Ios is part of the Cyclades islands from Greece. It’s known as a party island, the little sister of Mykonos but much affordable. It’s visited by high schoolers and students because of the cheap drinks and beach club parties..

When I visited Greece, for the first time in 2012, the local host told me, if you want to party, like in Mykonos, but at half-price, there is a place for me called Ios. 9 years later, I finally came to explore it.🙂

Only 30 minutes away, from famous Santorini is an island called Ios.
The name is belived to come from the many violets flowers, that are found everywere on the island. A second theory is that name comes from Ionians, that settled down in Ios.
At a glass of local wine and cheese, my Greek host told me that life was hard in the past. People were raising goats and had to procure their food 100% from agriculture. Until 1963, when a french navigator, visited the island and spread the word, that Ios has great potential for turism and great culture.

We planned to stay 1 week but we ended up spending 1 month. I have to say Ios is more than crazy parties. It has over 30 beaches with clear and turquoise waters, and good food. This is Ios island, Greece, 1 week travel guide.

Ios island, Greece, 1-week travel guide

How long should you stay in Ios?

To really enjoy the island, 1 week is sufficient. If you’re in a hurry, you can visit it in 3 days.

How to get to Ios?

Ios doesn’t have an airport so you have to take a ferry. We paid 38 euros/ ferry ticket from Santorini, 30 min away with Seajets. You can buy the tickets from their offices, travel agency or book online.

What are the prices?

The local currency is Euro and you can pay by card or cash.

Bottle of water, 1.5 liters – 0.50 – 1 euro

Bottle of wine – 4-10 euro in the supermarket

Dinner – 50-80 euros in local restaurants

Bus ticket – 1.60 euro/ ride

ATV – 20-50 euro/ day

Car – 50-100 euro/ day – depending on the car

Sun beds – 6-15 euro

Cocktail – 6-10 euro

Ios island, Greece, 1-week travel guide

1. Beach day – Mylopotas beach

If I would move to another city, I would definitely choose a sea city. Biarritz and Tenerife are on my list. I don’t know why but the golden sand and seeing the waves crashing is like therapy for me.

Mylopotas beach is 3 km, from Chora, Ios, 10 minutes by local bus from Chora. You can buy tickets from the bus – 1.60 euro.

This incredible sandy beach has shallow waters, golden sand, and incredible turquoise water. There are numerous beach bars, restaurants along the beach so you can enjoy a nice lunch or dinner.

Cost: sun beds – 6-10 euro, cocktail 6-12 euro

We recommend FarOut beach club. Lots of youngsters and the water is perfect for swimming, water sports.

Head out to Drakos Taverna for lunch, right on the beach for fresh seafood, sun-dried octopus. For dinner, book in advance. 

2. Visit Chora, the main village from Ios. 

Its white, marble houses surrounded by red, purple flowers are perfect for photos. It’s best to take photos during the day, in the evening is much harder because of the tourists. There are lots of stores with clothes and especially jewelry. I didn’t see luxurious stores, more local ones.

For food, I recommend Katogi tapas greek restaurant. They open at 7.30 pm. Make sure you come early or book in advance. The place is very small and is always full. Everything is delicious. Try pasta purses with pear, truffle fries, tortilla cones.

Prices: 6-12 euro/ dish

The food is so good that we went twice.

Another good restaurant is The Nest, with big portions and very nice people. 

3. Boat tour to see the other beaches

There are some beautiful beaches reachable only by boat. So, make sure you book a boat tour.

We’ve booked a tour with Meltemi watersports, 4 hours, 45 euro/person from Mylopotas.  They have also private tours starting with 300 euro. They leave every day at 11.00 from Mylopotas beach. It’s best to book 1 day ahead to avoid the queue. I suffer from seasickness motion and I had some serious doubts if to go or not. But, after 5 min on the boat, I got used to the waves so, in the end, it was ok.

The tour has 3 stops for swimming, snorkeling, exploring caves, 7 beaches in total.

Tripiti beach is the most beautiful one. It’s a very small beach, with no sunbeds but the view is just breathtaking. You can take some amazing photos with no filter needed. Highly recommend seeing it. 

Another beautiful place is the Neverbay, good for snorkeling and caves exploring.

