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You are here: Home / Travel / How to Spend 3 Days In Tinos, Greece

How to Spend 3 Days In Tinos, Greece

Published on October 23, 2018 by Helen Best-Shaw 24 Comments
Last Updated on June 4, 2020

Tinos is one of the lesser known Greek Islands; with pretty villages, deep blue seas, and amazing food, it is a must visit in the Mediterranean! This is how to spend 3 days there!

Tinos is one of the lesser known Greek Islands; with pretty villages, deep blue seas, amazing food, and a tradition of art and culture this Cycladian island is is a must visit. Easily accessible, it’s just 20 minutes from Mykonos by ferry.

Greek Orthodox Church On the Greek Islad of Tinos, with a vewi of the Agean behind

Everything You Need To Know

  • Overview – 3 Days in Tinos
  • Tinos Town
  • Cultural Foundation of Tinos & Yannoulis Chalepas
  • Pyrgos Village
  • Museum of Yannoulis Chalepas
  • Panormos
  • Kardiani
  • Food of Tinos
  • Dovecotes
  • Walking and hiking in the countryside
  • How to Get to Tinos
  • Where to Stay
  • Things you need to know When Visiting Tinos

Overview – 3 Days in Tinos

Part of the charm of Tinos is that you need to make more of an effort to travel to visit.  Without no airport you need to fly to the Greek mainland or another island and arrive by sea.   It is well worth the extra effort and time to take to see this charming, unspoilt island that is firmly off the tourist track.

Tinos is an important place of pilgrimage for Greek Orthodox, and is known for its windmills, the dovecotes and windmill, as well as marble crafts.

Tinos Town

On arriving on Tinos you step off the ferry into Tinos Town, a busy town, and hub of activity on the island, as everyone needs to pass through as they arrive and depart.

The harbour front of Tinos Town, with a parade of white buildings and bright blue sea

The waterfront curves around the harbour, filled with clear blue water with fleets of fishing, and leisure boats moored.   You can take a boat trip along the coast from here.

Stroll along the water’s edge stopping at one of the many cafes on the route for a drink and watch the world go by.

As you venture away from the sea into the town you can get lost in a maze of streets, with white washed houses with blue painted doors and shutters and jewel bright bougainvilleas.  

Typics back street scene in Tinos town

There are tavernas and restaurants on almost every corner with outside seating to watch the work go by from.

White Washed Church in Tinos Town

Tinos town is one of the best places to shop for gifts and souvenirs with dozens of small shops tucked away in the back streets, selling everything from confectionery to icons!

Confectionary and icon shops in Tinos Town, Tinos Island, Greece

Cultural Foundation of Tinos & Yannoulis Chalepas

The Cultural Foundation of Tinos is in a grand building on the waterfront and the perfect place to spend a couple of hours out of the heat of the Mediterranean sun.

With space for temporary exhibitions much of the museum is dedicated to Yannoulis Chalepas an exceptionally talented sculptor and major figure in modern Greek art.  Yannoulis was born in Pyrgos (more on Pyrgos below), and studied in Athens and Munich.  His story is terribly sad as he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1871 and spent 15 years in Corfu Mental Hospital, before being discharged and returning to Tinos.   His mother blamed sculpture for causing his illness and stopped him working and destroyed much of his work.

After her death Chalepas starting working again, and his work can be see both in Tinos and in Pygros.  What we saw was exquisite and it is a tragedy he never had a full working life.

Sculptures by Yannoulis Chalepas in the Cultural Foundation of Tinos, Tinos Town, Greece

Pyrgos Village

A street scene in Pygros Village, Tinos, Greece. Yellow painted chairs sit outside a cafe against white washed buildings with blue doors and windows.

Pyrgos, the marble village, is probably Tinos’s prettiest villages and is a photographer and Instagrammer’s dream location.

Main church in the villageof Pygros. Painted a pale pink colour wtih a Greek flag flying outside.

Our party got off the minibus and simultaneously cooed at just how pretty it was, with so many photo opportunities at every corner.   Take a spare camera battery and memory card!

White washed Greek houses and Churches against a blue sky in Pygros Village Greece

Museum of Yannoulis Chalepas

Marble Sculptures in Tinos

Away from the centre of Pyrgos at the edge of the village is the home of Yannoulis Chalepas and museum of his work.   The house is inauspicious and a real glimpse into island life over 100 years ago, and the museum contains more of his work, and explains some of the technicalities of, and how marble is carved and sculpted.

Also in Pyrgos is the museum of Marble Crafts where you can learn about all steps of the process from extracting the raw materials from the quarry to assembling the finished items.  There is  shop and cafe on site.

Typical terraced landscape on Tinos at the museum of Marble Crafts Pyrgos

View from the terrace of the Museum of Marble Crafts, Tinos

Panormos

The harbour of Panormos, Tinos

Close to Pyrgos is the pretty fishing port of Panormos, worth a visit and amble alongside the harbour.

Kardiani

The pretty whitewashed village of Kardiani clinging to the edge of the hills in Tinos

Kardiani is another absurdly pretty village which clings to the edge of the hillside, with its narrow streets with steep flights of stairs between the houses.   There are fantastic views from the terraces outside the main churches.

Two photos of scens in Kardiani Tinos, White steps with a pink flowering plant on them and a view of a cafe wtih a covered terrace.

Food of Tinos

A Tinios Kariki cheese made in a gourd. Standing on a table with a wicker covered bottle of rati

From cheese made in a gourd, heirloom grape varieties to specialist charcuterie Tinos is a food lover’s perfect destination; read more in my post about the foods of Tinos.

Dovecotes

Dovecotes on the Greek island of Tinos

There are approximately 100 ornate dovecotes on Tinos, which can be seen all over the island.

