About IOS Island

General...

Ios is an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. It is a part of Greece. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides, situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini.

Over the last few years, Ios has developed into an island that has something for all ages to enjoy. For many years Ios was known as the party island, however, there is so much more that Ios has to offer.

Ios has regularly been voted in Various polls as having one of the "Top 10 beaches in Europe" and it in fact boasts 75 kilometres of beautiful,white sandy beaches and turquoise coastlines. The architecture of Ios is typically Cycladic and features whitewashed buildings perched beautifully on hill tops and dotted around valleys.

Ios still maintains a lively nightlife,the likes of which you will not see on the other islands. Unlike the "package resorts", the nightlife of Ios is concentrated in one place, Hora. The nightlife is very cosmopolitan and still quite traditional. The main meeting point is in the main square. By day, Hora reverts to a beautiful tranquil traditional Greek village where you can see the locals chatting in cafes and playing backgammon.

Yialos or the port is a beautiful part of the island to visit during the day and the night. There are nice shops, a bakery, nice restaurants and taverns, cafeterias and beautiful sandy beaches. In Yialos beach you will have the opportunity to enjoy water sports.There is also a nice yacht marine.

Regular Buses or Boats are on offer to take you on various excursions to the other beaches on Ios, where you can find real peaceful areas and avoid the crowds.

All in all, Ios has lots to offer for all age groups. It is a stunningly beautiful island and will be an unforgettable experience.

Ios was the setting for the movie Ginger and Cinnamon (Dillo con parole mie). Also, scenes from the film Big Blue (Le Grand Bleu) were shot in Manganari.

Get In...

Ios can be reached best from Santorini , Naxos , Heraklion - Crete island or directly from Piraeus. Ferry boats and Highspeed catamaran services run daily from Piraeus. From May 2008 Easyjet are now operating flights to Mykonos and Crete with daily boat connections to Ios.

If you plan on traveling to several different islands, it is wise to book all your ferries at once for a possible discount. However, always keep in mind that pickup and arrival times are subject to change at anytime.

See...

• Hora or Chora - The main village of Ios is very scenic with its small alleys and white-washed houses. During day Hora is a peaceful, quiet place while during night it is the main party zone on Ios.
• Homer's tomb
• The open air theater
• Archaeological museum
• The Old castle (Paleocastro)
• The marina in the port
• The beach of Maganari- Located on the most southern part of the island, Maganari beach provides seclusion, but not isolation. Since this beach is far from the rest of the main attractions on the island not many people go or even hear about it. The beach provides many athletic activities as well as beautiful and delicious lunch spots on the beach
• Archeological pre-historic settlement SKARKOS (10 minute walk from our hotel)

For additional information and useful contacts, please visit this page.

Parts of these texts were taken from Wikipedia & Wikitravel - released under Creative Common license.