Sunlit hills, small historical villages, white houses, timeless churches and lovely little emerald coves with smooth waters.
In this way, we can describe Tinos Island in a few words.
Located in the central Aegean Sea, not far from Athens, it is a tempting place to spend your holiday.
With a length of less than 30 kilometers, the island can be crawled within a few days without missing anything.
With its 8600 residents, this piece of land in the middle of the sea is not the typical tourist destination.
The good news is that large hotels and resorts are practically missing here.
This is a guarantee of privacy and you can be sure that the beaches won’t be overcrowded even in July and August.
1. Discover Kolibithra Beach
Like most Greek islands, Tinos also has a number of beautiful beaches to be proud of.
One of the most beautiful of them is located on the sea shore of a narrow and elongated fertile plain.
Located in the northern part of the island, Kolibithra Beach offers two stretches of fine golden sand.
The sea water in the sheltered and quiet bay is usually very smooth and clear, with saturated sapphire-blue color mixed with shades of emerald-green.
Few tourists come here, even in the heat of summer.
The reason is obvious – the remoteness of this extremely attractive place.
2. Explore the beautiful village of Pyrgos
Pyrgos is a small village in the heart of Tinos.
It is located in a hilly area and consists mainly of small white houses with blue doors and windows.
Most of them consist of one or two floors.
The village has beautiful architecture and is known for its historical atmosphere.
The winding stone-paved streets are quiet and empty during the hottest midday hour.
This is a great moment to have a cup of coffee or some refreshing drink under the shade of some bougainvillea.
The most beautiful of all buildings here is the church.
It is called Agios Nicolaos and was completed in 1874.
3. Visit the village of Kardiani
Overlooking the sea, Kardiani is situated on the steep southern slopes of Mount Pateles, not far from the southern coast of Tinos.
It is a small village with beautiful architecture and is located about 15 km from the capital of the island Chora Tinos.
Although very small as a territory, the village offers too many things to see.
Kardiani is actually known for its two wonderful churches and has the image of being the most beautiful village in all of Greece.
4.Enjoy the flamingos in spring
If you visit the island of Tinos in May, you will see the island in its most beautiful light.
Starting from the wonderful weather in May, and getting to the huge flocks of pink flamingos, this is the best month here.
Although elegant waterfowl can be seen at various places around the island, flocks generally prefer the area of Kolibithra.
This place is especially tempting with the lagoon in the south of the beach.
5. Spend a great day at Agios Ioannis Beach
Agios Ioannis is located in the southeastern parts of Tinos Island and is a preferred vacation spot.
The beach offers golden sands and turquoise to cobalt blue waters.
In the area you can find bars and restaurants, as well as great hotels and holiday villas to stay at.
As the sea breeze comes mostly from the north, the beach usually provides mirror-like smooth waters.
The pebble surface of the seabed is the main reason behind the extremely clear seawater.
6. Find some privacy at Malli Beach
Malli Beach is located in a picturesque bay in the northernmost part of Tinos Island.
Quiet and secluded, the place offers several very small beaches.
The sand is light and coarse, and the sea water is emerald.
The bottom is mostly rocky, which explains why the water is so clean.
This makes Malli Beach so suitable not only for swimming but also for snorkeling.
One of the advantages of this beautiful place is that it is very likely for you to be the only person on the beach.
7. Visit Exobourgo – the old Venetian castle
One of the great sights of Tinos Island requires some effort to be reached.
It comes to an old Venetian fortress known as the Exobourgo Castle.
Today, you can find only the foundations of the structure, but the fortress is still very impressive.
The castle was built in the 14th century, although there are remains of fortresses in the area dating from the 11th – 12th centuries BC.
With its height of 641 meters, the place offers an extremely beautiful panorama.
8. Visit the village of Isternia
Isternia is one of Tinos’ little treasures.
The village is located high above the coast, offering magnificent panoramic views of the southwest.
Particularly beautiful are the summer sunsets seen from here.
The village has a beautiful architecture, dominated by small whitewashed houses.
The village is known as the birthplace of some of the most famous Greek sculptors, such as Vitalis and Sochou.
9. Visit Kalivia Beach
One of the beaches you should visit in Tinos is called Kalivia.
It is located on the south coast, just over a kilometer south of the main road from Chora Tinos to Kardiani.
The beach is about 200 meters long and offers coarse-grained golden sand.
Because the bottom is covered with small pebbles, the water is crystal clear.
In quiet and windless weather, the surface of the water is smooth like a mirror, and the color of the sea is turquoise.
10. See the dovecotes
If you are looking for a unique place to spend your summer vacation, Tinos is the perfect choice.
While many of the Greek islands are famous for their windmills, the main attraction here are the dovecotes.
They are thousands, and the oldest of them were built during the 18th century.
Even if no more in usage, they are one of the most unique attractions on the island.
The two storey dovecotes look like small castles.
They are scattered all around the island, especially in the central parts.
They served primarily as a storage place for utensils.
11. Santa Margarita – one of the best beaches of Tinos
Once you’ve decided to spend your vacation on Tinos Island, you will be probably curious to discover the best beaches.
Santa Margarita is located on the south coast, away from cities and resorts.
The beach is cappuccino colored, but it also has light and delicate silver shades.
The sea water is emerald green and very clear.
Covered with grassy vegetation, the slopes of the surrounding hills are bright green in winter and golden in summer.
12. Walk around Tinos Town
Tinos Town (also known as Chora Tinos) is a small but very beautiful coastal town.
The landscape is dominated by two or three storey white houses, meandering stone-paved streets, small churches, charming cafes and traditional Greek tavernas.
Due to its small size, Tinos Town can easily be crawled within an hour or two at a slow pace.
There are a number of beautiful buildings to enjoy.
Don’t miss the Monument of Tinos, not far from the stadium in the southern part of the village.
It offers a wonderful panorama of the settlement and the port.
13. Don’t miss Our Lady of Tinos
When it comes to beautiful architecture, one of the buildings in Tinos Town deserves special attention.
Our Lady of Tinos, also known as Panagia Evangelistria, is located at the northernmost end of the village and is considered by many the most beautiful church in Greece.
Completed in 1830, it is a masterpiece with no equivalent.
It offers extremely exquisite workmanship from the outside and is richly decorated with gold, silver and all kinds of jewelry from inside.
14. Visit the beautiful Rochari Beach
One of the best beaches on the sunny and warm Aegean island is called Rochari.
It is located on the northeast coast of Tinos and extends approximately 250 meters along the shore of a small and quiet bay.
Traditionally for Tinos, the beach is covered with small and silver oval pebbles.
What you will enjoy most here is the fact that the water is extremely clear and limpid.
Looking northeast, the beach is most beautiful during the early morning hours.
15. The Sanctuary of Poseidon and Amphitrite
The confluence of Poseidon and Amphitrite is on the coast in the southern part of the island.
It is located on the east side of the popular resort of Kionia by the road to Tinos.
This is one of the major landmarks in the southern part of the Aegean island.
It is one of the most significant temples of Poseidon ever built in Greece.
The age of the temple cannot yet be determined with accuracy.
What is known for certain is that the temple was destroyed in the 4th century AD.
