Visit Mykonos which glitters happily under the Aegean sun, shamelessly surviving on tourism.
The island has something for everyone, with marvellous beaches, romantic sunsets, chic boutiques, excellent restaurants and bars, and its long-held reputation as a mecca for gay travellers.
The maze of white-walled streets in Mykonos Town was designed to confuse pirates, and it certainly manages to captivate and confuse the crowdsthat consume the island’s capital in summer.
Sights & Activities
Mykonos Town
A stroll around Mykonos Town, shuffling through snaking streets with blinding white walls and balconies of flowers is a must for any visitor. This is the centre of the action on the island.
Little Venice , where the sea laps up to the edge of the restaurants and bars, and Mykonos’ famous hilltop row of windmills should be included in the spots-to-see list.
You’re bound to run into one of Mykonos’ famous resident pelicans on your walk.
Beaches
The island’s most popular beaches are on the southern coast. Platys Gialos has wall-to-wall sun lounges, while nudity is not uncommon at Paradise Beach , Super Paradise , Agrari and gay-friendly Elia.
Accommodation
Rooms in Mykonos Town fill up quickly in high season; book ahead. Prices mentioned are for the peak season – they plummet further than on most islands outside of July and August.
Mykonos has two camping areas, both on the south coast. Minibuses from both meet the ferries, and buses go regularly into town.
Carbonaki Hotel -This family-run place on the edge of the old town has bright and comfortable rooms dotted around a sunny central courtyard. Throw in a Jacuzzi, sauna and delightful ambiance and this is a top place to stay.
Hotel Philippi– In the heart of the hora, Philippi, one of Mykonos’ few affordable options, has spacious and clean rooms that open onto a railed veranda overlooking a lush garden.
An extremely peaceful, pleasant place to stay. Free wi-fi.
Hotel Lefteris – Tucked away just up from Plateia Taxi (Taxi Sq), Lefteris has bright, comfy rooms, and a relaxing sun terrace with superb views over town. A good international meeting place.
Paradise Beach Camping– There are lots of options here on the south coast of the island, including camping, beach cabins and apartments,
as well as bars, a swimming pool, games etc. It is skin-to-skin mayhem in summer with a real party atmosphere. The website has it all.
Eating
Visit Mykonos and find food to your taste. There is no shortage of places to eat and drink in Mykonos Town. Cheap eateries are found around Plateia Taxi and the southern bus station.
Restaurants offering abundant seafood abound in Little Venice and towards the Delos excursion boats.
Mykonos’ top touts are its two resident pelicans, who wander the restaurants looking for handouts, often with visitors following them.
Fato a Mano
In the middle of the maze, this place is worth taking the effort to find. It serves up tasty Mediterranean and traditional Greek dishes with pride.
Katerina’s
(Agion Anargyron; mains €11-25) Long a legendary bar in Little Venice with breath-taking views out over the water, Katerina’s has added an excellent restaurant offering up Greek dishes. The seafood is superb.
Drinking & Entertainment
The waterfront is perfect for sitting with a drink and watching an interesting array of passers-by, while Little Venice has bars with dreamy views and water lapping below your feet.
Long feted as a gay travel destination, there are many gay-centric clubs and hang-outs.
The waterfront area, between the Old Harbour and the Church of Paraportiani, is popular for late night gay interaction.
Cavo Paradiso –
http://www.cavoparadiso.gr/
For those who want to go the whole hog, this place 300m above Paradise Beach picks up around 2am and boasts a pool the shape of Mykonos. A bus transports clubbers from town in summer.
Mykonos Accommodation Centre– This helpful place can do it all, from arranging hotels to tours.
Hoteliers Association of Mykonos – At the old port can book accommodation. They also have a desk at the airport.
Island Mykonos Travel– On Plateia Taxi, where the port road meets the town; helpful for travel information, hotels, transfers and tickets.
Getting There & Around
Mykonos Town has two ferry quays. The old quay, where the smaller ferries and catamarans dock, is 400m north of the town waterfront.
The new quay, where the bigger boats dock, is 2.5km north of town. Buses meet arriving ferries. When leaving Mykonos, double-check which quay your boat leaves from.
Air
There are daily flights connecting Mykonos airport (JMK) to Athens, plus a growing number of international flights winging in directly from May to September.
Don’t just assume you’ll have to fly through Athens to get to Mykonos. The airport is 3km southeast of the town centre; €1.60 by bus from the southern bus station.
Boat
Daily ferries (€32, five hours) and catamarans (€50, three hours) arrive from Piraeus.
From Mykonos, there are daily ferries and hydrofoils to most major Cycladic islands, daily services to Crete, and less-frequent services to the northeastern Aegean Islands and the Dodecanese.
Bus
The northern bus station is near the old port. It serves Agios Stefanos, Elia, Kalafatis and Ano Mera.
The southern bus station, a 300m walk up from the windmills, serves the airport, Agios Ioannis, Psarou, Platys Gialos and Paradise Beach.
In summer, caiques (small fishing boats) from Mykonos Town and Platys Gialos putter to Paradise, Super Paradise, Agrari and Elia beaches.
Mykonos is one of the most famous Greek islands. Located in the Cycladic region of the beautiful Aegean Sea, Mykonos offers amazing beaches, beautiful nature, picturesque villages, delicious Greek food and a chic lifestyle.
The nightlife of Mykonos is also unique; from seaside verandas in little Venice to cosmopolitan bars and gourmet restaurants overlooking the iconic windmills,
or to extravagant nightclubs and glamorous beach parties, very few places can boast the invigorating energy that that takes over the island of Mykonos in the Greece.