Ios Travel Guide: How to find Flat Rock Bay

how to find flat rock bay, ios
how to find flat rock bay, ios
flat rock bay, ios, greece

It is quite difficult to find how to get to Flat Rock Bay. We had some pretty terrible instructions from another blogger who visited before and we got lost for over 2 hours and climbed at least over 3 mountains trying to find Flat Rock Bay. After wandering in desert-like terrain/weather for over 2.5 hours, we finally found it! Therefore I made it a goal of mine to provide clear Step-by-Step instructions on how to find Flat Rock Bay so YOU won’t be like me and get lost for 3 hours!

Important things to note before you begin!

  • Total ascent and descent duration: aim for 40-50 minutes
  • Food options nearby: NONE! Bring your own food and take away your own garbage.
  • Things to note: expect to scratch your legs on some of the plants/rocks along the way. You have been warned!
  • Difficulty: Quite difficult! Try to follow every clue provided in our photos!
  • Family friendly? NO!!!!
  • Any other option to get to Flat Rock Bay? Find Meltemi Watersports for a boat taxi or maybe sign up for a full-day cruise.

So are you ready? OK here goes!

Step-by-Step Instructions with Photos on How to get to Flat Rock Bay

  1. Drive to the end of Mylopotas Beach, past Far Out beach club until you arrive at the end of the road. You will see one road leading up the mountain and it is a dirt path. Park your car in the parking lot. You can continue the rest on foot. You CANNOT continue with a car/ATV/scooter from here.
  2. Continue forwards for about a minute. To your right, you will see a red signpost with some Greek on it. This is the start of the climbing trail.
  3. As you may now know, there is no “specific” or “one” hiking trail to Flat Rock Bay. There are countless trails that go in different directions. For step 3, my best advice is to continue the climb up by looking for RED PAINT DOT on the rocks.
  4. Continue to follow the red paint dots on the rocks as you begin to ascent. This part of the climb should take 10-15 minutes depending on fast you are. It is quite EASY to spot the next RED rock.
  5. Midway through you should arrive at one lookout point with a view over Mylopotas beach. If you get here, then you are on the right track!
  6. When you finally make it to the top of the mountain and the rest of the trail looks like a descent, there is this huge rock with a red paint dot on it. This is where you must STOP looking for the red paint. If you are not sure which rock it is, check my photos below. Now you will begin to walk some random paths to the left.
  7. The second part of this walk will take around 10-15 minutes depending on how fast you are.
  8. After you pass by the tree, you will come across a path and to the right there is ‘somewhat’ of a wide piece of area made out of stones – stone stage? small stone arena? small stone area for bonfire?….
  9. By now there is only one trail that looks like people have crossed before. The descent begins here and continue until you have arrived at Flat Rock Bay!
This is the start of the dirt road. Park your car here, there is no need to drive inside because you will be starting the climb very soon.
After about 1 minute of walking, this is the beginning of the hiking trail.
Follow the red paint on the rocks
Follow the red paint on the rocks
You should pass through this lookout point with a view over the beach.
Continue uphill ascent following the red rocks
This is the last red paint rock you need to find. You may see other rocks with other red dots. Don’t follow them. Now you need to walk in the direction of the arrow in the photo.
Begin to walk towards the left on whichever path seems OK.
The arrow is where you want to head towards. The circle is a lonesome tree which may be faraway but is the BEST landmark I can give you. View a closeup of the tree in the next photo.
Climb over some rock walls to get to whichever pathway you find that will lead you to the tree!
Get to the tree!!
Pass by the tree!!
Pass by an area made out of stones, a stone stage? stone arena?
By now there is only one trail that looks like people have crossed before. The descent begins here and continue on.
Continue your descent. Keep an eye out for a big piece of flat rock!
Continue your descent, Flat Rock Bay is where the arrow is! There is a steep climb down some rocks to get to to Flat Rock Bay but it’s VERY NOTICEABLE!

If you have any questions on how to get to Flat Rock Bay, hit me up on Instagram or comment below and I will do my best to help out! Otherwise, if you’re interested in another hidden destination in Ios, check my blog post on How to find Never Bay in Ios, Greece!