Mykonos and Delos: Island of the Gods - Cyclades, Greece
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Destinations > Europe > Greece > Mykonos and Delos: Island of the Gods
Greek Island Hopping - Mykonos & Delos
Island hopping in Greece is a must if you’re visiting. There are at least 166 to 227 inhabited Greek islands - and between 1,200 and 6,000 actual Greek Islands depending on what size factors you use to count. However, some of the most popular islands to visit are in the Cyclades, which are based around the uninhabited island of Delos — considered the birthplace of Apollo and home to some of the most important archaeological ruins in Greece.
Delos is just outside of Mykonos, so it’s easy to do a day trip from Mykonos if you intend to visit the Island of the Gods. You can learn more about the most famous island in the Cyclades, by checking out our article about Santorini. However, this article focuses things you should know about Mykonos and Delos.
We recommend that you prepare yourself mentally before traveling to Greece so that you have the best experience possible. One way to do that is by reading through the short Culture Smart: Greece book that is filled with just about every aspect of their culture that you could get in a very concise read. Additionally, you can prepare yourself for what type of food that you will encounter with “The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean,” which is packed with stories about their culture of food as well as amazing recipes if you want to try making some yourself!
Catching a Ferry from Athens
There are no direct ferries from Athens because Athens is not located on the sea. However, you can take a metro train from Athens to the port at Piraeus. The earlier you arrive the better, because the ferry is longer than you might think and the winds get really cold and strong during the evening. The afternoon ferry can make for a bad experience (trust us… we were very sad the second half of our ferry ride as we were sitting in an area that got plenty of outside wind and hadn’t dressed for cold wet weather - plus, we had a hard time finding a taxi when we finally arrived in Mykonos). We recommend taking the 7:30 AM Blue Star ferry. To arrive in time to get on that ferry, either stay overnight in Piraeus, or get on the metro in Athens by 6:00 AM, and make sure you are headed to Piraeus!
The ferry does not generally have excellent food service either, primarily a few sandwich choices and a number of “Hot Lamp” style Greek pastries (we actually felt a bit sick the following day and we aren’t sure if it was from the food, the ferry, or the cold wind). So, we recommend bringing your own food for the ferry ride.
One other tip: To save on money with a tour guide, simply grab the Lonely Planet: Greek Islands guidebook. You can get the whole book, or - even cheaper, the PDF Chapter on just the Cyclades. It’s a bargain!
Mykonos
Mykonos Town & Beach
A charming town with many small narrow walking streets, filled with whitewashed houses, guesthouses, clothing and jewelry shops, souvenir and gift shops, restaurants, churches, terraces, and windmills. The street layout was designed in a confusing way to confuse pirates - so you may lose your way on occasion. You can find a few affordable gyro locations for food, otherwise food is generally slightly more expensive at most restaurants than you might expect.
Most ferries and cruise ships dock at the new port which leads you right into the town center along the beach. The ticket offices for ferries to other islands, including Delos, are just next to the dock - as is restroom which requires a small fee to use. Mykonos also has its own international airport in case you prefer not to use a ferry.
You will need to explore and walk around the amazing cobbled roads on foot as there is no vehicle traffic allowed on most of the streets in town. If you are interested in the culture and economic history of Mykonos, check out the Aegean Maritime Museum and the Folklore Museum nearby. You can check out all of the places listed in this article, as well as Agios Yiannis, Kalafatis Beach, and Ano Mera, by joining the Half-Day Small Group Guided Tour of Mykonos.
Alternatively, if you’re short on time, we would recommend to just take an Old Town Walking Tour to learn about the history of the Old Town and see the places listed in this article. Then, grab some dinner in Little Italy, watch the sunset, and enjoy your time on this Greek Island!
Panagia Paraportiani Orthodox Church
In Greek, Panagia Paraportiani translates to "Our Lady of the Side Gate." It is a whitewashed church that consists of five joined, but separate churches - one of which is located atop of the other four that are on the ground level. Despite the number, this church is actually quite small. It’s has also become a serious hotspot for photographers - being one of the most photographed churches in the entire world.
Our Secret: There is a small pathway behind the church that leads down along the rocks near the water. You can find an amazing spot here to take photographs of the windmills (see photo and description below).
