Chora
The hill town and its bar lanes, 3 km up the road.
Ios · Mylopotas & the south · Μυλοπότας
Mylopotas, where the party moves to the sand
Mylopotas is the beach of Ios: a long, gently curving bay of fine sand on the south-west coast, 3 km below Chora, with clear, shallow water and a low hillside of hotels, rooms and campsites behind it. The name comes from the watermills, mylos, that once stood on the stream that runs down to it. It is the island's most organised beach, with straw umbrellas, beach bars, water sports and tavernas, and in summer it is where the day of a party week on Ios takes place. At its southern corner FarOut Beach Club runs pool parties and DJ nights; at the northern end, nearer Chora, it is quieter.
Greetings from Mylopotas
Mylopotas
We woke at noon in a bungalow on the sand, swam before we had coffee and spent the afternoon between the pool at FarOut and the sea, which is so clear you can see your feet at chest height. At sunset we caught the bus up to Chora. At five in the morning we were back on the beach, watching the sky go pink over the hills.
A long sandy bay 3 km below Chora, with the island's beach bars, campsites and FarOut Beach Club at its southern corner
The story of Mylopotas
Until the 1970s Mylopotas was a long, empty beach with a few fields and mills behind it. The young travellers who came to Ios in those years slept on the sand here, and the first campsites and rooms followed. Today the southern end belongs to FarOut, which runs a beach club, a campsite with bungalows, hotels and villas, and is the best-known name on the island's party scene.
A typical day on Mylopotas in July or August starts late: breakfast on the sand around noon, a swim, a sunbed and a cocktail, perhaps a paddle board or a banana boat, then the afternoon parties at FarOut and the beach bars. After sunset most people take the bus or walk up the hill to Chora for dinner and the bars, and many come back down to the beach before dawn.
Hour by hour
A perfect party day on Mylopotas
A late breakfast on the sand, an afternoon at FarOut, the bus to Chora and back to the beach at dawn.
- 12:00
Breakfast on the beach
Start the day at noon at a beach café on the sand, with your feet in it.
- 13:30
Into the water
The water stays shallow for a long way out; rent a paddle board or just float.
- 16:00
FarOut in the afternoon
Move to the southern corner for the pools and the DJs at FarOut Beach Club.
- 20:30
Fish at the end of the beach
Before going up to Chora, eat fish by the water at the southern end of the bay.
- 23:30
Up to Chora
Catch the bus up the hill for the bar lanes around the main square.
Where to stay
Where you'll wake up in Mylopotas
Mylopotas
Sleep a few steps from the sand and the decks of FarOut on Mylopotas
FarOut Beach Resort & Camping · Camping & bungalows · €
Mylopotas
Watch the long curve of Mylopotas from a terrace above the bay
Ios Palace Hotel & Spa · Hotel & spa · €€€€
€€€€
Family hotel with pool
Aegeon Hotel
Mylopotas · Mylopotas & the south
A family-run hotel in three buildings in the middle of Mylopotas beach, with a pool and pool bar, and the bus stop for Chora right outside, which matters when you come home from the bars at four in the morning.
€€€€
Boutique hotel
Levantes Ios Boutique Hotel
Mylopotas · Mylopotas & the south
A small boutique hotel on the hillside above the northern end of Mylopotas, on the road between the beach and Chora.
Where to eat
Tables we love in Mylopotas
Beach club
FarOut Beach Club
Mylopotas · Mylopotas & the south
The island's big beach club, on a corner of Mylopotas: pools, a restaurant, VIP tables and international DJs, with events through the summer under the motto 'eat, sleep, rave and repeat'. Afternoons here slide into nights.
Fish taverna
Drakos Fish Taverna
Mylopotas · Mylopotas & the south
A fish taverna at the southern end of Mylopotas, by the water.
Beach café & restaurant
Cantina del Mar
Mylopotas · Mylopotas & the south
A beach restaurant on Mylopotas open from breakfast at eight until one in the morning, the place for a late, slow first meal of the day.
Mexican & live music
Harmony
Mylopotas · Mylopotas & the south
A Mexican restaurant and bar at the northern end of Mylopotas, with live music.
Within an easy drive
Around Mylopotas
The Odysseas Elytis Theatre
The open-air theatre above the bay, at the top of Chora, with the best view of Mylopotas.
Manganari
Sandy coves at the southern tip of the island, a long drive or a boat ride away.
Good to know
Before you go to Mylopotas
Getting there
The island bus runs between the port, Chora and Mylopotas through the day and late into the night in summer. On foot it is about 40 minutes downhill from Chora.
When to go
Late morning for a calm swim; the afternoon for the parties at FarOut; dawn for an empty beach.
More of Ios
Villages you'll want to see next
Chora & the port
Chora
A white hill town by day and the liveliest night out in the Cyclades, with a Kastro, a row of windmills and dozens of bars in a few lanes
Chora & the port
Gialos & Koumbara
The port in its deep bay, a long sandy beach under the tamarisks and a quiet cove at the end of the road
Chora & the port
Skarkos
A town of about 2800 BC on a terraced hill between the port and Chora, with houses still standing two storeys high
Fall for more of Ios
Every stay we recommend across Ios, from village guesthouses to rooms on the sea.
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