My modest experience of Ios in the 7 days I stayed there last summer, here goes.
Getting there
Your best option is to take a ferry from Athens possibly stopping by Santorini which I strongly recommend as it truly holds some beauty and breathtaking views from its higher parts.
Location
There are many available hotels/ guesthouses in Ios, ranging from those located directly in front of the beach to some in more secluded areas. I stayed in Flisvos hotel http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails...&sc_pos=17 at the waterfront which IMO is the best option: the cheapest moped/ quad bike rental is two steps away as is the bus stop, it's away from the noisy main square in chora (which I'll talk about later) and lets you enjoy the beautiful greek sea that lays right in front of your window. It's family run, has no breakfast or meals served there but it's a great place nevertheless. The best time to be there is July-August, when the tourist crowds floods the place. I personally wouldn't bother going there at any other time of the year.
Ios
Ios itself is pretty small, in less than a day you can pretty much visit all of it with a moped or quad. During the day all of the action takes place on the beaches. The biggest and most active one is Milopotas beach which (assuming you've picked the same hotel I was staying in) can be reached in 5/10 mins by bus or other means
sidenote: if you're not familiar with mopeds I'd strongly advise you steer clear from them as you'll run into guys with bandaged elbows/ shins/ knees more than once: the road's conditions are apalling, nobody wears helmets and you'll hop on your scooter more than once while drunk trust me. Don't take a car either as parking them and driving them around is a pain, stick to quads which are safer and much more nimble.
The beach is a great place to "sarge", everyone is pretty relaxed and is there to have fun, join beachvolley matches, bring your frisbee along or simply chat up the chicks basking in the sun: it's a free-for-all buffet. The pool and bar of Far Out Resort are also good to meet girls and scope out talent, the music starts at 5 and it gets packed pretty quickly, Stella Artois beers go for €3 and everyone starts drinking really early, grab one and get your game on.
The main square and village of Chora come alive during the night however they're still great places to visit as they offer great sights and the whole village is made up of mediterranean-style greek houses and narrow streets. If you've got time on your hands I'd also suggest visiting Manganari beach, further off from the popular spots on the island but definetely worth checking out.
Night
At around 9-10 music stops and everyone crawls back in their hotels to eat some gyros or souvlaki and get ready for the night. By 11-12 the main square is filled with people drinking sitting down in circles, it's the place to be: from there you can cherry-pick the chicks you want to bang and open all of the prospects you like. Alternatively you can lurk the bars and clubs in the village, most of them offer a €5 entrance + 5 shots of washed down low-quality tequila, only go there if there are 9s prancing around otherwise hitting up the bars is better by far. Most of the action takes place at around 12-3, from then on it's club time. There are 2 main clubs which I'll talk about in a separate paragraph where all the kids flock to once the "regular" bars and clubs in Chora start closing down. By now you should already have a solid prospect and eventually backup or possibly some make-outs under your belt so you're good to go for the bang. The clubs are a no-man's land and italians are fucking rowdy.
Clubs
The two main clubs in Ios are Scorpion and Irish Dream both of them have different characteristics and talent but both get packed and present a general soberness level close to 0.
Talent
Mainly western girls ranging from Europe to Australia. Lots of italians, scandinavian and australian babes, some smokeshows, some porkers. I don't recall meeting any american of sorts. The crowd is really young 18-23.
Bottom line Ios is a pretty cheap place with a large young crowd and talent pool, it's great to have fun but place are limited and it can get repetitive after a while.
I hope you enjoyed the datasheet, hit me up if you'd like more details.
Getting there
Your best option is to take a ferry from Athens possibly stopping by Santorini which I strongly recommend as it truly holds some beauty and breathtaking views from its higher parts.
Location
There are many available hotels/ guesthouses in Ios, ranging from those located directly in front of the beach to some in more secluded areas. I stayed in Flisvos hotel http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails...&sc_pos=17 at the waterfront which IMO is the best option: the cheapest moped/ quad bike rental is two steps away as is the bus stop, it's away from the noisy main square in chora (which I'll talk about later) and lets you enjoy the beautiful greek sea that lays right in front of your window. It's family run, has no breakfast or meals served there but it's a great place nevertheless. The best time to be there is July-August, when the tourist crowds floods the place. I personally wouldn't bother going there at any other time of the year.
