Ios 

Ios, halfway between Santorini and Naxos, is a very popular destination, too crowded and noisy in high season; in a word, not an ideal place to relax.

Despite this, Ios is a beautiful island to visit anyway, even if it doesn't offer the same tourist attractions than the other Cycladic islands: beautiful beaches and cliffs, of course, luxure shops and restaurants but no real "pearls" like on the other islands.

The namesake village - also known as Chora - is a pictureque group of cycladic houses, narrow alleys, wonderful sights and typical churches. But - it must be said - its ancestral atmosphere has been largely damaged by mass tourism.

In addition to Chora, the island doesn't offer much; the other villages are little more than groups of houses near the most popular beaches; the only interesting archeological site is in the northern part of the island and it is famous because it is said to be the place where Homer's mother was born and the poet himself was buried.

Ios has a small harbour in a well-sheltered natural bay (except for southern winds), provided with a quay, a breakwater, water, electricity and free Wi-Fi connection. Refuelling, on the contrary, is not possible. Depth reaches 5 metres on a sandy-muddy sea bottom.

Like anywhere in Greece, mooring places go like hot cakes here.

In this regard, north-west of the harbour, there is a small cove with a single mooring place. The bottom has a good grip but the area is not particulary sheltered.

The bay of Koumbara (west of the harbour) is more spacious but less sheltered than that one in Ios:

On the other side, east of the harbour, the bay of Milopotamos offers a peaceful shelter: no discos, no parties, no roads. Just four coves and a bottom made up of sand and seeweeds.