Things to do in Mykonos
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Mykonos
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, late May to June and September, everything open, sea swimmable and busy without breaking point.
Peak energy and friction, 28 to 35C, ceiling prices and the meltemi at full strength, cancelling boats and roughing north beaches.
Spring waking up around Greek Orthodox Easter, with many hotels, beach clubs and restaurants still closed or on reduced hours.
The long goodbye, big clubs closed from late September, seasonal places shutting through October and wind returning.
Winter, most hotels, beach clubs and seasonal restaurants are closed, leaving a small working island in Chora and Ano Mera.
What's on
- XLSIOR Mykonos Festival 20-25 August
Major LGBTQ+ summer festival of beach and club parties, centred on Elia, Super Paradise and the big clubs.
- Panagia Tourliani feast 15 August
The Assumption, the island's largest religious festival, with services at the monastery and a panigiri in Ano Mera square.
- Agioi Apostoloi 30 June
Chapel feast leading the summer panigiria calendar, with folk violins, local food and open dancing.
- Agia Paraskevi 26 July
Summer chapel feast with traditional music, food and dancing, visitors welcome if respectful.
- Harvest Festival September
Agricultural fair at the Agricultural Museum by Boni's Windmill, with livestock, traditional produce and folk events.
- Mykonos Summer Festival June-September
Municipality cultural programme of open air concerts, theatre and exhibitions in Chora through summer.
- Greek Orthodox Easter April/May
Processions and midnight services in Chora and Ano Mera, a local church and family affair as the season reopens.
- Closing parties September
Official closing parties at Cavo Paradiso and Paradise Club, well programmed weekends with slightly saner crowds.
Best things to do in Mykonos
Chora
Walk the whitewashed maze early, when the windmills, Paraportiani and Little Venice are nearly empty.
Ano Mera
The island's real second village, with a proper square, cafes and tavernas at near normal Greek prices.
Panagia Tourliani Monastery
A 16th century monastery with a marble bell tower, carved iconostasis and small museum in Ano Mera.
Agios Sostis Beach
A wide unorganised north coast bay with no sunbeds, no beach bar and no music.
Aegean Maritime Museum
Ship models, nautical instruments and the original Armenistis Lighthouse lens in a small town museum.
Folklore Museum of Mykonos
A merchant's house of island furniture and textiles that shows pre tourism Mykonos fastest.
Archaeological Museum of Mykonos
Island finds including the famous 7th century BC relief pithos showing the Trojan Horse.
Armenistis Lighthouse
The quiet 1891 lighthouse headland over the Tinos strait, with no bar and usually few people.
Where to stay in Mykonos
Ornos
first trip, all-round base
Sheltered bay 3km from Chora with a swimmable beach, tavernas, bakeries, boat taxis and frequent buses.
Mykonos Town (Chora)
nightlife, no-car trips and short stays
Everything walkable, from restaurants and clubs to bus stations and the Delos boats at the Old Port.
Platis Gialos
beach-first base with logistics
Complete small resort with a sandy beach, beach restaurants, the south coast boat taxi jetty and frequent buses.
Agios Ioannis
quiet sunset coast
Smaller calm west coast bay facing Delos, with a famous sunset angle and a handful of tavernas.
Ano Mera and the inland
value and the real island, with a car
Village square tavernas at normal prices, the monastery and farm stays, but no beach in walking distance.
Agios Stefanos and Tourlos
budget with a bus
Sheltered local beach and family hotels at reasonable prices north of Chora, with a bus stop at the door.
Think twice about
- Matoyianni and Little Venice spine, Chora
Slow crowds from mid morning to after midnight, bars to 3 to 5am and porter walks with luggage. Sleep two streets back or at the town edge.
- Psarou Beach immediate surrounds
The epicentre of island price culture around Nammos, where every coffee, sunbed and taxi starts at the ceiling. Visit for a swim, sleep in Ornos.
- Paradise Beach
For families, light sleepers and anyone not there to party, the music is the product and does not stop for your sleep schedule.
- Isolated north-coast villas
No walkable restaurant, almost no bus and scarce taxis. A villa there without a rental car or driver arrangement is a logistics trap.
Best restaurants in Mykonos
Kiki's Tavern
No electricity, no reservations: grilled meats and a legendary salad bar above Agios Sostis beach.
Fokos Taverna
A single taverna behind an untouched beach, serving salads, grilled fish and Mykonian dishes.
Nikolas Taverna
Three generation family fish taverna on its own small beach, with fish caught by the family.
M-eating
Chef owned refined modern Greek cooking in a century old house, the foodie dinner in town.
Interni
A hidden garden courtyard where Mediterranean fine dining turns into music and dancing late.
Spilia Restaurant
Seafood in a restaurant built into a sea cave at the water's edge, the trip's one theatrical meal.
Sakis Grill House
Gyros and souvlaki since 1986 at prices that still resemble Greece, in a permanent crowd.
