Tinos is a cycladic island between Andros and Mykonos, it has been connected more than any other place with the religious feeling of the Greeks due to the existence of the famous church of the Mother God, Evangelistria.
On the island you see ornate nests with pigeons, cobbled paths and beautiful sandy beaches.
At the downtown you will also find patisseries, cafes, restaurants and shops for your souvenirs and gifts.

There are two primary streets that lead up to the Church of Evagelistria which is every Orthodox pilgrim’s primary destination whether by car, on foot or on their hands and knees. Crawlers and cars go up the wide avenue of Leoforos Megalocharis during the day when the waterfront roads are open. In the evening it becomes a pedestrian street. The narrow carpet on the right is for people to crawl. During a non-holiday period there will be several people a day doing crawling. Big holidays like the 15th of August there will be hundreds. Those walking may want to stop at the Archaeological Museum which is about two thirds of the way up on your left. When you reach the Church, called The Sacred Institution of the Evagelistria, see the famous Holy Icon, wash your hands in Holy Water and then check out the Tinian Artist Museum and the Mausoleum of the Elli, the Greek ship which was torpedoed in the harbor by the Italians, Greece’s first casualties of the Second World War.

Evagelistrias Street which runs parallel is the main shopping street with stall after stall of mostly religious items, gifts (My Parents Found God on Tinos and All I Got Was this %&@#! T-Shirt). Fast food restaurants dominate the bottom of Evagelistrias with an occasional shop selling traditional sweets like loukoumia from Syros or the Tinos variety made with mastica and almonds. If you veer off into one of the small side streets this is where the fun begins and you can find small cafes, restaurants, galleries and interesting shops that don’t have the dough for the high rents of Evagelistrias street. You will also find many of the businesses that cater to the local people and in a way it is like visiting a whole other village, more traditional than the religious commercialism of the primary shopping streets.

When the north wind is blowing and you want to surf or just battle monster waves drive up to Livada Beach at the end of a long and entertaining mountain road. Its at the end of a small river, just puddles and mud in the summer with a family of ducks that will approach you begging for food. There is a small taverna just before the beach in as remote a location as you will find in Greece, with a menu of traditional Tinos dishes that will make you wish it were not so far away. The beach itself is a sandy and rocky mix that is an adventure when the wind blows from the north but can be like a lake when it doesn’t. It is bordered by some spectacular rock formations that look like they landed from another planet. When its rough you need to be a good swimmer or just stand back and watch in awe. There are certainly days when going into the sea is not advisable. But you should make the trip anyway even if there is a north wind and you don’t like waves because Livada is a wild and exciting place that will make you aware that you are alive if you had any doubts.

Another wild north wind place is the long sandy beach at the end of the lush valley of Kato Meri. Big waves, wind and spray make this first beach called Megalo (big) Kolimbithra one avoided by all but the most hearty swimmers, except on days when there is no wind or it comes from the south. There is nothing on this first beach except about a mile of kalamia (reeds) and some sea birds. Most people go to the next beach at Mikri (small) Kolimbithra which is more sheltered and has the usual collection of tanning beds, umbrellas and a beach bar as well as a hotel and restaurant. There are several other beaches in the same bay including Mantroklisi, Apothikies and Agios Fylaktos. There is the small island of Drakonissi at the top of the bay and the whole area is a pretty spectacular setting and though there were none the day we went there it must be an excellent place to go windsurfing.

In northwest Tinos below the artist town of Pirgi in the port of Panormos there is a tree shaded beach and several restaurants and cafes. There are a number of beaches in the large bay itself including Agiathalassa, Volia, Stafida and Rohari a long sandy beach with a small village. All of these beaches can be reached by car. Vathi Beach and Platiyialos in between Kolimbithra and Panormos are reachable by footpath. On the northwest tip of Tinos there are two beaches in Pourgia bay called Mali and Koumelas reachable by car.

Three more beaches are accessible from the turn-off to the small settlement of Agios Romanos. Apigania beach is to the west and Panousa is to the southeast from Agios Romanos which has beach umbrellas, windsurfing and a small taverna. Kiona Beach is the longest and most developed on the island with hotels, restaurants, cafes and the Temple of Poseidon and Amfitriti right across the street. True beach lovers may find it a bit commercial but it is long enough to escape the weekend crowds though it is hard not to see it as a resort beach and not a spectacular one at that. If you are staying in one of the hotels here and don’t see yourself as a tourist beach kind of person you can walk to the west end and there are some coves and isolated stretches of sand where you can have some privacy (photo). If you have a car or good walking shoes there are the nearby beaches of Balos and Vorni which you may find promising. To the southeast there is a small beach in an ancient harbor with a tiny church called Stavrou Limani. Not the greatest beach but in the summer there is a small ouzerie-cafeneon in the church itself that makes this a good place to stop.

Where to head next?

Keep exploring the best of Greece! After Tinos, the top destinations to visit are Mykonos, Andros, and Syros.