Last time I was on Ios was in the early 80s. A LONG time ago.

Back then I was a punk and my boyfriend and I camped at Mylopota beach, behind the Far-Out beach bar and spent the day on the beach and nights at Chora on top of the hill, drinking and generally having fun. Back then it was THE party island, and I remember it being very busy. Then again, I think we were there in July and August which are generally busy months in Greece.

It’s still got the reputation of being a party island so is frequented by a lot of the younger crowd, but the island is changing, going more upmarket and much nicer than it was back then.

This time I took a day trip to Ios with friends, and we hired a car to explore a little more of the island. The one thing that hit us straight away was how quiet and peaceful it was. Made me think that this is a place I’d love to get away from it all and just relax for a while. Apparently their season starts at the end of June, unlike Paros which now seems to be busy from April till the end of October.

Ios is little more than a rock. It’s a decent size island with great roads and almost nothing on it. We hired a car and drove from one end of the island to the other, so we saw a LOT of rocks.

We visited Homer’s monument/grave, whatever. The story is he was probably buried here…

It’s a great spot, right at the top end of the island with expansive views. People have made it even more beautiful by leaving behind little rock piles. I can boast having been there and leaving 2 small piles of my own!

On the way to Homer’s monument, we had quite a surprise when we came across these 4 marble statues (or parts of marble statues). Maybe someone can explain this one to me? I can’t find any reference to what this first one is meant to be… Prudes may want to skip the next 2 images.

We felt like we had to visit the beach at Manganari, apparently the bluest clearest waters on the whole island. I don’t know about that. I still think Mylopota is the best beach. Manganari is shallower and I prefer beaches that get deep faster. But its deinitely a quieter beach. There’s almost nothing there and its so far away, I doubt many people will make the drive there!

(Ok, to be fair, we did go to Manganari from Homer… its probably a lot closer from town.)

I do know that the cost of the umbrella and 2 sunbeds at 10e blew my mind. Its been years since they were so cheap on Paros. Maybe its cause its still early in the season for Ios.

One place we stopped at was Skarkos.

Skarkos is an early Bronze Age settlement on the island of Ios in Greece. Owing to its well preserved state, Skarkos is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the Aegean and especially the Cyclades.

Of course, we decided it wasn’t worth walking uphill in the sun just to see rocks when the arial photos do such a great job… At times like these you wish you had a drone!

We ran out of time so didn’t get to walk around Chora, the main town of Ios, but eh, once you’re walked the cobblestone streets of one Cycladic island, you’re pretty much seen what you’ll see. Though it would have been nice to compare Ios of the 80s with Ios of the 2020s.

The best place, in my opinion of course, was Mylopota. Its where my fondest memories of Ios are.It was so different from what it was in the 80s. We stopped at a great bar/restaurant to have breakfast because its where I was sure the old Far Out bar used to be. And I was right. Apparently, according to a local, the Far Out still exists but its bigger and better and further down at the other end of the beach now.

But for our little group of older, wiser, people, it was a lovely spot to sit and enjoy the view and atmosphere.

Turns out prices are comparable to Paros for food in Mylopota, but they know what CRISPY BACON is!!!

I love this beach. Not just for the memories or the deep water, but also because its one of my favourite beaches on a Greek island.

Being inherently incapable of resisting blue waters, I had to swim. If I do a tour of the Greek islands, it will be to swim in as many beautiful beaches as possible.

All in all, it was a great day and I’m glad I went. Stay tuned for whatever islands we decide to visit next!

z