Tinos has no airport, and that is half the reason it still feels like itself. Everyone arrives by sea, which makes the journey short, scenic and a little more considered than a taxi from a runway. Here is how to get to Tinos without stress, whichever direction you are coming from.
The short answer: the ferry from Rafina
If you are flying into Athens, Rafina is your port. It sits about 25 kilometres east of Athens International Airport and the KTEL bus covers that in roughly thirty to forty minutes — far less faff than crossing the whole city to Piraeus. From Rafina the crossing to Tinos takes around two to two and a half hours on the conventional boats, and a little under two on the fastest. Fast Ferries and Golden Star Ferries run the route all year; Seajets adds high-speed sailings through the summer. Most services call at Andros on the way, so you get an hour of Cycladic coastline before you even land.
From Piraeus, Mykonos and the neighbouring islands
Piraeus works too, and it is the better choice if you are already in central Athens. Blue Star Ferries takes about five hours on the conventional route; the high-speed can do it in under three. Sailings are frequent from June to September and thin right out in winter, so check the timetable before you build a plan around it. If you are island-hopping, Tinos is easy: the crossing from Mykonos is twenty to thirty-five minutes depending on the boat, with several a day in season. Plenty of our guests fly into Mykonos and hop straight over.
Which of the two ports you land at
Tinos has two docks, and the difference matters when you are hauling a suitcase. The old port sits right in the middle of Chora, on the waterfront below the great church of Panagia Evangelistria. The newer outer port is about ten minutes' walk north. Larger ferries generally use the outer one. Your boarding pass or the operator's app will say which — glance at it before you sail, and if someone is collecting you, tell them which dock.
From the port to the villages
Tinos is bigger than it looks: forty-odd villages spread across a mountainous island, and a car makes all the difference. Rental offices line the waterfront in Chora and most will meet you at the boat, but book ahead for August — the island genuinely runs out of cars. A local bus network connects Chora with the main villages and works well if you plan to stay put, though the timetables are built around islanders' errands rather than day trips. Taxis exist, are few, and are worth arranging in advance.
From the port up to Dyo Choria and Triantaros, where our houses are, is about twenty minutes of steady climbing on a good road — ten or so kilometres of switchbacks with the whole bay of Chora opening out behind you. It is one of the better arrivals in the Cyclades.
A word about the meltemi
From roughly July to early September the meltemi, the north wind of the Aegean, can blow hard for days at a time. Conventional ferries handle it; high-speed catamarans are the first to be cancelled. If your flight home is tight, leave a day of slack at the end of the trip, or book the conventional boat for the return. It is the same wind that decides where you swim — we wrote a whole guide to choosing a beach by the wind, which is more useful here than it sounds.
Booking and timing
Summer timetables are released in stages through late winter and spring; book as soon as your dates are fixed if you are travelling in August, and especially around the fifteenth, when the island fills for the feast of the Panagia. You can bring a car from the mainland — the conventional ferries take vehicles — though for most stays it is cheaper and simpler to rent on the island.
Where to stay once you arrive
Our four holiday houses sit high on the southern ridge in Dyo Choria and Triantaros: traditional stone houses with marble thresholds and carved lintels, renovated into comfortable vacation rentals with terraces over the Aegean. They are twenty minutes from the port and a world away from it — close enough that arrival day stays easy, high enough that the dovecotes and the whitewashed lanes of Cycladic architecture begin at your front door. If you are working out where to stay in Tinos, have a look at the houses below and message us through the contact section for dates and our best direct rate.
