What’s out there
Ios island, Greece
If you appreciate hideaways that feel private and calm, you will love the island’s quieter and more isolated beaches.
Discover moreBeaches
The 32 beaches scattered across the Ιos intricate coastline vary from organized and outgoing to quiet and isolated. The island’s sandy beaches have been regularly voted among the “Top 10 beaches in Europe” and in fact, Ios boasts 75 kilometres of coastal line. The organized beaches offer the comfort of beach bars, restaurants, and mini markets close to the waterfront, as well as trained watersports facilities for windsurfing, scuba diving, and paddle boarding. The popular Milopotas and Manganari are great choices for visitors who love the joyful buzz of organised beaches without compromising natural scenery.
If you appreciate hideaways that feel private and calm, you will love the island’s quieter and more isolated beaches: Aghia Theodoti and the two Psathi beaches.
Chora
Traditional and picturesque, Ios Town, or Chora is invitingly close to Liostasi. A stroll inside its narrow paths among the white-washed houses is as Cycladic as an island experience can get. Chora’ s well-known byzantine chapels and thirteen windmills co-exist harmoniously with the island’s vivid nightlife, creating a charming, outgoing fusion. Chora is known for landmarks such as the church of Panagia Gremiotissa, located at the highest point of Ios Town: a picture-perfect church, built in 1797, that owes its name to its rocky location. From there, you will enjoy a panoramic view of the Town and the island’s landscapes.
The open Theatre Odysseas Elytis, is named after the Greek Nobel Prize-winning poet. It was inaugurated in 1997 and built from marble and local stone; built under the functionality and aesthetics of an ancient theatre amphitheatrically, ensuring excellent view and acoustics in every performance.
The Yiannis Gaitis & Gabriela Simosi Museum, near the Windmills, offers constant inspiration to the Liostasi family and friends. Contemporary art spaces, in dialogue with the emblematic outdoor sculptures, shape the artistic feel of the island, making it a world-class art destination.
Gastronomy
The countryside of rural Ios concentrates an inspiring number of local producers, that blend traditional techniques with contemporary ones, as they create delicious cheeses and dairy, wine, like the Iitis or the Rizomata etiquettes, thyme honey, and meat. These local products, along with fresh Aegean fish and seafood, are the basis for the sophisticated simplicity of Ios gastronomy.
Ios island, Greece
The 32 beaches scattered across the Ιos intricate coastline vary from organized and outgoing to quiet and isolated.
Trails
Ios countryside and exceptional coastline are best discovered through the island’s hiking trails, which offer a glimpse of its authentic wildness. These important two-way routes offer a deep connection with Ios. Mountain, Chora, beach, and countryside routes, mapped by the municipality of Ios, are available to the island’s guests.
The Liostasi team of Ios experts creates a customized blend of trail samples, along with visits to private estates and local producers. Chora and its famous landmarks, Skarkos, Homer’s Tomb, Paleokastro, and Manganari, are only some of the places of the Liostasi curated Ios experience.
Skarkos
Skarkos, located near the port in Kampos, is the oldest, largest, and now most important known settlement of the procycladic world of the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. It was discovered in 1986. Its buildings are in good condition so that the visitor can get an idea of the architecture of the times. The excavation also revealed a wealth of artifacts which in combination with the architecture, give an almost complete picture of everyday life back then.
Homer’s Tomb
At the north end of the island lie the ruins of the ancient town of Plakotos, dating from the Hellenistic period, where tradition claims that Homer’s tomb is located. According to Herodotus, the 'poet of poets' Homer, was buried at Plakotos. A short walk along a paved path leads to the top of a cliff, overlooking the Aegean Sea, where the tomb stands.
Boat Tours
Booking a private boat tour to discover Ios coastline and island-hop to the nearby islands of Santorini, Sikinos, Folegandros, or Koufonissia is an all-time favourite Cycladic experience. Enjoy swimming on beaches with limited access, sunset gazing with cocktails on the deck and feel the salty vibes of the Aegean Sea in a customized boat tour experience organised by the Liostasi team.
Inspired by Homer’s wine-colored sea, we created in the island of Ios a world that embraces beauty and hospitality.
