mykonos

I have to be honest–Mykonos is my least favorite Greek island. But that’s also like saying, “this is my least favorite paradise,” so really it’s not so harsh. Mykonos is the first stop on the ferry from Rafina to the Cyclades, so its proximity is another to stay there. If you only have time for one island and you’re looking to party like it’s whatever year you graduated college, this is the place for you.

Super paradise

This is apparently the big party beach, swimwear optional. Because I went with Costa’s young cousins and their parents, we did not get a chance to partake in this experience ourselves. It should be noted, however, that Snapchats from college friends gave it rave reviews.

Milos

Another place we haven’t been! I’m sorry, I told you I didn’t love my time here. I think I might have changed my mind if I visited the well-preserved archaeological site at nearby Milos, however, like Costa’s aunt and uncle did. The entire island of Milos is a preserved site, entirely uninhabited and covered with ruins. If you decide to skip Mykonos, you can still take a morning ferry to the Mykonos stop, a smaller ferry out and back to Milos for the day, and then take the evening ferry to your next destination.

Shopping and sunset downtown

Hanging out downtown is the majority of what we did in Mykonos. There are beautiful jewelry shops and plenty of tourist kitsch, but most of the prices run higher than Paros (but cheaper than Santorini, if memory serves). With the family, we generally ate seafood at one of their favorite spots–try XXX to see their pelican mascot!–then meandered through the narrow, blue and white streets of downtown Mykonos, window shopping and posing for group photos. We ended our evenings watching the sun set from the port, then we would stroll past the strip of ice cream shops around the corner and casually suggest getting some pagoto. Apparently there is also a bumping night life here–after swimming with the kids all day, Costa and I did not partake but again, our friends were huge fans.

Platys Gialos

I don’t have experience on other beaches of Mykonos (there is a trend here) but I did enjoy staying on Platys Gialos at Princess Anna’s hotel. Her place has since been split among her children and is now XXXX. By staying at the hotel, you have relatively open access to the beach, whereas daytime visitors had to pay for a chaise and/or food and drink to rent space. The beach was denser with these pricy lounge chairs than most of the beaches in Paros, Antiparos, and even some places in Santorini.