One Day in a City Itinerary – Mykonos, Greece
Windmills of Mykonos
My one day in Mykonos came as a result of a Mediterranean cruise Tom and I were on. A lot of people see Mykonos this way and – judging from my conversations on the cruise that night – many are disappointed of how they spend the day on the island.
Tip #1: If you’re short on time and you want to really experience the island, be very cautious of signing up for a shore excursion. The 11-night Med cruise I was on stopped in 8 different ports and Tom and I didn’t do a shore excursion in any of them. Caveat: we are both well-traveled around Europe, but even for someone new to traveling in Europe, navigating your way around the cities and islands of the continent is easy to do with a little bit of planning. Shore excursions tend to be crowded and on a tight schedule, not allowing you the freedom to immerse yourself in the island where you’d like.
Tip #2: If thinking of Mykonos conjures thought of a picturesque setting such as this…
Cobblestoned alleyway in Mykonos Town.
…go to Mykonos Town. Really, everyone should see the town as it’s absolutely gorgeous and is quintessential Greek isle scenery. Before arriving in Mykonos Town, I pictured it to be peaceful and soul-soothing like Oia in Santorini.
It’s not.
Instead, after an hour I ended up feeling like frustrated, annoyed, and wanting to see more of Mykonos than just what’s on postcards.
Don’t get me wrong; Mykonos Town is beautiful and worth exploring, but it is also a tourist trap full of gift shops and crowds. Masses and masses of day trippers are milling about and the town with its narrow alleyways, it can start to feel incredibly claustrophobic. So I recommend that you do not spend all of your time in port there as many people are inclined to do this since it’s the only place most cruise lines will offer transportation to if you’re not doing a shore excursion.
Above Mykonos Town, ready to start our trek up the hill to find a new side of Mykonos.
This beautiful yet claustrophobic and touristy dichotomy is why after two hours in Mykonos Town I proclaimed “I must get out of here!” and began walking to the edge of the town, which took Tom and me up a hill to a road. We reached the road and the thought of going back into the crowds and shops filled me with dread so Tom and I decided to walk up the curving road, not sure what we would come to.
After a few switchbacks in the road, I was starting to think this road was leading us nowhere and we were going to end up in some weird time-continuum vortex pushing buttons a là Lost.
Then, after one more bend, we were saved.
Tip #3: We came to a 4-wheeler and scooter rental shop.
Tom and I didn’t even need to discuss whether we should rent one or not. We were both drawn to it as keenly as if we were stranded in a desert and it was a huge pond of water.
I recommend renting a 4-wheeler or scooter to get around the island, especially if you want to head to a beach. The small pockets of beaches by Mykonos Town and by the port are rocky and, unfortunately, sprinkled with trash.
Tom and I rented a 4-wheeler from the lady who ran the shop, who seemed quite surprised we were more than willing to pay full price for a day’s rental even though we’d only have it for a few hours (cruise ships will leave without you).
And that’s when our adventure and love affair with Mykonos really started. The island is so much more than the blue doors of Mykonos town. It’s a sprawling land mass of brown hills dusted with greenery and flowers and cute little island houses. And beaches.
Gorgeous beaches hiding in alcoves and hinting at the beach parties that begin on its sand once night falls. We ended up at Paradise Beach and loved it.
Paradise Beach, Mykonos
Our rental shop took a bit of hike to get to, but there are also some closer to the pier, such as this option, though prices may be more expensive the closer you are to the pier. However, you save transportation cost to Mykonos Town, so may even out.
So there you have it: to have an amazing time if you have just one day in Mykonos, rent a motorized vehicle, don’t spend all day in Mykonos Town, and hit a beach. Pretty simple, right?
Have you been to Mykonos? If so, what’s your favorite beach on the island?
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I'm a travel marketer and travel writer. My husband, Tom, is getting his MBA and never stops studying. We have two cats. We have a mortgage. We have a passion for traveling. We have limited vacation time and funds.
Our friends and family wonder how we travel so much.
Here's how I balance it all and maximize travel time and getting the most out of a destination when time is short.
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These are really useful tips! We’ve never actually taken a cruise so I’ve never had to deal with that time constraint (what do you do if they leave without you??), but we did spend one day in NYC a few years ago. We saw quite a bit for being there less than 24 hours! Of course it was all the touristy stuff, but it was still fun.
Thanks Christy! If the cruise ship leaves without you because you don’t get back in time, it’s up to you to figure out how to meet it at the next port – which can be quite expensive! Glad to hear you had fun in NYC. That must be a really hard place to narrow down what to see in 24 hours!
Great tips Gina, especially the first!
Thanks Jenny! I’m a big proponent of the first tip.
I decided against going to Mykonos in 2004 when I did a tour of the Greek Islands and have regretted it ever since. It looks amazing in every picture I see of it!
These are really great tips! It can be so difficult to immerse when you’re short on time, but I love how you guys found a way to escape the tourist trap by exploring via 4 wheeler. That’s a tip that can be used for any destination, I think!
Chris recently posted..Olympic National Park: Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls
Agree! Thank goodness for 4-wheelers!
Great post! I have been to Mykonos. I was making my way through the Greek isles, via Turkey, hitting up Chios and Samos, then Mykonos. The energy right at the port was unlike any of my previous stops. Party with a capital “P” is pretty much how I’d describe Mykonos. I also swam at Paradise Beach, but it was extremely busy, loud, and well, a party. Great island, different vibe, not sure if its on my must-see-list.
Kiki recently posted..Capital “C” Chocolate Brownies 1
Hi Kiki, sounds like Mykonos gets a bit crazy after the sun goes down! Thanks for sharing your experience there.
Great tips, Gina! We went on a Greek Isles cruise over the summer and didn’t do a single shore excursion either. We were much happier to get away from the hoards of tourists descending upon the tiny towns. When we visited Mykonos, we actually took the boat over to Delos since I’m really into Greek mythology. But had we not done that, we would have rented a 4-wheeler. We saw a few people zipping around on them but only had around 2 hours after returning from Delos.
Jennifer recently posted..Five Reasons to Attend Filzmoos Balloon Week
Good pointers, Gina! I’ve been to Athens (and loved it) but have yet to make it to the Greek islands. They are on the wishlist, maybe for this summer.
Were there any other islands that were favorites?
Tricia Mitchell recently posted..Snowy Vignettes from an Alpine Paradise
Thanks Tricia! I also love Santorini and Corfu. Santorini in particular is one of my most favorite places in the world – it’s absolutely stunning.