"Irish Over Seas" Ios by bzh

Ios Travel Guide: 40 reviews and 111 photos

Ios is dubbed "Irish Over Seas" because of its large proportion of Irish and English speaking tourists, as well as the fact that it is known as the "party island" of Greece. It has more bars and clubs than permanent inhabitants and the average age in summer is probably about 25.

This can sound absolutely dreadful. Why would you go to the Cyclades to meet English speaking lager louts? In fact, the party atmosphere on Ios is very Irish, people are there to have a good time and you end up being friends with everybody. The main village is so small that if anybody starts making trouble, they will be very quickly banned from any place on the island.

Typical cyclades island

Church on top of hill above village

Another reason for going to Ios is that it is a typical Cyclades island: whitewashed buildings, bright blue doors and shutters, etc. No resort type building anywhere due to building restrictions that stipulate that everything built must be built in the traditional style.

The main village is typical of the Cyclade style, with winding streets barely wide enough for two people to go past each other, small shops and squares, etc.

Where Homer was burried?

Crooked door on the main square

Ios is also meant to be the place where the poet homer was burried. Although this is open to doubt. nevermind, you can still see the place where he is supposed to rest.

The beaches are very nice and it is the ideal place to spend a week or two in the sun, doing virtually nothing all day. Not that this sort of holiday will be enjoyed by everybody but, just once in a while, it is nice to go somewhere and relax totally.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Sea, sand, sun and party
Cons:Party all night everyday can be taxing

Last visit to Ios: Jun 2002
Intro Written Jan 17, 2003
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Careful about ferry strikes Transportation (1)

Make sure you give yourself a few spare days at the end of your holidays. Greek ferries have a tendancy to go on strike... more travel advice

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Comments (2)

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morgane1692 Mar 6, 2003 at 7:03 AM

Heartbreakingly blue sky and water here, eh? Just returned from mainland Greece, but the Islands are definitely on my list for the Next Time...sighhhh...
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Lilasel Feb 24, 2003 at 4:26 AM

Nice page and wonderful photos as usually! Merci beaucoup, Bruno!
Nights with parties and days with doing nothing - it sounds great, at least for a week... :-)