I’m Dutch. Why should I buy a home in Tinos? How does it rank compared to other destinations in Greece for me? What are the most popular areas to buy a home in Tinos? In this article, we’ll take you on a tour of Tinos with the help of @Tinosnews.
About Tinos
Tinos is one of the Cycladic islands, known for its famous church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, its architecture, local marble works, and more. Tinos has about 750 churches, but the island has many more wonders to offer! The 50 active traditional villages, mostly consisting of local marble, are absolute pearls to walk through.
All that marble has also been transformed into beautiful sculptures, which you can admire in the museums of Tinos. But that’s not all; the island has about 1000 artistic dovecotes and these ‘peristerones’ are typical for the landscape of Tinos. They are made of slate and limestone, and each one is a masterpiece.
Tinos Architecture
Based on the Middle Age tradition, Tinian walls used to be made of natural stone and were not painted. This camouflaged the villages from pirates, and remnants of this traditional style can still be seen today. Nowadays, for tourism reasons (or perhaps to mix with the white of the churches), they have been painted a bright white. This is why today, we see some of the most pretty white houses in Greece on the island.
Strolling down the cobbled roads in Tinos is like visiting an art gallery. Doors and windows are decorated with vibrant hues of blue, and exterior walls feature exquisite “lintels.”
Tinos Pigeon Houses
Pigeon houses dot the countryside in Tinos and are unique to the Tinian island personality. In Venetian times, before the Turks arrived in 1715, Venetian elites built special houses for doves. It was only later that the houses were transferred to Tinian landowners when the Turks took charge.
There are said to be over 600 on the island, some being built as far back as the 14th century. The pigeons were known as a source of meat and fertilizer to locals, and were a crucial part of trade with the surrounding region, especially in Venetian times. They bred pigeons systematically and exported them as far as Smyrna and Constantinople.
Rating Tinos for the Dutch
Ranking Methodology
How did we decide what factors are most important for Dutch home buyers? To solve this challenge, we first asked our sales and legal team, who offer consultation and legal handling to dozens of Dutch clients (both those who do and don’t purchase a property). We then combined this data with a small survey of Dutch clients who ultimately purchased a home to find out their highest priorities.
Sea View
Tinos is famous for its Mediterranean views. The island has 115 kilometers of coastline. Some popular areas to get a sea view on Tinos are Pyrgos, Kardiani, Chora, Volax, Isternia, Tripotamos, Falatados, and Kambos. Because Tinos is a small island and is steep, it is possible to have a sea view from many parts of the island.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Direct Flights
From the Netherlands, you cannot fly directly to Tinos, because the island doesn’t have an international airport. The closest island with direct flights from Amsterdam or Rotterdam is Mykonos. The flight from Amsterdam to Tinos is 3.5 hours long.
Note that you will need to take a ferry from Mykonos to reach Tinos. It is also possible to reach Tinos by flying to Athens, but this journey takes longer. Find more routes on Rome2Rio.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Property Prices
Prices in Tinos are higher than the national average in Greece, and lower than the most popular islands around it, like Paros and Santorini. According to national averages from Spitogatos, prices in the Cyclades are 3500 Euros/sqm.
Because Spitogatos doesn’t list average prices for Tinos alone, we did the math ourselves, filtering with the location “Tinos” and finding an estimate based on 330 homes for sale. Prices in Tinos are on average 2400 Euros/sqm, which is a lot lower than other islands in the Aegean like Santorini or Mykonos.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Internet Speed
Internet Speeds are available in the Cyclades via Speedtest by Ookla. Tinos isn’t listed, so we used the nearby island of Syros as a benchmark. You can expect a speed of 35 MBPS. Compared to other areas of Greece, this is slightly below average.
Rating: 8 out of 10
English Speakers and Expatriate Community
If you choose one of Tinos’s most popular towns, like the main Tinos town, you will surely find English speakers. In the winter, when the tourists leave and only local Greeks remain, you will likely see fewer English speakers.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Tinos Overall Rating for the Dutch: 9.2/10
