I mainly wanted to visit Mykonos for the painted tiles, bougainvillea and windmills. And boy they did not disappoint 😊 Hielke and I visited Mykonos in combination with Santorini, which was perfect. The beautiful beaches of Mykonos added much value to our amazing honeymoon.
How to get there
You can get to Mykonos by boat or by plane. We arrived with Goldenstar ferries from Santorini, which was a super comfortable 2,5 hour ride. I loved traveling by ferry, we arrived too early so had to wait for a bit (most of the boats have some kind of delay), but once you are on the boat it is super comfortable. We did not get seasick at all, as the boat was huge. We booked our tickets online a few months in advance, but the tickets were not sold out in May so you could still buy tickets on the same day. Apparently there are days that the tickets sell out.
Mykonos also has a small international airport, which is located just outside of the town’s center (10 minutes’ drive max). When we went back home, we flew via Rome, but there are many other destinations.
Location
We stayed in Mykonos town in an Airbnb for about € 70 a night. I would recommend staying in Mykonos town, because the town is super quiet in the morning and you are close to the iconic windmills, cool shops, art galleries, restaurants and there is bougainvillea everywhere. Our BnB wasn’t very luxurious and we had no outside terrace/swimming pool or anything, but I did not mind as I preferred staying in town. We had already enjoyed our private terrace and pool in Santorini 😉
Activities
Bougainvillea hunting: One of my favorite activities was wandering through the little alleyways of Mykonos town and enjoying all the beautiful bougainvillea. This also created a nice bond with the other early risers, because we were all admiring the flowers.
Sailing: We decided to do a boat tour to the uninhabited island Rhenia and Delos (archeological site). The trip took about six hours in total and we also received a delicious BBQ lunch on the boat. It costs about € 85. The first stop was Rhenia, which has crystal clear water and we received some beach and swimming time, the water was so clear that we even spotted sea stars! You could take jumps of the boat and the crew was really kind. We were supplied with free (cheap) wine all day. Our group consisted of about twenty people with all sorts of ages and most people socialized a lot (it might be because of the wine). If you did not want to visit Delos, you could stay on the boat to swim some more.
Delos: Our second stop was Delos island, which was a really beautiful archeological site. I especially loved the theatre and the stunning views of the sea. We were a little bit tipsy because of the free wine, so we did not hire a guide. The entrance fee for Delos is € 12. You can also get there by ferry, which costs € 20 for a round trip. However if you have the opportunity to go with a sailing boat, I would definitely recommend.
Windmills: This is not really an activity, but I would definitely recommend visiting the Iconic Kato Windmills, it is also a busy, but good spot to watch the sunset.
We also discovered an abandoned windmill at the road just above Mykonos town, which had cactei surrounding it, which was a really cool picture spot. We had that windmill completely to ourselves.
Little Venice: Little Venice consists of some restaurants which are right at the water (hence “Venice”). It is very little, but worth it for a short stroll. You can also have dinner in one of the restaurants.
Sunset: Mykonos’ sunset is way less popular than the Santorini sunset, but we had amazing sunsets during our stay. We watched it from the old port, which was a really relaxing spot and not crowded at all (as everyone was likely at the windmills).
Beaches: Mykonos has many great beaches. We preferred to go to a quiet beach, but we also wanted to have a sunbed + umbrella, so we took the bus to Elia Beach. The bus was super punctual, but of course you have to adhere to the times of the bus (it did not go very often). Elia beach was really relaxed, we hired two beds + an umbrella for € 40. The Elia beach restaurant was very beautifully decorated and the food was lovely (we seem to love Greek goat). I have to admit this was a super expensive day, just to go to the beach, but if you want a sunbed you cannot do much cheaper in Mykonos. You were allowed to bring your own food to the beach though! Super paradise beach and Ornos are more party beaches with (fancy) clublife.
Car hire: We hired a car for one day to explore the island. The island isn’t very big, so if you want you can visit the whole island in one day 😉 We liked going to some more unexplored beaches, which were not commercialized and we were even able to find a place in the shade near the rocks on both beaches. We swam at Fokos beach and had lunch at the bohemian Taverna next to it (with not so bohemian prices). Afterwards we went to Agios Sostis beach. What I especially loved about having a car is to be able to enjoy the scenic views.
Food
Mykonos town and the beaches have lots of fancy restaurants. We decided on restaurants with that same fancy feel, without the expenses:
Evas garden: This restaurant has lovely backyard and upstairs terraces, with beautiful plants growing over it, which was the reason we chose to sit here. We had a ‘scenic’ table, you could watch the little alleyways from the terrace upstairs. The food is classic Greek and affordable for Mykonos standards. Portions are small and the pitas are super small.
Caesars: We loved our dinner at Caesars. Caesars is located on a ‘famous patio’ in Mykonos. You will recognize the restaurant with the enormous bougainvillea from pictures. Caesars is great, because you will get the same atmosphere and view as the expensive restaurant which is located opposite, at reasonable prices. Our meal and wine were really tasty and we would recommend to go here.
To Maereio: I think this was the best food we had in Mykonos. The restaurant is mainly inside, so you do not get great views, but the food makes up for that. We especially loved the baked cheese, but the meat was delicious as well. From the inside the restaurant more has an old-school Marrakesh than a Mykonos vibe. Staff was really kind and the food was served quickly.
Elia beach restaurant: This restaurant looks exactly like you would expect from Mykonos. I was surprised about the generous portions, the delicious and prices. Mains cost about € 25 each, with some cheaper options such as pasta available and a bottle of wine € 30 and up. The service was great!
Fokos taverna: This beautiful restaurant is the only restaurant at Fokos beach. There is a super relaxed vibe and the decorations are in a rustic Ibiza style. It is worth going for the amazing vibe, however I did think the food was really expensive. Portions were super small and did not come with sides. To be honest the clientele did not look like they would eat a lot 😉 I think we spent over € 75 for a small lunch.
The taste diaries: This is a small restaurant that serves (healthy) breakfast, crepes and sandwiches. It is located in the old harbor of Mykonos, so plenty to see.. I thought it was really nice to have a sandwich as lunch, instead of a big meal with meat, so I was really happy when we discovered it. They also have super delicious vegan sandwiches!
Yummy café: We had breakfast here and loved our eggs. They have lots of options for breakfast, like yoghurt, eggs, crepes and sandwiches. They also have soy milk which seemed to be a rarity. We were here really early in the morning after bougainvillea hunting and we saw lots of people get home after going out. It is a really cool spot which breathes Mykonos with decent value for money!
Taverna Marco Polo: We got to dine underneath the beautiful bougainvillea of Marco Polo Taverna. They serve lots of classic Greek recipes for a budget price. Unfortunately I did not love my moussaka and I wouldn’t really recommend going here. The wine is cheap and tastes cheap. Because of the low prices we also ordered a mixed plate as an entrée, but I only loved the dolmades. The terrace is lovely, but it lacks a cool vibe. The staff is really kind and trying, but you can have better meals elsewhere.