Ios

Beach life is half the reason people come to Ios, and the island delivers it on sand rather than pebble. Mylopotas, a long golden bay a short bus ride below Chora, is the social beach, lined with sunbeds and water-sports stands and busy from late morning. For quieter water, Manganari in the far south is a set of sheltered sandy coves with shallow, very clear sea, while Agia Theodoti, Psathi and Kalamos on the east and north coasts are wilder and emptier, some reached only by rough road.

The Aegean here is warm enough to swim comfortably from June to early October, reaching about 24°C in August. The summer meltemi wind can whip up the north-facing bays, so on blowy days the south coast is the better choice.

Eating on Ios follows the Cycladic pattern: grilled fish and octopus at harbour tavernas in Yialos, slow-cooked meat and vegetable dishes in Chora, and the island's own soft, tangy cheese, skotyri, served with rusks and tomatoes. A handful of places in Chora and around the quieter bays cook with care, and a meal with a view of the sunset is easy to find.

The depth stops there. In high summer a large share of the kitchens serve gyros, pizza and late-night snacks to people heading out, and there is no market or café culture to speak of. Good food is something you seek out here rather than stumble upon.

Chora itself is the main sight: a hilltop village of whitewashed lanes, blue-domed chapels and a ridge of old windmills, crowned by the church of Panagia Gremiotissa and the scant Venetian remains above it. The small archaeological museum in town holds finds from Skarkos, an Early Cycladic hilltop settlement nearby with well-preserved stone walls that is worth an hour. In the north, a site at Plakotos is held by tradition to be the tomb of Homer, more a place of legend and view than of ruins, and Paleokastro, a ruined Venetian castle on the east side, rewards a hot walk. It makes a pleasant few hours, not a reason to come.

Ios has long been one of the Aegean's great party islands, and in summer its nights are the main event for much of the crowd. The heart of it is Chora, where dozens of small bars and a few larger clubs are packed into the old village lanes and the main square, with music spilling from one doorway to the next and crowds moving between them until dawn. Mylopotas adds beach bars and afternoon parties that roll into the evening.

The scene is young, loud and unpretentious, built on cheap drinks and familiar music rather than cocktail craft or underground clubbing. It runs from June to September and peaks in July and August; in May and October it is subdued, and in winter almost everything closes.

Ios is a bare, rocky island of terraced hillsides, goat paths and steep cliffs dropping to the sea, its highest point, Profitis Ilias, rising to just over 700m. Old mule tracks link Chora to the windmills, remote chapels and northern bays, and make good walking in spring and autumn, when the hills are greenest and the heat is bearable. Boat trips circle the coast to sea caves and coves unreachable by road, and the summer wind brings windsurfing at Mylopotas. In July and August the midday sun limits walking to early mornings and evenings. It is attractive country, but there is no forest, wildlife or high mountain to build a trip around.

Ios sits in the middle of the Cyclades, and the ferry is the way out for a day. Santorini is the obvious trip, about an hour or less by fast boat, with its caldera villages and the excavated Bronze Age town of Akrotiri. Naxos, with its Venetian old town and marble gateway on the harbour, is a little further, and the small, quiet islands of Sikinos and Folegandros, with their cliff-top villages, make gentler outings.

Everything depends on the boats: in high summer the connections make a day out workable, while in spring and autumn they thin and a return the same day is not always possible.

Ios can work for a family beach stay, but it is not built for one. The sandy, shallow bays at Manganari and the quieter end of Mylopotas suit small children, and the island is safe and easygoing. Beyond the beach there is nothing designed for children, Chora is a maze of steep steps that defeats a pushchair, and in July and August the island is given over to a young party crowd whose noise carries late into the night. Families do best in June or September, staying near the southern beaches rather than in or below Chora.

Ios has no airport, so arrival is by ferry, usually via Piraeus, Santorini or another Cycladic island. Once there, the main triangle is compact: the harbour at Yialos, Chora on the hill above and Mylopotas beach are linked by a bus that runs often in summer, and many visitors simply walk between port and village up the old stepped path. Chora itself is car-free and all stairs.

The rest of the island is a different matter. Manganari has a bus or a boat in season, but the eastern and northern bays need a hired car, scooter or quad on winding roads, and outside summer the buses are sparse.

Shopping is incidental here. Chora's lanes hold a scatter of shops selling beachwear, jewellery, sandals and souvenirs, open late to catch the evening crowd, plus a few small boutiques with Greek-made clothes and ceramics. There are no markets or local crafts of note, and anyone wanting more than a sundress or a gift saves it for the larger islands or Athens.

Ios has a long history as a backpacker island, and a budget stay is still possible: hostels, campsites and simple rooms near Mylopotas and Chora, gyros and grill food, and drinks offers in the bars. It is noticeably easier on the wallet than the more glamorous Cycladic islands. In July and August, though, rooms of any comfort carry island high-season prices, boutique hotels at the quiet bays cost a good deal more, and ferry fares add up. June and September offer the same sea at a gentler price.

There is very little to attend. The open-air Odysseas Elytis theatre by the windmills in Chora hosts occasional concerts and cultural events in summer, and village festivals for saints' days bring traditional music and dancing, but there is no regular programme. The music on Ios is the music of its bars.

Ios has no bathing or spa culture of its own, and in July and August its rhythm is late nights and late mornings rather than rest. Some of the boutique hotels around Mylopotas and the quieter bays offer massages, small spas and yoga, and in June or September, or tucked away near Manganari, the island can be calm and slow. A visitor looking mainly to unwind should come outside the peak weeks and stay well away from Chora.