The Venetians bought the tradition of dove breeding with them when they came to Tinos in 1207.

Dovecote on Tinos Island

Venetian law stipulated that only the 69 feudal lords of the island were allowed to  breed doves (pigeons), but of course when the Venetians left in 1715, any family could build a cote and keep pigeons, and the increasingly ornate structures became a symbol of status and wealth.

Ornate dovecotes on the island of Tinos

Today some cotes have fallen into disrepair but plenty still contain pigeons, and can easily be found and seen.

Walking and hiking in the countryside

View from Tinos over the sea to Siros

There are around 400km of trails across Tinos, and walking is a good way to see the island, with its vistas of the deep blue Aegean sea, windmills and hill top Monasteries, and of course more dove cotes!

Windmill on the hilltop in Tinos

Hilltop monastery in Tinos

How to Get to Tinos

As Tinos does not have an airport you need to take one of the many ferries, either as a foot passenger, or in a car from the mainland or one of the islands with an airport.

We flew with Aegean Airlines, the national carrier, which flies from London to Athens direct three times a day all year round (then onwards to 30 Greek destinations), then took the ferry from Rafina to Tinos.

You can also fly to the nearby Mykonos and catch the ferry from there.

A collage of photos of the Aegean Airlines Business Class Lounge at Athens Airport

The comfortable and well appointed Aegean Business Lounge in Athens Airport – the perfect spot to escape from the crowds and enjoy snacks and a drink.

Where to Stay

As Tinos is a relatively small island all the sights are within an easy drive.   We stayed at the Vega Apartments, built into the hillside a short 2km from Tinos Town.    Supremely comfortable and atmospheric with stunning views across the Aegean sea of the other islands.

A walkway to the pool and a woman in a infinity pool overlooking the water after spending 3 days in Tinos

Things you need to know When Visiting Tinos

Tinos is a relaxed and friendly Mediterranean tourist destination, as there is no airport there are fewer tourists and the island feels very safe and laid back.

Tinos is an important place of Pilgrimage for many Greek Orthodox; if visiting churches you need to dress conservatively.

Because of its location Tinos is quite breezy: floaty skirts and dresses are slightly unsuitable as I discovered!

Fuss Free Flavours was the guest of Discover Greece for the trip to Tinos, all opinions are own.  

Learn more about Greece by visiting DiscoverGreece.com

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  1. MELANIE EDJOURIAN

    I’ve not been to Tinos Island myself. It sounds like a gorgeous place to visit for a lovely sunny and picturesque break.

    Reply
    • Helen

      It is such a lovely place to visit.

      Reply
  2. Rebecca Smith

    Tinos looks like such a lovely island to visit! We’ve been looking at places to go next time we go abroad and this looks like somewhere to consider.

    Reply
    • Helen

      It is a great place to have a few days on an island hopping trip. So special and unspoiled.

      Reply
  3. Kirsty

    It looks incredibly, I love the brightness of the white houses against the blue ocean and the dovecotes sound very interesting with the fact that people saw them as a symbol of wealth and status.

    Reply
    • Helen

      It really is a fabulous destination.

      Reply
  4. Angela Milnes

    This looks like an amazing trip to the Tinos islands in Greece. I love your photography and The landscape looks beautiful. This is one place I would love to visit.

    Reply
    • Helen

      it is just the most lovely and unspoilt island

      Reply
  5. Crystal

    Wow such amazing photos. It looks like a super fab three day venture.

    Reply
    • Helen

      it is such a lovely place to visit

      Reply
  6. Lynn

    Looks fantastic, Helly! Longing to see the sea after reading this.

    Reply
    • Helen

      That deep blue Aegean sea was just amazing.

      Reply
  7. Katherine Hackworthy

    Such a beautiful destination. I actually like the thought that there is no airport, as I find the idea of arriving via boat rather exciting. There are some amazing things to see, it all looks stunning.

    Reply
    • Helen

      It is SO much more fun arriving by boat!

      Reply
  8. Amelia Jenkin

    What a sad story about Yannoulis Chalepas, but lovely all the same that some of his work has survived and can be seen. Tinos sounds like a beautiful place to be.

    Reply
  9. Harriet

    I love the Greek Island culture, and I love how they differ from location. Tinos looks like somewhere I could easily spend a lot of time just absorbing everything around me.

    Reply
  10. Felicity D

    What a beautiful looking place. I love how you arrive via boat, one of my favourite ways of travelling.

    Reply
  11. Gary H

    I’ve never been to Tinos myself. It certainly looks like a place I would enjoy and like to visit. I love that Greek culture is so fascinating, the food, the art and the architecture.

    Reply
  12. Sophie

    I am already hating the colder weather here in The UK, so this is just making me want to escape. It looks beautiful Helen, so picturesque. Your photos are stunning.

    Reply
  13. Kerry

    From what I see, 3 days would not be enough time to enjoy this beautiful Greek Island. I don’t think I’d want to leave at all.

    Reply
  14. Tasha

    Those Dovecotes are amazing, I had no idea about the history surrounding them. Lovely to visit and place and learn more about it, I’m not one for sitting about.

    Reply
  15. Lisa Dodds

    What amazing photos Helen, it looks stunning on Tinos. Looks like my perfect holiday destination.

    Reply
  16. JM

    Thank you so much for this lovely post! I have been wondering — is it necessary to rent a car or ATV to explore or are there other ways to get around the island? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Helen

      Definitely rent a car. Public transport is sporadic at best.

      Reply

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Headshot of Helen Best-Shaw, Food Blogger at Fuss Free Flavours I'm Helen, full time freelance food writer, photographer and blogger. On this site you will find my fuss-free recipes, travel and reviews. Learn more here
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