Ios Island (Greece)

Ios Island is one of Greece's Cyclades Islands located in the Aegean Sea (eastern mediterranean Sea). This is a hilly isle with cliffs going down to the sea along most of its shoreline. The island is located halfway between the Greek islands Santorini and Naxos.

The island has length of approx 11 ml (18 km) and width of approx 6 ml (10 km). It covers a total area of approx 42 ml2 (109 km2) and has population around 2000. Ios Island is part of Thira regional unit. The north end of the island has a ruined Venetian castle dating back from the 15th century. Ios is said to have 365 chapels and churches.

Port of Ios is in the northwest, at the head of Ormos harbor. A 15-min walk up the steep path or a bus takes cruise passengers to Chora - a picturesque town full of narrow paths and stairs making it inaccessible for vehicles. The main path through the village is taken over by tourism in terms of bars, restaurants, shops, night clubs.

Ios Island pulls a large number of young travelers, many of whom slept on their sleeping bags on the popular Mylopotas beach during the 1970s after partying through the night. Currently, Mylopotas beach has grown to an equivalent mass package resort like Paradise Beach on Mykonos.

Ios Island cruise terminal