The best places to watch the sunset on Ios Island in Greece

If you’re visiting Ios in Greece, it’s likely you’re looking for sun, beaches and partying – but did you know this island is also home to some of the best sunsets in the world? There are a number of spectacular places to enjoy golden hour and watch the sunset in Ios, Greece (especially if you are a photographer looking for the best photo spots in Ios), read on to discover the best places to watch the sunset on Ios Island in Greece.

Suggested read: The best photo spots in Ios Greece

1. The church above Chora in Ios: Chapel of Agios Nikolaos

Starting off the list of best places to watch the sunset on Ios Island in Greece with the most popular sunset spot on the island: The Chapel of Agios Nikolaos (or otherwise known as the church at the top of Chora town). At the very top of Chora, the main town of Ios, you’ll see a collection of small churches. This is one of the most popular spots in Ios to watch the sun go down with many people bringing a few drinks with their mates to enjoy while doing so. As the churches are on varying levels at the top of the hill, there are a few different viewpoints you can choose but my favourite spot for sunset in Ios is one of the first churches you’ll come across at the top as shown in the photo below:

Ios Greece Sunset Chapel of Agios Nikolaos Sarah Latham

How to find this spot: It’s pretty simple, just head into Chora town (here are Google Maps coordinates to a good starting point) and keep walking up! Google Maps is pretty unreliable within the streets of Chora town so the best way is to just head up the hill through the streets. There’s also often a few street drawings as well to let you know you’re heading in the right direction.

2. The church next to Chora: Άγιοι Ανάργυροι

The good thing about the church above Chora town being a busy spot for sunset, it means that the others are less likely to be. And that was the case when we visited Άγιοι Ανάργυροι church on the hill beside Chora town. This was a very beautiful spot to watch the sunset in Ios, and while it will still have a few people here due to its proximity to Chora town, it’s not likely to be as busy as the churches above Chora. Tip: It was quite windy up here when we visited, which resulted in us leaving as soon as the sun went down rather than staying longer so I would highly recommend bringing a jacket.

This church and Ios sunset spot is very easy to get to. You can either put it into Google Maps (using the Google Maps location here) or you can head to the Catina del mar restaurant (Google Maps location here) and follow the road up and away from the main road. You’ll know you’re on the right track to this Ios sunset spot when you see the Ios police station on your right as you walk. At that point at the Ios police station, you want to turn up the road on your left and walk up that road in the direction of the church. This is a very easy spot to get to because you can see the church the entire time so just keep heading towards it!

3. One of the best Ios sunset spots: Near the Gaitis Simossi Museum

This is one of my favourite spots to watch the sunset in Ios and if you’ve ever seen photos of an Ios sunset by photographers or content creators, it’s quite likely the snapped their content from here. This one is slightly further away from Chora than the two Ios sunset spots listed above (but still not very far at all and can be walked to from Chora!). Like the other two Ios sunset spots, this requires uphill walking and, when I visited, it was another windy spot so would recommend bringing a jacket to enjoy sunset over Ios.

There are two different ways to find this spot using Google Maps. You can either put Μουσείο Γαΐτη Σίμωσι – Gaitis Simossi Museum into Google Maps or Skala Hotel into Google Maps and follow the directions it gives you. Like I said earlier, Google Maps can be a bit unreliable within the streets of Chora town so if you are starting from within there, you may need to just follow the general direction it gives you. As neither of these Google Maps locations are the exact end location, keep your eye out as you walk for a half castle-like structure on the hill and head towards this. This is, again, a very easy Ios sunset spot to find as you can see the structure from across Chora (as shown in the photo below).

4. Ios Sunset spot without the hills.

If you’d like to enjoy sunset in Ios without climbing uphill, then this is the Ios sunset spot for you. With views of Chora town, you can find this spot simply here on Google Maps – it’s even called ‘Viewpoint to Chora’ on Google Maps and is a great place to watch an Ios sunset (or at least an Ios golden hour).

5. Pathos Sunset Bar in Ios

When I first went to write a list of the best sunset spots in Ios, I instantly thought of Pathos Sunset Bar due to a visit I had years ago on one of my first trips to Ios (you can read my very innocent just starting our blog about my favourite summer trip in Ios here). However, I do want to preface it with my review of when I went back more recently and I didn’t find it as appealing – this was due to a cover charge, very expensive cocktails and tables having a minimum order to sit at them. If you have money you want to spend, I’d recommend Pathos Sunset Bar as a great Ios sunset spot, but if you’d rather stick to a budget than I wouldn’t have the same recommendation. Pathos Sunset Bar in Ios is found on the west side of the island (Google Maps location here) and if you are going to drink, the best way to get to and from this Ios sunset spot is by taxi.

Girl sillohouetted against the sunset standing on top of an infinity pool in Ios, Greece

6. Francesco’s

When we visited Ios, we stayed at Francesco’s – a hostel and hotel in the centre of Chora. Due to its location, which is fairly high up in Chora (be prepared for a number of stairs when coming and going from Francesco’s), their bar provided beautiful sunset views across Ios, particularly the port of Ios. You can find out more about staying at Francesco’s here.