we will always remember from our holiday. After every meal, the owner insists on giving you a free drink, this is where I discovered the delights of cinnamon cordial, not to everyone’s taste, but I brought a bottle home (3 euro).

Zia itself is one main street with another street going up to the church & water wheel. There are a lot of shops/stalls selling lace, pottery, rugs/mats, olive oil, honey, soaps etc. We bought local thyme honey and olive oil, all of which are extremely good quality; we bought local goods in plain bottles/jars without the fancy labels (some of the honey & oil on sale comes mass produced from Rhodes - in bottles/jars with fancy labels and designs). Generally, prices on the main street are slightly higher than the side street so shop around to get the best bargains.

If you don't do any other trips visited Zia for the authentic Greek experience.

Zia was lovely, our friends hired a car so went during the day / early evening, it is well worth a visit some fantastic views, I would save you shopping for when you go there as some things are a lot cheaper than the towns (i.e olive oils, soaps, rugs, football shirts etc).

The Greek Night is a must!! Very friendly people to mingle with around the shops and restaurants prior but can be a bit more of the same if you've been around the island shops in the various towns before visiting the village. Take a camera as some of the views are the most spectaular on the island. But I have to say the Greek Night in Zia was one of the enjoyable traditional fun evenings my family and I spent on Kos

ZIA is a nice place to visit , you can now take the back road up to Zia from Kos Town as it has now had a tarmac road surface put on it. As you leave Kos Town come to the roundabout with all the flags on it, then take the road to PLATANI and then on to the ASKLEPIEIO and on up to Zia, you will get some great views of Turkey, Pserimos, Platti and Kalymnos.

Since visiting the Greek Islands for over twenty years, with the hope of finding our retirement home. It was on our second trip to Kos, that we found our perfect haven in the village of Lagoudi, which is four mins from Zia, down a footpath, so we can enjoy the beautiful sunsets every night. The village of Zia is a must for the holidaymakers to Kos, great restaurants, great people, and some very interesting little shops, this is also a very romantic spot for any couples. Please don't return home without a visit in the day time or for an evening meal with the one you love 

We had such a lovely evening in Zia.  Fantastic roof top restaurants, very romantic with the sun setting and gorgeous food at very reasonable prices.  We thoroughly enjoyed our evening and then had a wander round the shops which had much more interesting items in and again very reasonable prices.  Very highly recommended for a very romantic evening !!!!

The sunset was very pretty ,we watched the sunset while we were eating on a rooftop restaurant.There was some nice gift shops there.

Hier ist es hervorragend zum Sonnenuntergang. Wir fliegen seit 15 Jahren nach Kos und sind immer wieder begeistert.

We visited Zia on a trip theWednesday eve before we came home.  It was a beautiful little place unlike Kefalos, Kardamena and Kos Town it was totally different to them all.  Its just how you expect agreek village to be if you have never been to Greece before.  Although we waited over half an hour for our food in the restuarant we went to wehad a fantastic evening.  The shops are colourful and cluttered with lots of ceramics, gifts, etc.  There are a few lovely little shops as you get off the coach with hand made items and jewellery to which I bought all my gifts for myself and for my friends.  We walked up to a restaurant which is supposed to have the best views for the gorgeous sunset where we had a drink and took some really lovely photo's of it.  Its all very romantic and a great way to spend your last evening in Kos.  There is also a great restuarantand bar just as you come into the village which was very busy and we wished we had gone there for our food.  It's on two levels and the views are great across the whole of the island. 

Sue