The perfect Mykonos itinerary: town, beaches, and Delos

This plan lays out two to three days as an order rather than a timetable. We give no opening hours, boat times, sunbed rates or club prices, because those change constantly here and a page that prints them is wrong by next season; where the current detail matters we point you to it. Everything the island holds beyond this route is in our things to do in Mykonos guide.

Day 1: the town, and Little Venice at sunset

Give the first day to Mykonos Town, the Chora, which is the prettiest of the Cycladic capitals and the reason the island charmed people long before the clubs arrived. It is a deliberate maze of whitewashed lanes, built that way to confuse pirates and now to delight everyone else, so the way to see it is to abandon the map and wander: the little churches, the boutiques, the cats, the sudden squares.

Aim the evening at Little Venice, the row of old houses built right at the water’s edge, and the windmills on the ridge above it, which together make the island’s signature sunset. Get there before the light goes to claim a spot at the water, because the whole island has the same idea at the same hour. The town is also where the night begins, and how that scales from a quiet drink to the famous clubs is in Mykonos after dark.

Day 2: the south-coast beaches

The second day is for the beaches, which on Mykonos are a scene as much as a shore. The south coast holds the famous ones, sheltered from the strong summer wind that scours the north, and they run from family-friendly bays to the party beaches where the music starts in the afternoon. Paradise Beach is the best known of the loud ones; there are calmer stretches nearby for anyone who wants the sea without the soundtrack, and which is which is set out in Mykonos beaches.

The choice that shapes the day is how much of the party you want. If the beach clubs are the point of your trip, this is where the island delivers; if they are not, pick a quieter south-coast bay and treat the loud beaches as somewhere to visit rather than to stay. The wind decides the rest: on a blowing day the south coast is where the swimming is, which is worth knowing before you commit to a northern beach.

Day 3: Delos, the sacred island

If you have a third day, give it to Delos, the small uninhabited island a short boat ride from the town, which is one of the most important archaeological sites in the whole of Greece. It was a sacred island in antiquity and later a great trading port, and today it is an open-air site of temples, houses and mosaics with no modern town on it at all, reached only by the day-boats from Mykonos and closed once they leave.

It is the opposite of everything Mykonos is famous for, which is exactly why it is the best possible third day: a morning among ancient ruins with the sea all around and not a beach club in sight. Because you go and return by the scheduled boats, it is a half or most of a day rather than a quick hop, so treat it as the plan for the day rather than a stop between beaches.

How to adapt this

Two days only. Do the town and Little Venice on the first day and the beaches on the second, and save Delos for a return trip. That is the essential Mykonos: the maze, the sunset and a south-coast beach.

Mykonos as one stop in a Cyclades hop. The island sits in the middle of the Cyclades and connects easily by ferry to Paros, Naxos and Santorini, so two days here fits neatly into a longer island-hop; the sailing side is in Greek island ferries. Whenever you come, the wind is the variable that decides your beach day, and the shoulder months trade some of the party for calmer, cheaper and less crowded days, which the best time to visit Greece works through.

Where this leaves you

Two or three days is right for Mykonos if you order it simply: the town and Little Venice at sunset on the first day, the south-coast beaches on the second, and the ancient island of Delos on the third if you have it. Decide early how much of the night you want, get to the sunset and the beaches before everyone else, and let the wind choose your coast. The rest of the island is one click away in the Mykonos guide.

Quick answers

How many days do you need in Mykonos?

Two days covers the island well: one for the town and the Little Venice sunset, one for the south-coast beaches. A third day is worth adding for the ancient island of Delos, or simply for more beach and a slower pace. Mykonos is small, so more than three days is really about lingering rather than seeing more.

What is there to do in Mykonos besides beaches and nightlife?

More than its reputation suggests. The town itself is the prettiest of the Cycladic capitals, a maze of whitewashed lanes worth an unhurried day; Little Venice and the windmills give the island its signature sunset; and a short boat ride away is Delos, one of the most important ancient sites in Greece, an entire uninhabited island of ruins.

Is Delos worth it from Mykonos?

Yes, if you have a third day and any interest in ancient Greece. Delos is a sacred island turned open-air archaeological site, reached only by the day-boats from Mykonos, with temples, houses and mosaics and no modern town at all. It is the complete opposite of the island’s party image, which is precisely what makes it such a good day out.

Which beaches in Mykonos are for partying and which are quiet?

The famous south-coast beaches like Paradise are the loud ones, where the music starts in the afternoon and the beach clubs run into the night; quieter bays sit nearby for anyone who wants the same sheltered water without the scene. The north coast is calmer and wilder but exposed to the summer wind, so on a blowing day the south is where the swimming is.