Mykonos

cosmopolitan island with windmills and sandy beaches

One of the windmills

Mykonos

Cosmopolitan, romantic and dazzling white, Mykonos may compete with Santorini for the most popular Cyclades island prize. Mykonos rich night life which attracts actors, singers and ordinary party people is combined with sandy beaches, crystal sea and the captivating white-blue magic of the local architecture.

Hotels in Mykonos

General information about Mykonos

Mykonos is a small-sized island with a large number of beaches. Due to its fame (a favorite spot of celebrities and influencers), it is a very touristy place and often crowded, as the main visitors are young couples, solo travelers and groups of friends. You can enjoy the island at its best in shoulder season.

Mykonos Town is the most photographed place of the island, with the emblematic windmills which are recognized symbol of the whole Cyclades group. Below the windmills can also see the so called Little Venice - a quarter in which the houses are built right on the sea edge. The whole town abounds in bars, restaurants, boutique and souvenir shops and galleries and this is the place where nightlife is at its most after the dramatic sunset.

Mykonos is the most expensive Greek island and the word ”bugdet-friendly” is not much applicable here. Although you don`t need to be a jet-setter to visit it, you should be prepared that in Mykonos everything costs a little bit or much more compared to other places in Greece, even street food. The price of the cheapest rooms to rent is often equal to the price of rooms in 3-star hotels in other islands of the Cyclades.

Where to stay in Mykonos?

Alley in Chora

If you are in Mykonos for a few days and you don`t have a car, the best place to stay is Mykonos Town - you will have enough time to explore it on foot and feel its spirit both during the day and in the evening. Moreover, frequent buses are available to almost all beaches.

For its small area the island has a remarkable quantity of hotels and villas, especially luxury and boutique-style. Most of them are spread around the beaches but in Mykonos everything is close to the sea.

Apart from Mykonos Town, there is just one more village on the island, called Ano Mera. All seaside resorts around the beaches are seasonal and consist only of hotels and restaurants, with no place to walk in the evenings. These resorts are concentrated on the south and west coast, while the northeast part is still undeveloped and quiet.

Which are the best beaches of Mykonos?

The celebrities beach

Mykonos has many beaches and most of them are sandy, with transparent blue water. Elia, Paradise and Super Paradise are definitely the party beaches of the island. They are located on the south coast, densely packed with the sunbeds of beach bars, lots of people and loud music.

Platis Gialos, Ornos and Agios Ioannis are the largest resorts with the greatest number of hotels and restaurants in one place, and right next to Platis Gialos is the renowned Psarrou aka ”the celebrities beach”. Kalo Livadi, Kalafatis and Lia are calmer and partly organized with sunbeds and umbrellas.

The north beaches of Mykonos are much quieter because they are windier and hotels are fewer, but in calm weather the beaches of Agios Sostis, Panormos and Ftelia are great places to escape from the noisy south resorts.

What to do in Mykonos?

White windmills and blue sky

People come to Mykonos mainly for the beach parties and the glossy hotels and restaurants but there are many other activities to fill your time apart from spending the day at the beach. The list with the main things to see and do while in Mykonos includes:

- Mykonos Town with the windmills and Little Venice
- The three pelicans which live in Mykonos town and freely walk around the streets
- The old church of Panagia Paraportiani
- The ruins of Gyzi castle above Ano Meria village
- The picturesque Merchia beach, with the church of Agios Nikolaos built on a rocky promontory
- The archaeological site of Delos, located on the island of Delos (accessible via boat trip)
- The uninhabited Rinia island with its beautiful blue coves (accessible via boat trip)
- A day trip to the neighbor islands of Tinos or Syros
- Windsurfing, kitesurfing and diving (clubs are available at some of the beaches)

Is Mykonos a windy island?

Mykonos is one of the windiest islands of the Aegean sea and one of the kite- and windsurf destinations of the Cyclades. It is often exposed to the mercy of the north wind called meltemi which may sometimes challenge your day at the beach.

It is very rare for this island to be windless but it doesn`t mean that it blows severely all the time. The wind may vary from light breeze to strong gusts and its peak is in July and August, as there may be few consecutive days or weeks of strong wind, despite the heat. If this happens during your stay in Mykonos, the best thing you can do is to visit some of the most wind-sheltered beaches of the island, like Paranga, Paradise, Platis Gialos and Agia Anna. Another idea is to spend the day wandering in the narrow alleys of Mykonos Town.

And of course, if you are a surfer, Mykonos is right for you. The beach of Korfos is popular among kitesurfers, and Kalafatis has a windsurf center.

How to get to Mykonos?

The old harbor

Being a top destination, Mykonos is well connected to mainland Greece and the other Greek islands. There are regular ferries from/to the ports of Piraeus and Rafina, and circulating between all the other islands of the group. A few times weekly Mykonos is connected to the north Aegean islands of Samos and Ikaria as well. Fast passenger ferries travel to the neighbor Tinos and Syros for about 15 minutes. The historical island of Delos is also very close and in the summer there are organized boats arriving from Mykonos old port in the morning and departing from Delos in the afternoon.

Mykonos has two ports, old and new. The old port is in Mykonos Town, the capital, but it is small and used only for small boats while the new port, called Tourlos is suited to take up big ferryboats and cruise ships.

Mykonos photo galleryx