It's picture-perfect harbor town is teeming with colorful fishing boats and a line of iconic windmills up on the hills to catch the strong northern winds. Mykonos Town, also known as Chora, is full of restaurants, cafes, bars, boutiques and smalls shops around every corner, and boasts a lively and glamorous nightlife. All around the island are breathtaking beaches, some very private and secluded, some all party. We spent four wonderful days here as part of honeymoon trip that also included Santorini and Athens.
The video visually tells the story of what it is like to visit this beautiful island. Ignore the color grading in the video as sometimes there are user challenges with new camera gear, but the essence of Mykonos is well documented in the film where you'll feel positively elevated upon watching it.
Day One - Ferry Ride and Mykonos Town
We were jetted by high-speed ferry boat from the Port of Pireaus in Athens to Mykonos harbor in about three hours. The ferry boats are quite large and comfortable where you can easily walk around inside and outside. When outside you can stroll around the deck and enjoy seeing other islands as you pass by or watch the wake created by the powerful engines at the back of the boat, which was actually quite fascinating.
Once we arrived and picked up our rental car, we found our way to our hotel, the Petasos Beach Resort and Spa. Can't say enough about what a wonderful stay we had here. The hotel was gorgeous, luxurious, modern and very comfortable. The service was excellent, the rooms were very stylish with a clean sleek look, the alfresco restaurant and pool area were top-notch. The hotel is nicely situated on a private peninsula affording great views of the Aegean Sea and easy access to the Platis Yialos beach for swimming and sunbathing or dining at the many cafes, restaurants and bars that line the beach.
After checking in and getting situated at our hotel, we went back to Mykonos town to wander around the labyrinth of narrow streets and pathways, which is delightful as you never know what you'll discover around every corner, whether a small boutique, a little cafe, a bar. The town was apparently set up that way to confuse pirates back in the day. All the little side streets in the maze are so clean and picturesque. Then there is "little Venice" where the sea washes right up to the buildings and watching the sunset is a celebration every evening. For dinner we chose the Kounelas Fish Tavern, located on a narrow street at the end of Mykonos beach. As its name suggests, it served traditional Greek fresh fish dishes. After dinner, we watched the sunset from Mykonos beach.
Day Two - Panormas Beach and The North Side
We hopped in the car to set off for the beaches on the other side of the island. Panormas beach came highly recommended so that's where we parked ourselves for an afternoon of sunbathing and swimming. It's a nice stretch of sandy beach with calm crystal clear water and few people. The surrounding landscape was beautiful. There's a little beach bar there where you can relax out of the sun in a luxe setting of comfortable sofas and enjoy a cocktail.
After swimming, we were hungry, so we hopped in the car and continued up the road and quite by accident found a little entrance area to a restaurant with no sign near Agios Sostis beach. This turned out to be the best little restaurant on our whole trip. The name, though it's hard to find out, is Kiki's Tavern. It is an absolute must if you visit Mykonos. The food is cooked on the grill in the back of the dining area outside. The food was so fresh and delicious, and the view of the bay that it overlooks was amazing.
Feeling relaxed and energized after our sumptious lunch, we drove past Agios Sostis beach to an area further up the road on the windy north side where we hiked and scrambled around rugged and rocky terrain along the dramatic coast where we savored spectacular views of the island and breathtaking scenery at every angle. This remote uncrowded area where the waves crash against the rocks and there are little tide pools everywhere was absolutely invigorating. It was so different than the town and harbor side of the island. It's well worth exploring, and again, don't forget to stop at Kiki's on the way.
Day Three - Delos Island Ancient Ruins, Pelicans and Sunset Bar
We took the short ferry ride to the island of Delos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to explore the ancient ruins of the Temple of Apollo, the sanctuary of Artemis, and the amphitheater. There are half-day and full-day guided tours, or you can simply follow a self-guided map and stroll around the ruins on your own, which is what we chose to do as it allowed us to take our time and reflect on the ancient Greek culture and history before us. After returning from our half-day tour, we relaxed and cooled off in the hotel pool.
We enjoyed dinner outside at a restaurant on a square in the middle of town. Our dinner distraction was a very large pelican squawking and roaming around the square. It made for some interesting dinner entertainment. This pelican seemed to be an old standby on the square and wouldn't be shooed away by the restaurant owners.
After dinner, we settled in at a table at the Veranda Bar on the Little Venice side of town to have a cocktail and watch the sunset, which is the thing to do when visiting Mykonos as the sunsets are renowned here. When the sun dips below the horizon, everyone raises their glasses and toasts the setting sun. Be sure to find your spot early before the crowds descend on the harbor area.
Day Four - Platis Yialos and Paradise Beaches
Last day and our focus was on enjoying the beach closest to our hotel, Platis Yialos beach, and exploring one of the famous party beaches on the island not far away, Paradise beach. Our first stop was Paradise beach, considered one of two main party beaches on Mykonos, Super Paradise being the other one located right next to it. We could say Paradise was a pretty lively beach, with several beach bars, plenty of chairs and umbrellas, and watersports activities. We had some drinks and snacks at the Tropicana Beach Bar, an apparently wild and crazy dance and party scene after hours, but at the time we were there early in the day things were very calm. It was a great place for people watching and just plain enjoying the beautiful beach landscape and turquoise water.
After Paradise, we went back to Platis Yialos beach, a nice golden sandy beach with crystal-clear water, plenty of sun beds, lounge chairs and umbrellas, as well as hotels, restaurants and bars right along the beach. It is a great place to stay since there is easy access to the beach with buses and taxi boats that can quickly take you to the neighboring beaches of Paradise, Super Paradise and others beaches along the coast. There is also local bus service from this beach to and from Mykonos town that departs regularly throughout the day.
Our travel to Greece was arranged through the Aegean Thesaurus travel agency, and we couldn't have been more pleased with their service. We were in frequent communication with them in the planning stages of our trip, which included Athens and Santorini as well, and they were always prompt with their responses and offered excellent options and recommendations on transportation, hotels, restaurants, and what to see. They were always very friendly, cordial and patient. Even when one of our bags was missed - and we had way too many bags - when we left our hotel in Athens to catch the ferry to Mykonos, we informed them of it, and our bag was on the very next ferry that day and arrived at our hotel before we even missed it.
Mykonos is a wonderful island to visit with so much to do there, from amazing beaches and the beautiful natural setting, to exploring the town and enjoying the culture of this island of paradise in Greece. It has so much to offer for a fantastic vacation. For more images to get you dreaming of your trip to Mykonos, explore these 14 Reasons to Visit Mykonos, Greece.
Comment from PanoVerino: I've been visiting Mykonos for many years now and every time it feels like a unique experience. Same ingredients but in a different recipe. I wanted to make a video in order to show a different perspective of what most people think this place is all about.
Let me guide you to the fairy tale side of the island of the winds.
Drone: Dji Phantom 2 H4-3D
Camera 1: Gopro hero4 black
Camera 2: Sony A7s Slog2
Lens: Sony 10-18 f4 OSS, Sony 35mm f2.8 zeiss
Stabilizer: Nebula4000Lite
Song: Poor Edward - The Grand finale
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