Ios
Ios itself is pretty small, in less than a day you can pretty much visit all of it with a moped or quad. During the day all of the action takes place on the beaches. The biggest and most active one is Milopotas beach which (assuming you've picked the same hotel I was staying in) can be reached in 5/10 mins by bus or other means
sidenote: if you're not familiar with mopeds I'd strongly advise you steer clear from them as you'll run into guys with bandaged elbows/ shins/ knees more than once: the road's conditions are apalling, nobody wears helmets and you'll hop on your scooter more than once while drunk trust me. Don't take a car either as parking them and driving them around is a pain, stick to quads which are safer and much more nimble.
The beach is a great place to "sarge", everyone is pretty relaxed and is there to have fun, join beachvolley matches, bring your frisbee along or simply chat up the chicks basking in the sun: it's a free-for-all buffet. The pool and bar of Far Out Resort are also good to meet girls and scope out talent, the music starts at 5 and it gets packed pretty quickly, Stella Artois beers go for €3 and everyone starts drinking really early, grab one and get your game on.
The main square and village of Chora come alive during the night however they're still great places to visit as they offer great sights and the whole village is made up of mediterranean-style greek houses and narrow streets. If you've got time on your hands I'd also suggest visiting Manganari beach, further off from the popular spots on the island but definetely worth checking out.
Night
At around 9-10 music stops and everyone crawls back in their hotels to eat some gyros or souvlaki and get ready for the night. By 11-12 the main square is filled with people drinking sitting down in circles, it's the place to be: from there you can cherry-pick the chicks you want to bang and open all of the prospects you like. Alternatively you can lurk the bars and clubs in the village, most of them offer a €5 entrance + 5 shots of washed down low-quality tequila, only go there if there are 9s prancing around otherwise hitting up the bars is better by far. Most of the action takes place at around 12-3, from then on it's club time. There are 2 main clubs which I'll talk about in a separate paragraph where all the kids flock to once the "regular" bars and clubs in Chora start closing down. By now you should already have a solid prospect and eventually backup or possibly some make-outs under your belt so you're good to go for the bang. The clubs are a no-man's land and italians are fucking rowdy.
Clubs
The two main clubs in Ios are Scorpion and Irish Dream both of them have different characteristics and talent but both get packed and present a general soberness level close to 0.
- Scorpion
This is the club where all italians go, the male- female ratio is easily 5:1 and I suggets you avoid it, but since my opinion is probably biased I'll get to it as I've been there on two occasions. The music isn't too bad and the club itself is pretty big especially if compared to the Irish Dream. A good amount of italian girls can be found there, I'd suggest trolling right outside the club where a lot of them hang out for a smoke or just to catch some air, they're easy to chat up and are generally friendly. The reason I advise against this club however is the sheer quantity of their male counterparts lurking about in packs of 10-15. Repeated aggressive grinding on the dancefloor will get you into fights with orbiters and cockblocks are frequent. - Irish Dream
Irish Dream is an alcohol fueled delirium. You'll find lots of australians and scandinavians and the few local chicks who go out at night can also be found here. The peak of the action is at 6 and after that it slowly dwindles down and empties. The music ranges from techno to 70s and 80s bangers, the average female to male ratio is much more favourable and chicks are much easier as most of them are sloppy drunk. This is also the place where most promoters you'll find during the day hang out and entering their social circle/ becoming protegeès can lead to easy bangs and advantages (skipping the queue/ free drinks/ DHV)
Talent
Mainly western girls ranging from Europe to Australia. Lots of italians, scandinavian and australian babes, some smokeshows, some porkers. I don't recall meeting any american of sorts. The crowd is really young 18-23.
Bottom line Ios is a pretty cheap place with a large young crowd and talent pool, it's great to have fun but place are limited and it can get repetitive after a while.
I hope you enjoyed the datasheet, hit me up if you'd like more details.
