Mykonos

Highlights

Beaches

Sights

Suggested 5-day itinerary

Where to stay in Mykonos

On Mykonos the base decides the holiday more than on any other Greek island, because the town, the party beaches and the quiet north are three different places that happen to share a rock.

• Mykonos Town, Chora — the whitewashed maze, Little Venice and the windmills. Everything is walkable and no cars enter the centre, which is exactly why dragging luggage in is unpleasant. Expensive, and loud until very late in the streets around Matoyianni.
• Ornos — a sheltered sandy bay ten minutes from town, shallow and calm. The usual answer for families and for anyone who wants dinner in town but sleep without a bassline.
• Platis Gialos — organised beach with hotels along it, and the departure point for the sea taxis that run to the southern beaches. Practical rather than pretty.
• Psarou — the glamour bay. Small, beautiful, and home to the beach club that sets Mykonos prices. Book the sunbed before you book the room.
• Paradise and Super Paradise — the party beaches, with accommodation built around clubs that run through the afternoon. Excellent if that is the trip, unbearable if it is not.
• Agios Ioannis and Kapari — west-facing, quiet, looking across at Delos. The sunset side.
• Ano Mera — the inland village, and by a distance the cheapest place to sleep on the island. A real square with a monastery on it and Greek families eating in it. You need a car.

Read the guide: where to stay in Greece →

The beaches

Almost every famous Mykonos beach is on the south coast, sheltered from the meltemi and organised to within an inch of its life. The north is the opposite of that.

• Psarou — the most photographed and the most expensive. Sunbeds are booked in advance in season and priced accordingly.
• Paradise and Super Paradise — clubs on the sand, music from early afternoon. Super Paradise is the more mixed and historically the more free-spirited of the two.
• Platis Gialos — long, organised and family-shaped, with the sea taxi jetty at one end.
• Ornos — shallow and calm, the easiest with small children, and walkable to tavernas.
• Elia — the longest sandy beach on the island, quieter than the party ones, with a naturist section at the far end.
• Kalo Livadi and Agrari — organised but noticeably calmer, good restaurants on the sand.
• Agios Sostis — no sunbeds, no bar, no music. The one people who dislike Mykonos are surprised to find.
• Ftelia — north coast, windsurfing, and windy by design.
• Fokos — remote, down a rough track, one taverna and nothing else.

Sea taxis run along the south coast from Platis Gialos and Ornos, hopping between beaches. In high season that is often faster and less stressful than driving and hunting for a parking space.

Delos, and why it is the real reason to come

Half an hour by boat from the old port sits one of the most important archaeological sites in the Mediterranean, and a surprising number of visitors never go.

• What it is — an uninhabited island that was the mythological birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and for centuries the religious and commercial centre of the Aegean. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, and effectively an entire ancient city left standing.
• What to see — the Terrace of the Lions, the theatre, the mosaics in the House of Dionysus and the House of the Masks, and the climb up Mount Kynthos for the view back across the Cyclades.
• How it works — boats leave from the old port on a fixed timetable and your return time is fixed too, usually giving you around three hours on the island. Nobody may stay overnight.
• Practicalities — there is no shade and almost no facilities. Take water, a hat and proper shoes. Crossings are cancelled when the meltemi is strong, so go early in your stay rather than leaving it to the last day.

The town, and what else there is

• Little Venice — houses built out over the water, and the standard sunset drink. Busy from about seven.
• Kato Mili — the row of windmills above the town, best in the last hour of light.
• Panagia Paraportiani — four chapels merged into one whitewashed sculptural mass, and one of the most photographed churches in Greece.
• Matoyianni and the lanes — the shopping street, and the maze around it, which was laid out deliberately confusing to slow down pirates.
• Ano Mera — the Panagia Tourliani monastery and a village square that works as a village square rather than as a set.
• Armenistis lighthouse — north of town, quiet, with the best view of the strait.

Getting there and how long to stay

• Ferry from Piraeus — around three hours on a fast ferry, five or more on a conventional one. Note that Mykonos has two ports: most ferries use the new port at Tourlos, while the old port in town handles Delos boats and some smaller services. Check which one your ticket says.
• Rafina — often quicker overall from Athens airport than going round to Piraeus.
• The airport — direct international flights through the summer, plus year-round domestic. This is why Mykonos fills earlier in the season than its neighbours.
• Island hopping — Paros and Naxos are thirty to forty-five minutes away, Santorini around two hours.
• Getting around — buses run from Fabrika and the old port and are cheap and frequent. Taxis are famously scarce, so do not plan around finding one at 3am.
• Three days covers the town, Delos and two beaches. Five adds the north coast, Ano Mera and a slower day. A week only if the beach clubs are the point.

Useful tips

• Book sunbeds early in summer
• Rent an ATV to get around the beaches easily

Pairs well with

Where it is