Only in Ios, do people say “good morning” at 2:30 pm, and actually mean it!
The clock ticks differently on the island of Ios. If you choose to go to the beach before 11 am, you will have the beach for yourself. The most popular breakfast restaurant “Hellenic Social” does not open or have customers before 11 am.
Almost none of the hotels include breakfast in their room price, because simply nobody shows up. If we left our Life is a Beach Party staff room at 2 pm in the afternoon and run into the lady who owns the place, she would greet us with a friendly “kalimera” or “good morning”, without intending to joke.
This is the island life! The island has so many faces – now especially in peak season. If you manage to get up early, even at 10 am – the mornings are beautiful. It is warm, the sun is shining, locals are doing their shopping, and the vibe is super chilled.
If you sit in a street cafe in the center, you might encounter lots of people doing a “walk of shame” around that time as well! Which is pretty funny – still in their party clothes from the night before, trying to find their way back to their own hotel. No one is surprised to see this anymore.
So, brunch and late lunch is a thing here. Mylopothas beach starts to get buzzing in the early afternoon hours, and in the late afternoon Ios is fully alive with parties pumping at FarOut Beach Club or people heading to have sunset drinks at Pathos Sunset Lounge.
At this time, the city center goes quiet, all the shops close during the afternoon hours, a completely different scenario to the morning. This daily routine is probably unthinkable in your hometown, and it sure does help to get true holiday feel.
Around 8 pm, dinner time starts – from that moment on up until the early hours of sunrise, the city center is full of people. Dinners, late dinners, cocktails, shots, parties, after-parties, people mingling on the street. Never ending energy in Chora (the name of Ios town).
Travellers love to adapt to the island life, and are always sad to leave this magical island.
All this happens around the setting of traditional white greek island style buildings, where bars, little cafes, tavernas, clubs and bakeries exist side by side. When you get talking to other travellers on this island, they could be from any country in the world, with so many new impressions, friends and adventures.
Doesn’t get any better than that!
Life is a Beach Party Team