Cast away at the southern tip of Cyclades siren Tinos, the villas at Pnoēs Tinos lie amid fragrant herb and flower gardens overlooking the Aegean, a short hop from Tinos town and popular Agios Fokas beach.
Planes
Adding to that blissful feeling of having discovered somewhere truly remote, the closest airports to Tinos are on neighbouring Mykonos or in Athens. Regular ferries connect both to the island.
Trains
Automobiles
A car is highly recommended for exploring hillside villages chock-full of tumbledown whitewashed houses, traditional Greek tavernas, picturesque windmills and literally hundreds of tiny, ornate chapels, churches and dovecotes. There are several rental companies on the island and free parking at Pnoēs Tinos where, in-keeping with the sustainability vibe, you’ll find several charging points for electric vehicles.
Other
Want to arrive on the island by air in spite of the lack of airport? It’s your lucky day! A helipad 500 metres from Pnoēs Tinos means you can finally make your Bond villain fantasies a reality, though admittedly Blofeld probably didn’t have to call the hotel in advance to arrange his.
Worth getting out of bed for
In the event that you weary of scuba-diving the shipwreck off Agios Fokas beach, or that gazing dreamily across the Aegean from your own private pool suddenly loses its allure (spoiler alert: it won’t), fear not: there’s plenty more to see and do in them there hills.
Hop in the car and get lost among the island’s dozens of tiny traditional villages – Tripotamos, Ktikado, Pyrgos, Ysternia, Triantaros-Berdemiaros; they fairly trip off the tongue. The reasons Tinos has been dubbed ‘the handmade island’ will become abundantly clear before you travel far. Legend has it that ancient Greek sculptor Phidias taught his craft here, and that heritage is writ large in each and every village. You’ll see it in delicately hewn stone doorways, on sycamore-lined village squares where elderly locals congregate around magnificent marble fountains that wouldn’t look out of place in a museum, and in the hundreds of intricately decorated stone and slate dovecotes that dot the landscape. These plush pigeon palaces are rightly esteemed as some of the most impressive works of art in the Cyclades.
Dig deeper into Tinos’s marble mania at the Museum of Marble Crafts in Pyrgos, where you can admire Neohellenic sculptures galore and even join workshops to learn the craft yourself. Down by the waterfront in Tinos town, the Cultural Foundation of Tinos exhibits a permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century marble sculptures by legendary local boy Yannoulis Chalepas.
Tinos isn’t short of picturesque chapels and churches either, with around 750 to explore across the island. Chief among these is the Panagia Evangelistria, a Renaissance confection in dazzling whites, creams and eggshell blues that is Greece’s premier shrine to the Virgin Mary. Summer visitors to the island can witness the annual mass procession here on 15 August, when thousands of pilgrims descend on Tinos to pay their respects to the miraculous icon around which the church was built.
And if that doesn’t get you believing in some higher power, the otherworldly landscapes around the village of Volax almost certainly will. Visit at sunset when enormous boulders, here since time immemorial, cast long, eerie shadows across the scarred lunar terrain.
Local restaurants
Tinos is just made for long boozy lunches at hillside tavernas, knocking back plateful after delicious plateful of rabbit stifado, ouzo-steamed clams and goat’s cheese drizzled with Tinian honey. It’s dishes like these that have cemented Tinos’ reputation as one of the top gourmet destinations in the Cyclades. The wines here are no slouches either. Try summery white Malagouzia from the Volacus vineyard in the east of the island, or savour the dark cherry and coffee notes of a Mavrotragano from T-Oinos. Raki, the island’s ‘national’ drink is especially good on Tinos, and available in every bar, café, restaurant and taverna worth its salt.
There are a number of good dining options along the coast road and into Tinos town. Head to Galera, a fish and seafood taverna with alfresco dining right on the waterfront, overlooking the harbour. Or try nearby Marathia for similarly splendid seaside seating and an ever-changing menu that features whatever ingredients are freshest from the sea, market and herb garden that day. We’re talking grilled artichokes with sun-dried tomatoes and aged local gruyère, crispy fried octopus with aromatic beetroot purée, and slow-roasted pork with fennel and honey.
Local cafés
You’ll find some of the best traditional spoon sweets and cobweb-blasting Greek coffee at unassuming rustic roadside cafés dotted around the island. Tinos’s specialty spoon sweet – candied lemon-tree flowers preserved in sugar syrup – should be considered essential eating wherever you see them on a menu. You can worry about the dental bills later.
Cafés close to Pnoēs Tinos that are worth an hour or two of your time include Mikro, a cosy eatery with whitewashed stone interiors near the Panagia Evangelistria church in Tinos. Here, crêpes and pancakes of both sweet and savoury varieties are the order of the day. Hungry diners are advised to sample both.
Argy’s ups the ante somewhat, adding port views, homemade cakes, gelato and – crucially – a vast cellar stocked with wines from both home and abroad.
Local bars
Tinos town is where it’s at for the best cocktail joints in the area. Three Donkeys sets the (ahem) bar, with its intimate upstairs lounge, live DJs and bohemian vibe. There’s a long list of cocktails to choose from and occasionally an even longer queue at the bar, such is the reputation of this Tinos treasure. In summer, the crowds often spill out onto the narrow cobbled street below where, next door, the equally lively Sivilla mops up any overspill.