Be careful: there are strong sea currents. If you’re not that good at swimming like me, ask for a vest.

I can’t say we were impressed by this tour, we wished we could stay longer on some beaches. If you’re more than 4, go for a private tour.

Cantine del Mar in Mylopotas, 5 min walking from the boat stop is perfect for lunch. Fresh seafood, big portions and, nice cocktails. Try the garlic bread, works very well with a Greek salad.

Ios island, Greece, 1-week travel guide

4. Rent an ATV

There’s no a better way to see Ios than with an ATV. It’s 25-50 euro/ day. First time renting an ATV and it was amazing. Driving an ATV, feeling the sun on my face it’s like I was the one with nature. Plus is much cheaper than renting a car.

Windmills – you can find them at the entrance of Chora, free entrance.

In fact, these were used in the past all over Greece, to grind wheat and other crops. Ios has 12 windmills, a few of which have been restored. Now, I get why all the Cyclades are windy.

5. Maganari beach

Cost: 25-50 euro/day – ATV, 80-100 euro/day – car

Maganari or Magari beach is truly a beautiful beach and is 45 min drive from Chora. The color of the water is pretty similar to the one from Bora Bora, Maldives. And it’s a Blue Flag beach. If you’re coming from Chora, the road to this beach is spectacular.

There are 2 restaurants and they offer sunbeds – 10 euro.

Go when it’s a clear sunny day. We went on a windy day and it was hard to enjoy a beach day with the sand in our faces.

6. Book a dinner with traditional Greek food

Greece is not only Greek salad, fresh fish and, baklava. We asked our host, a greek family to prepare for us a traditional dinner. It was an amazing experience.

I learned they use chickpeas and their chickpeas balls are delicious. Also, the stuffed aubergines. Not to mention the Kataifi dessert made from shredded phyllo dough or angel hair (also called kadaïf), and a mixture of nuts and coarsely chopped pistachios. I’m not a fan of their wines.

7. Party in Ios

If you like to party, Ios is the place. Start at Farout beach club in Myloptas from 3- 10 PM, head out to Chora at Jar bar or Click until 2 AM.  Go to Traffic Bar or Slammer. The next day, start over.

Where to see the best sunsets in Ios, Greece?

I love sunsets and it’s my favorite part of the day.

1 Walk to the top of Chora to see the 4 little churches – and the view – 

It was the first time when I could take some photos in Chora with the white houses. The center of Chora has a lot of little shops or restaurants and it’s hard to take photos. I was surprised there aren’t stores and you can take some beautiful photos with the little houses and flowers. Not to mention the panoramic view of Chora. Follow the road to Panagia Gremiotissa, a white and blue church. Make sure you have water with you, you will need it.

It might be a bit crowded during sunset time but if you came 30 minutes before, you will find a spot on one of the rocks. It’s windy so bring a jacket with you. 

I really liked this place because you can see the three beautiful churches, you have plenty of space and it’s free. 

2 Ios Cocktail club

It’s built like an amphitheater and it’s perfect to see the sunset over a glass of wine or a cocktail. The food is good, a mix of local greek food with a contemporary twist. Book something in advance. 

Where to stay in Ios, Greece?

Whenever I want to book something, I always make sure it’s a good location, close to shops, easy access to buses, restaurants.

There are 3 main areas in Ios: Chora the main village, Mylopotas beach and, the port area.

For easy access to restaurants, stores, I recommend Chora but not in the center if you’re not a fan of parties. There are hotels with an amazing view but no beach access.

Mylopotas is ideal if you want to get to the beach fast. We worked during our time in Ios so we loved we could walk to the beach every day. There are restaurants, supermarkets, not so many as in Chora but all of them have good food.

We recommend staying at Island House hotel, a family greek business. Everything was just perfect, good wi-fi connection. It was a pleasure to stay here. If you’re looking for an authentic Greek experience, this is the place.

The Port area has enough options for eating. Is not that crowded as Chora and there is a small beach, 10 min walking.

Ios it’s an amazing island, not very big and affordable. For us, it was the perfect choice for working and relaxing. We visited during Covid so we don’t know how it was before it. The locals told us it was full of teenagers, college students and very crowded. The highlights of our stay were the boat tour, ATV, and the Greek traditional dinner.

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