Little Venice
As part of Venetian trade routes in the 13th century, a clear influence of Venetian culture had found its way to this spot of Mykonos. This is apparent in the buildings and architecture here - which were inspired by Venice, Italy. Despite that history, it is a small and compact area - filled with restaurants, bars, and amazing views.
Little Italy is a good spot to enjoy your Mykonos nightlife as well. You can start out with a great sunset dinner and then stay up all night long to see the sunrise - as many of the bars stay open that long!
Catch amazing views of the Kato Mili Windmills from Kastro’s restaurant. Keep in mind that most of the prices here are inflated based on popularity and the views they provide.
Our Secret: If you are looking for an affordable eating spot nearby, we recommend that you check out the “Premier Snack Bar Cafe” for affordable, but delicious, Mykonos Gyros!
Windmills of Kato Mili
Located on the edge of Little Venice are the famous Mykonos windmills, which are an icon of this island that were built in the early 16th century. While they no longer help with the production of wheat and barley, one of them - the fully functional Boni Mill - still houses the Mykonos Agricultural Museum.
Most of the windmills are North facing to capture the islands strongest winds and share the same rounded shape, white color, pointed roofs, and small windows that all islands in the Cyclades use for their windmills.
Our Secret: There is a path behind the last windmill in this row, closest to the water, which leads to a spot with amazing views of Little Italy and the waterfront.
Delos: Island of the Gods
Delos is a small island, measuring only 5 km long and 1.3 km wide. However, it was considered the most sacred place for ancient Greeks because the 2 most important Greek gods were born here - Apollo and Artemis.
“The Apollonian sanctuary, established at least since the 9th cent. BCE, reached the peak of its glory during the archaic and classical period, when Hellenes from all over the Greek world gathered there to worship Apollo the god of light, harmony and balance, and Artemis, the moon-goddess, his twin sister.” - P.J. Chatzidakis, Archaeologist
As a result of the declaration of Delos as a free port in 167 BCE, Delos developed rapidly as all of the “commercial activity of the eastern Mediterranean was congregated on the isle.” It became the greatest commercial center of the entire world - attracting rich bankers, ship-owners, and merchants, as well as builders, artists and craftsmen.
Mithridates, an enemy of the Romans and the King of Pontus, attacked and looted Delos in 88 BCE. Just 19 years later the pirates of Athenodorus, an ally of Mithridates, attacked and looted Delos again. Afterward, the island fell into decline and was abandoned.
Getting to Delos from Mykonos
Generally speaking, you’ll need to grab a Day Trip ticket from Mykonos to Delos to explore the Island of the Gods. Expect the the trip to last about 4 hours in total. The cost of the ticket includes a tour guide and the entrance fee to the archaeological site of Delos.
Arriving in Delos
Once you arrive and pass through the ticket gate into the archaeological site of Delos, you should be handed a map that includes a bit of history and the locations of roughly 100 different things to see as well as a few routes that you can take, most of which take between 90 minutes and 3 hours to complete, but a few that are upwards of 5 hours each.
Wheelchair users will find Route 1, the initial area closest to the port, to be accessible. Additionally, a part of Route 3, to the Stadium Quarter, is also accessible.
Walking around the Massive Archaeological Site
It should be noted that we made it all the way to the Sanctuary of Zeus and Athena, and then were able to pass around the Sacred Lake area on the other side of the archaeological site, and pass through the Museum, within about 4 hours total - but we were moving at a fairly rapid pace and didn’t stop very frequently. Also, we are not huge history enthusiasts, so we didn’t dwell long on any particular site. The map suggests that this route should have taken us about 5 hours to complete.
Museum & Cafe
Each path on the map includes a 30-45 minute visit at the Museum. We only spent about 20-25 minutes in the Museum because we were trying to see as much as we could in the limited amount of time that we had.
Additionally, there is a coffee shop near the Museum that has plenty of chairs where you can rest and relax.
The Top Things to see on Delos Island
Staying for up to 10 hours
I would recommend even more time if you are serious about your Greek history. Apart from taking a day tour, you could arrange 1 way tickets on a day ferry in the morning and then return on the last ferry in the evening. We used delostours.gr and paid €20 per adult for the round trip ticket and an additional €9 each for entry into the archaeological site of Delos. This does not include a tour guide, but you may be able to join onto a tour group once you arrive. The earliest departure is 9:00 AM and the latest return is 7:30 PM.
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