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Ios

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Ios is a small island of the Cyclades group.

Culture and History

The island of Ios, in Greece, is a part of the Cyclades Islands in the south of Greece. Ios is a short ferry ride for Santorini making an extended holiday or even a day trip a viable option.

Over the last few years,Ios has developed into an island that has something for all ages to enjoy. For many years Ios was known as the party island, however, there is so much more that Ios has to offer.

Ios has regularly been voted in Various polls as having one of the "Top 10 beaches in Europe" and it in fact boasts 75 kilometres of beautiful,white sandy beaches and turquoise coastlines. The architecture of Ios is typically Cycladic and features whitewashed buildings perched beautifully on hill tops and dotted around valleys.

Ios still maintains a lively nightlife,the likes of which you will not see on the other islands.Unlike the "package resorts",the nightlife of Ios is concentrated in one place, Hora. The nightlife is very cosmopolitan and still quite traditional. The main meeting point is in the main square. By day, Hora reverts to a beautiful tranquil traditional Greek village where you can see the locals chatting in cafes and playing backgammon.

For those not wishing to experience the nightlife, Chora is wonderfully peaceful in the early evening and is awash with clothing and jewelry stores, souvlaki shops and excellent restaurants. Yialos or the Port,is an excellent place to escape the crowds in the evening as is the beautiful Mylopotas beach.

Regular Buses or Boats are on offer to take you on various excursions to the other beaches on Ios, where you can find real peaceful areas and avoid the crowds.

All in all, Ios has lots to offer for all age groups. It is a stunningly beautiful island and will be an unforgettable experience.

Travel to Ios & Visa Requirements

By sea

Ios can be reached best from Santorini or Naxos or directly from Piraeus.

Ferry boats and Highspeed catamaran services run daily from Piraeus. The cheapest line is Hellenic Seaways [1], but there are many others like BlueStar (more expensive) or GA ferries.

From May 2008 Easyjet are now operating flights to Mykonos and Crete with daily boat connections to Ios.

Tours & Getting around Ios

The islands has three major villages

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This page was last edited at 13:45, on 22 September 2008 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by Neil Shaw, David and Rob Smith, Wikitravel user(s) Sailsetter and Ioslover, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.

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