Jimmy's Gyros
The 24 hour gyro stop on Lakka Square that has closed a thousand Mykonos nights.
Outdoor things to do in Mykonos
Archaeological Site of Delos
A whole Hellenistic sacred city 30 minutes by boat, best seen on the morning boat with a licensed guide.
Rhenia
Uninhabited island coves for swimming and snorkelling off a catamaran, with lunch cooked on board.
Platis Gialos boat taxi
Small boats hop the south coast beaches all day from Platis Gialos and Ornos, cheaply and prettily.
GoDive Mykonos
PADI centre at Lia for beginner discover scuba and certified dives to reefs, caverns and the Anna II wreck.
Korfos Beach
The shallow, windy kitesurf bay by Ornos, with schools offering lessons and rental.
Kalafati Beach
The east coast windsurfing and water sports beach, with hire for SUP, kayaks, wakeboard and more.
Horse riding to Fokos Beach
Riding across the empty north east interior to wild Fokos Beach, sometimes with a swim with the horses.
Fokos to Mersini hiking
Dirt track walking between wild north east beaches with no facilities, best started early with offline maps.
Best hotels in Mykonos
Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort
The island benchmark on its own Ornos peninsula, with a rare private sandy beach.
Mykonos Ammos Hotel
Small luxury beachfront hotel on Ornos sand, the mid tier done properly.
Cavo Tagoo
Town edge icon with an infinity pool, sunset view and private pool suites.
Bill & Coo Suites & Lounge
Couples' favourite at Megali Ammos, walkable to town from the town edge.
Kouros
Town edge design hotel at mid tier for Mykonos prices, walkable to nightlife.
Harmony
Town edge boutique hotel at mid tier for Mykonos prices, handy for a no car stay.
Hotel Milena
Simple family run budget hotel just outside Chora on a bus route, repeated in value guides.
Elena
Family hotel in town at the budget tier, for a walkable no car base.
Is Mykonos expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €120 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €270 a person |
| Splurge | €600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Principote: weeks ahead
- Alemagou: weeks ahead
- Scorpios: weeks ahead
- Mykonos Vioma Organic Farm: a few days ahead
- Rizes Folklore Farmstead: a few days ahead
- Cavo Paradiso: a few days ahead
- Paradise Club: a few days ahead
- Archaeological Site of Delos: a few days ahead
- Good rooms at honest prices go months ahead for late June to early September, and July to August budget picks sell out by spring.
- Book beach club sunbeds and lunch, Scorpios sunset tables and 180 Sunset Bar early, and confirm minimum spend in writing.
- Book M-eating, Interni and Spilia ahead in season, reserve Fokos Taverna at weekends, and arrive at Kiki's before noon as it takes no bookings.
- Book headline DJ nights at Cavo Paradiso and XLSIOR week accommodation and tickets together, early.
- Book ferries ahead in July, August and around 15 August, and keep a buffer day if a flight depends on the return.
Is Mykonos safe?
- Watch drinks and look after your group, as drink spiking awareness applies in this party destination.
- Pickpockets target crowded Chora lanes, club queues and bus stations.
- Do not mix narrow night roads, scooters and alcohol, and skip scooters or ATVs unless experienced, sober and helmeted.
- Swim on the sheltered south coast on wind days, as north beaches get rough fast and unorganised beaches have no lifeguards.
- Emergency number is 112, and the island hospital is in Chora on the Ano Mera road side.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Mykonos travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not go to DK Oyster at Platis Gialos, the named trap with years of reports of huge bills and free sunbeds tied to ordering.
- Walk from any beach venue that will not show a priced menu, quotes fish without a per kilo price, or pushes a house special off menu.
- Treat Nammos and prime Scorpios tables as priced in spectacle, with minimum spends in the thousands, not as value restaurants.
- Avoid Little Venice at sunset in August, when it is a queue with a view, and go at 9am instead.
- Ask the sunbed price every time before sitting down, as first row beds in August can cost more than a hotel night elsewhere in Greece.
- Use hotel booked or established operators for transfers and official sellers for club tickets, not unlicensed VIP touts.
- Check every bill in Chora, as some mid tier gyro chains add extras without asking, unlike Sakis, Jimmy's and Pepper.
Getting around Mykonos: public transport and more
- KTEL buses are the backbone from Fabrika, Old Port and the northern depot in Chora, around 2 euros per ride.
- The SeaBus links the New Port at Tourlos to the Old Port in town, and Delos boats leave from the Old Port.
- Taxis are scarce and unmetered with posted fixed rates, so pre book private transfers through your hotel for ports and set time nights.
- Boat taxis from Platis Gialos and Ornos are transport along the south beaches, not just a tour.
- Rent a small car for inland and north beach bases, book ahead in season, and park at the edge of pedestrianised Chora.
- Carry water to unorganised beaches and pack a light layer, as the meltemi makes evenings and boat returns cool.
Who Mykonos suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Great |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Mykonos your trip
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