TANNED, annoyingly healthy and with a mop of sun-bleached blond hair, the instructor grinned as he sat down on the edge of his beached boat.

“Have you sailed before?” smiled our dinghy expert, Chris Schonhut, as he brushed sand from a stray life jacket. The reply – sheepish head shakes and mumbles of “well...”, “not really”, and “ages ago”, elicited an even wider smile.

“Well, you’re going to love it!” he laughed. “And you’ll all be experts by the end of the week.”

And, to his credit, he was right. And wrong; certainly as far as I was concerned. Yes, I loved it, but, well... let’s put it this way, after days of capsizing, wrapping the dagger board around buoy ropes and sitting becalmed far from shore, I’m not planning on entering the Fastnet Race any time soon.

The same, however, can’t be said for my fellow sailors, who scudded across the azure waters of the placid Aegean at Lakitira, on the southern coast of Kos. Though, in my defence, few were novices. Indeed, many watersport-lovers return to this little slice of Greek paradise, and its sister Mark Warner hotels, year after year.

And, even as a swinging boom cracked against my head for the third time in an hour (thankfully helmets are provided), it was easy to see the attraction. The water is clear, cobalt blue and to my uneducated eye, full of shoals of unfamiliar-looking fish. And the views over to the brooding volcanic island of Gyali are stunning.

The Lakitira Beach Resort, one of Mark Warner’s largest, has long been a draw for those who prefer to spend their holidays doing something, rather than just lying flat on a beach towel.

And it is not just sailing. Windsurfing, kayaking and stand-up paddle boards (‘sups’) line the beach and speckle the sea on one side of a sandy spit, while swimmers snorkelling and families have the other side to themselves – free to splash around without risk of being run over by a badly-sailed dinghy (cough!).

Landlubbers, meanwhile, grunt and shout on an array of grass and clay tennis courts, exert themselves in yoga sessions or join lively pool aerobics classes led by typically cheery, and outrageously good-looking swimsuit-clad instructors.

If it was America, you’d think the cheerfulness was fake – but most of Mark Warner’s staff are Brits – who, to our credit, don’t really fake happiness particularly convincingly.

A family resort, even parents of young kids can get stuck in thanks to a kids club run with the efficiency of a small city state – and staffed by, if possible, an even cheerier battalion of nursery assistants dedicated to making sure that, however much fun the grown-ups are having, they are getting even more.

Adding to the general buzz of adrenaline are mountain bikers – who whoop while being led up dirt tracks by yet another bronzed instructor, a chap known far and wide as simply Chadders.

“We do easy, medium and tough trails,” he says, adjusting the saddle on a dusty bike after a calf-burning ride to the romantically-named Peacock Forest.

“Most people go for the medium, though, as the tough is seriously hard work – especially in the heat. After all, it’s supposed to be a holiday! It is a great way of seeing a bit of the island though.”

And what an island. Kos is quite unlike the stereotypical Greek island. Not immediately pretty, in the style of, say, Santorini, this narrow, but 25-mile long rock in the Dodecanese has a more subtle grandeur. It’s a place of arid plains studded with olive groves and vineyards, rising to misty wooded mountains.

You can soak it all up on a half-day island tour from Lakitira, the highlight of which, is the hilltop village of Zia – a jumble of souvenir stalls selling worry beads and bronze chariot ornaments, which gives way to gnarled forest and a gem of an old wooden church standing with its bell tower in the clouds.

Its entrance is minded by a Greek Orthodox priest straight out of National Geographical magazine. Bearded and with gleaming eyes he’ll let you wander around the miniature chapel, and climb the creaking wooden steps where you can look down on rows of intricately-worked incense burners suspended on chains from the dusty beams.

The view from the hill looks straight onto the Turkish mainland just a few miles away. That Eastern influence is laid on thick in the island’s eponymous capital, where minarets and Ottoman windows jostle for attention with churches and classical Greek and Roman ruins.

But, as impressive as the fragments of wall, castle and expanses of columns and mosaics may be, Kos’s star tourist attraction is a living, breathing thing. A tree. Not just any tree, though. Beneath this sprawling plane tree Hippocrates, the father of medicine, taught his pupils 2,400 years ago. And that’s not all. Its bows, which spread out 12 metres and are supported with poles, also gave shade to St Paul – the apostle writing his epistles under its very branches.

Well, kind of. With regret, even the locals quietly admit the tree isn’t that venerable – though it is a descendent, and at more than 500 years old, it is still quite special.

Fascinating Kos’s classical past may be, but to really appreciate the place’s charm you have to get out on the water – which means either sailing yourself, or letting someone with a bigger boat take the strain.

Another tour from the resort will drop you off at the harbour in Kos for one of the most interesting boat trips in Greece. Setting sail from the waterfront, the ‘three-island tour’ calls in at Pserimos; delightful little Plati, with its shallow lagoon, low key tavernas and whitewashed church; and dramatic Kalymnos – famed as the home of the sponge divers.

It’s hard to escape sponges on these islands – particularly the latter, where you can learn every last detail about the harvesting and preparation of these strange marine life forms and hear eye-watering tales of the hazards and injuries suffered by its brave sponge fishers – who once roamed the Med as far as Lebanon in search of riches from the deep.

Oh, and you will return with one. Possibly two. Everyone does.

There is no sponge diving back at Lakitira, though you can release your inner Jacques Cousteau on a diving course. If you have the time you can gain a PADI Open Water qualification allowing you to dive anywhere in the world – not a bad souvenir to take home from a holiday in the sun. Better, even, than a sponge.

Being a quiet family and couples sort of place (this is no Faliraki), nights are quiet and are reserved for sundowners at the beach bar, long lazy meals in its Greek taverna, Italian trattoria or Med-flavoured international restaurant. Though if you are feeling energetic, Kardemena, with its noisy bars, lurid-coloured shots and Euro-pop, is a short taxi ride away. Great fun it is too, especially after a day on the waves.

But even the most active of us need to take a break, and this is the true beauty of Lakitira. Because, despite all those good intentions, there is nothing nicer than slapping on a bit of lotion, and collapsing onto a sunbed by the pool to gaze out at the tree-fringed beach beyond.

And if you have done something remotely active – well, that makes it all the sweeter.

 

FACT FILE

  • Lakitira, Kos from from £754pp, departing Gatwick on June 1, 8 15 and 22 for a week at Mark Warner’s Lakitira Beach Resort, pictured, perfectly positioned on the southern coast of Kos, just a short taxi ride away from Kos town itself.

  • The resort has excellent watersports, top-quality tennis and plenty of space to relax. The price includes return flights with fuel supplements from London Heathrow, seven nights accommodation on half-board basis, return transfers, watersports, mountain biking, tennis and free childcare for children two years and over. Price is based on two sharing.

  • For bookings or more information contact Mark Warner on 0844 273 6796 or visit www.markwarner.co.uk