Ios

The Cyclades' party island, where the white hill town of Chora parties every night — and the golden bays of Mylopotas and Manganari and the legendary Tomb of Homer are just as appealing.

Ios lies in the southern Cyclades in Greece's Aegean Sea, between Naxos and Santorini. It covers about 109 sq km and has only around 2,000 permanent residents. The island is famous as a party destination for young travellers, but its white hill town, golden-sand bays and Homeric legends are just as much of a draw. The core is compact: the port of Gialos, the hilltop capital Chora and Mylopotas Beach below Chora are only a few minutes' drive apart. By day, Chora is great for wandering among blue-domed churches, windmills and the clifftop church of Panagia Gremiotissa; in the evening, watch the sunset from the windmills or the Odysseas Elytis Theatre, and at night the bars around the central square stay open until dawn. Manganari Beach in the south and Agia Theodoti, Kalamos and Psathi on the east coast are quieter. In the north is the reputed Tomb of Homer, and the island also has the Bronze Age settlement of Skarkos and Palaiokastro castle. The best time to visit is Jun–Sep; Jul–Aug is the liveliest and most expensive for partying, while May and October are peaceful but some businesses are closed. The north wind is fairly strong in summer. There's no airport: take a ferry from Piraeus in Athens (about 4 hours by fast boat) or from Santorini (about 40 minutes to 1 hour). In summer, buses link the port, Chora and the main beaches; to explore the whole island, rent a car or quad bike. Stay 2–4 days. Chora has lots of steps and is noisy at night, so for peace and quiet stay at the port or by the beach; book accommodation early around mid-August.

Top sights

• Chora (Ios Town) – A whitewashed Cycladic hill town where blue-domed lanes make a maze by day, and by night it turns into the liveliest bar strip in the Aegea…
• Mylopotas Beach – A golden-sand bay about 1 km long below Chora, with calm, clear shallows. Water sports by day, and beach parties after dark make it Ios's s…
• Manganari Beach – A cluster of connected bays at the island's southern tip, with white sand and transparent turquoise water that rival the Caribbean. Often r…
• Windmills of Chora – A row of white stone windmills on the ridge east of Chora, Ios's signature image and one of its most popular sunset viewpoints.
• Panagia Gremniotissa – A white church on the hilltop of Chora, meaning “Our Lady of the Cliff”, with a lone palm tree beside it and sweeping bay views, a classic…
• Odysseas Elytis Theatre – A white marble open-air theatre in the style of ancient Greece, built on the hillside behind the windmills and overlooking the Aegean sunse…
• Archaeological Museum of Ios – A small museum inside Chora's town hall, displaying pottery and Cycladic figurines unearthed at the Skarkos Early Bronze Age settlement.
• Skarkos – One of the best-preserved Early Cycladic Bronze Age settlements, with stone house walls still standing up to two storeys high; it won an EU…
• Homer's Tomb – A traditional site of Homer's tomb on Plakotos hill at the island's north end; ancient records say the poet died on Ios, and the clifftop o…
• Palaiokastro – A Venetian-era castle ruin on a hilltop on the east coast, with a small white chapel among the walls and views over Agia Theodoti Bay and t…
• Agia Theodoti Beach – A wide sandy bay on the northeast coast with a monastery and small tavernas; quieter than Milopotas and suitable for families.
• Kalamos Beach – A secluded pebble-and-sand beach on the southeast coast, with a chapel on the cliff top, no commercial facilities and pristine deep blue wa…
• Psathi Beach – A quiet bay in front of a small fishing village on the east coast, with a couple of seafood tavernas and Byzantine church ruins on the hill…
• Koumbara Beach – A sunset beach west of the harbour, with alternating sand and rocks, where beach clubs let you sip cocktails while watching the sun go down.
• Gialos Port & Beach – Ios's harbour village, where ferries dock, with a long sandy beach alongside and a blue-domed Agia Irini church.

Where to eat

• Sainis Taverna – Long-running family taverna in a Chora alley, whose moussaka is rated among Greece's best, with Greek music every night.
• Drakos Taverna – Long-established seafood taverna by the water at the quieter west end of Milopotas Beach. Choose your fresh fish and tr…
• Lord Byron – Popular restaurant on a shady square in Chora's old town, open for nearly thirty years, with honey-rosemary lamb as its…