The village and the beach of Ireon on the island of Samos in Greece

In the village of Ireon lies a small fishing fleet and so it's also a great place to eat fresh fish. On the quay of the harbor are the fishermen attending to their nets while others leave to go catch fish. We were taken on a fishing trip by Giannis - the brother of Christina the cook of the Cohily restaurant. The trip went along the coastline of Samos with its beautiful steep and high white cliffs and deserted pebble beaches. Giannis catches the fish and delivers it to his sister, who prepares it for her guests in the evening. Now you immediately know where you can try fresh fish: in Cohily restaurant, situated in a nice garden a little bit towards the direction of Papa Beach (close to the quay with the fishing boats).

In Ireon there is enough choice for hotels, apartments and studios as well. It has more the feeling of a small Greek village instead of a real tourist resort despite the restaurants. The pase is relaxed and the people are very friendly here. In Ireon you can find what you want: it's a place to set your mind at ease and get away from it all. It is situated at the end of a road so there is no traffic passing through all the time. On te border of the village there is a parking space near the beach. We liked it!

In Ireon there are quite a number of really good restaurants, there is a little bit of nightlife and there are some things to do. It is not the quietest village in Samos but defenitely more quiet than its bigger neighbour the town of Pythagorion. Even in the evenings when the tourists go out to have diner it is still cosy and relaxed. In fact is is a bit of a "mini-Pythagorion". There are two small town beaches inside the village, with mostly sand and some scattered pebbles, and here you can - if you want to - rent a parasol and sunbeds. The beach is quite shallow so it's easy to go into the water and quite safe for children. There are no really high waves or strong currents. On the edge of Ireon there is the large pebble beach of the village which is very quiet. Like I said here it is is mainly pebbles but there are also parts with some sand. This we call "The Beach of Tears" because we usually spend the last day of our holiday on this beach.

Ireon lies in a fertile plain with large olive groves. In the area you can make nice walks and it is also suitable for making bicycle rides. Closeby is the Agios Ioannis Monastery (or so I was told by a local - there is another monastery with almost the same name in the southwest of Samos, the Agios Ioanis Eleimonas Monastery) which looks like a small Venetian fortress with a chapel next to it. It is situated opposite a terrain where soldiers are housed. In the surroundings of Ireon there are more small churches that you can take a look at on foot or on your bike.

For all hotels, studios, apartments, villas and holiday houses in Ireon on Samos - click here.

Papa Beach: some people love it and think it is very special. It is situated at a 0,9 kilometer distance from Ireon and can be reached by a footpath from the village (at the other side - south west - of the village, the path leads from the sea). On the side of this path there is also a small cave. You can get to Papa Beach on foot or by motor cycle. If you walk it takes about ten minutes of your time. It consists of two bays with pebble beaches. There are small white pebbles in the water giving the sea a beautiful turqoise color. One of my neighbours in the Eleana Apartments loved it so much she came back for this beach every year. Another fan is Charlotte Pieterse who send me the last row of five pictures of the beach (thanks!). There is a small taverna at the beach and if you have something to eat there than the use of umbrellas and sunbeds is free. If you walk even further you will bump into other pebble beaches that are usually very quiet.

This temple is situated just before the entrance to the village of Ireon. The Heraion of Samos was a sanctuary on the Southern region of Samos. Many construction phases are known, the first dating to the 8th century BC. The first temple was roughly 100 feet long and consisted of three walls and an interior central line of columns to support a roof structure. A much larger temple was built by the architects Rhoikos and Theodoros in 540 BC. The temple stood opposite the cult altar of Hera in her sanctuary. The Temple of Hera was designated a joint UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the nearby Pythagoreion in 1992.

The Heraion of Samos was the first of the gigantic Ionic temples. Unfortunately it stood for only about a decade before it was destroyed, probably by an earthquake. After the destruction of the "Rhoikos temple", an even larger one was built approximately 40m to the West. This temple has the largest known floor plan of any Greek temple and is known as the "Polykrates Temple", named after a tyrant of Samos. One of the giant statues from the Heraion survives in the Samos Archaeological Museum.

Also in the Cohyli Hotel we have looked around. It is located near the path to Papa beach, at the end of the village of Ireon, 25m from the sea, close to the little fishing port. It is a small family hotel with 14 rooms (single, double, triple). Each room is simply decorated and has a refrigerator and each room has a bathroom. The best part is that all the rooms have such a large balcony (all with sea views) and on the upper floor the four rooms share a huge roof terrace, also with a magnificent view of the sea. On each floor is a kind of common living room with sofas and chairs and you can borrow a good book, because there is a library in the building. Cohyli means "seashell" and so the hotel is decorated with lots of seashells. Christina's handmade mirrors which are decorated with seashells are on every floor. The hotel includes a restaurant, which is located in a large garden behind the building, and there is also a covered area where you can enjoy breakfast overlooking the sea. In any case, the owner Christina is one of the nicest people we have met on the entire island. It is evening she works in the kitchen and she is also an excellent cook.

Tel: +0030 22730 95282, 95225 Fax: +0030 22730 95282 - Send an e-mail to the Cohyli Hotel.

The Cohyli Restaurant is situated at the south side of the harbour front close to the path that leads to Papa Beach. It's a yellow painted building, just behind another building that stands at the sea. Behind the hotel Cohyli is a beautiful large garden en here you find the friendliest cook of the island: Christina. She's famous for her cheese saganaki's (fried cheese) on which she pours a special mixture of alcoholic secrets and then sets fire to it. Not in the kitchen but in your presence. There is a very large and varied menu with plenty to choose from for everybody. A must for the hungry visitor of Ireon. Christina's brother Giannis is a fisherman, so this restaurant is also an excellent choice if you like fresh fish.

Our verdict: 8,5 for the restaurant and a 10 for Christina