Move Over Mykonos! This Stunning Greek Island Offers Stunning Beaches & Welcoming Locals
Many consider Mykonos because the quintessential Greek island getaway:
It’s fashionable for a motive, because it ticks all of the containers for what makes a summer time vacation spot nice, from the paradisaical seashores to the picture-perfect villages to the buzzing social scene—should you’re the sort to wait for some late-night bar crawling, you may definitely discover your crowd right here.
Nonetheless, the unchecked ranges of tourism can be a tad extreme, and should you’ve been hoping for a heat welcome from locals, with real smiles and pouring candy ouzo, you may be stunned to seek out that lots of them have in truth been pushed out of the primary cities.
These have now been taken over by huge builders and seasonal residents, to the purpose Mykonos hardly appears like your typical Aegean escape anymore.
Fortunately, there are 226 other islands in Greece to choose from, and should you’re hoping for a Mykonos dupe that is comparatively nice for nightlife and with its justifiable share of cultural allure, it is best to hit a rapidly-rising Ios as an alternative earlier than it, too, will get spoiled by the lots:
May Ios Be The Subsequent Mykonos?
One in all Greece’s destination highlights for the earlier yr, Aegean island of Ios seems set to maintain growing in recognition for 2025.
Regardless of its small dimension, at roughly 11 miles lengthy and 10 miles large, and small everlasting inhabitants of round 2,300 individuals, it’s quickly establishing itself as one of many trendiest islands within the area after Mykonos and Santorini.
For starters, it has a Chora, or Important City, with the normal Cycladic blanche homes and bougainvillea-framed streets.
Aside from having its each nook be Instagram-ready, Chora is house to numerous cultural landmarks, together with the cathedral, with its chalk-like exterior and blue dome, the open-air Odysseus Elytis Theater, internet hosting live shows in summer time, and a row of 12 windmills perched on a hilltop.
If we could add, they’re the proper spot for catching these blood-orange Aegean sunsets.
The factor vacationers appear to like probably the most about Ios, nevertheless, is how welcome they really feel as vacationers right here:
Welcoming Locals & Hearty Greek Meals
There are not any ‘go house’ placards being brandished, no dismissive seems from indignant locals, and whether or not you are ordering meals at a restaurant or just looking souvenirs at a neighborhood market, it is good-old Aegean hospitality you may get.
The middle of city can be peppered with family-run eateries, the place they’re nonetheless serving yaya‘s do-it-yourself pastitsio and freshly-caught octopus soaked in homegrown olive oil.
You have not actually engaged in a cultural immersion in Greece till you are mendacity again in your alfresco cushioned seat, discreetly loosening your belt a bit of to raised digest all that scrumptious tzatziki and the slow-cooked lamb, or how they name it right here, kleftiko.
For one of the best conventional meals in Ios, be sure you take a look at Drakos Taverna, by Mylopotas Seashore, or the favored Almyra By The Sea—the latter even has numerous vegan choices, a uncommon discover in any small, staunchly-Greek island.
Moreover, we love Pathos for its seafood and revolutionary tackle sushi, however it may possibly get busy at sure hours: it’s a seashore membership with an exquisite aqua-colored pool going through the Aegean, in any case, and the thumping DJ music and inexpensive drinks have a tendency to attract the younger beach-going kind.
How Does Ios Examine To Mykonos On The Nightlife Entrance?
Talking of clubbing, Ios is a mini Mykonos within the making, with out the surprising costs, and way more laid-back.
It had had a repute as a celebration vacation spot since no less than the 80s when the primary hippies and backpackers made landfall right here, however as you may quickly discover when you hit a bar or two, it has none of Mykonos’ stuck-up perspective.
In different phrases, you will not discover Lindsay Lohans and Paris Hiltons enjoying units right here all summer time and dragging together with them the standard hordes of friendship bracelet-wearing, braided-haired, high-waist-skirt-wearing, kumbaya Beverly Hills girlies.
If something, the smaller venues round Chora really feel a touch more authentic, from the chilled-out cocktail bars, with Click on and Atlas, to call a pair, to the full-fledged techno golf equipment, just like the aforementioned Pathos or Disco 69.
Stunning Seashores For Miles
As for the seashores, the Ios coast is a vacationer attraction in its personal proper.
For the Ios-classic partying on a golden-sand strip, head out to Mylopotas, the place a plethora of taverns and vibrant bars await.
In the event you’re eager on stress-free a bit of, Manganari is ready on a peaceable bay laden with effective, ivory-white sands, and the seas are of the turquoise-most blue.
For one thing within the center, not too quiet, however not as well-frequented as Mylopotas, Agia Theodoti Seashore to the northeast has tender sands, shallow teal waters, and it even has a solitary tavern should you’re ever in want of refreshments.
In search of that secretive nudist spot?
You need to know each Greek island has them, and on Ios, Kolitsani Seashore is your greatest guess at baring all of it and changing into one with the plush Mediterranean nature with out the judgmental gaze of passerby.
How To Get To Ios This Season
Ios isn’t precisely probably the most accessible of Greek islands, because it doesn’t have its personal airport.
Inconveniences apart, that is a part of the rationale why it feels much less impacted by mass tourism than Mykonos, Santorini, and different world-famous islands.
It doesn’t suggest you may have to embark on a Homeric journey to get there, both.
Ios can simply be reached by boat, and one of the best ferry connections are discovered within the port of Athinios, in Santorini, with crossings taking roughly 35-45 minutes, and tickets costing as low cost as $33 when booked upfront.
Generally, Ios is a really inexpensive island to go to, with vacationers spending a median $85 per night time on accommodations, and round $20 on particular person meals every day, in line with Budget Your Trip.
This spring, the centrally-located Likno’s guesthouse, proper within the coronary heart of Chora, has whole studio flats with sea views beginning at $63 per grownup, per night time.
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