Mykonos: What It Costs and What It’s Worth

Mykonos is expensive. This is not incidental — the island has positioned itself as a luxury destination and prices reflect that. Expect to pay €15-20 for a cocktail at a beach club, €200-400/night for mid-range hotel rooms in July and August, and €30-50 for a restaurant main course that would cost €15 on another island. Whether this is acceptable depends entirely on what you’re there for.

If you’re there for the nightlife, the party beach clubs, and a specific kind of social scene, Mykonos is one of the best places in Europe for it. If you’re there for the Cycladic architecture and the Aegean, you’ll get those things too but at a significant premium over other Greek islands that offer equivalent views.

The Chora — Mykonos Town — has a genuine old quarter, whitewashed and winding. The windmills on the Kato Myli ridge above the harbour are the most photographed element. They’re 16th-century Venetian windmills, originally used for grain milling, now the backdrop for roughly a million Instagram photographs per summer. Worth seeing; spend your time actually in the narrow streets of the old town rather than in front of the windmills.

Little Venice

The row of houses and bars cantilevered over the water in the Alefkandra area of Mykonos Town is called Little Venice. The cocktail bars here face west and are genuinely good places to watch the sunset if you accept that a drink will cost €18. The houses date from the 18th century; they were originally sea captains’ residences with storage for goods on the ground floor that opened directly to the water. Caprice is the most established bar on this strip.

Delos

Delos is a 15-minute ferry ride from Mykonos Town and an uninhabited island that was one of the most sacred sites in the ancient Greek world — the mythological birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and for centuries a major pan-Hellenic religious and commercial centre. The archaeological site covers most of the island and includes temples, the famous terrace of the Lions (5 of the original 12 marble guardians remain, dated to 620 BC), the Theatre (capacity 5,000), and the remains of substantial residential neighbourhoods. Entry around €12.

The last ferry back to Mykonos leaves Delos at 3pm; check the current schedule carefully. Take water — there’s no shade on most of the site and nothing to buy once you’re there.

Beaches

Psarou is small, organised, and very expensive — sun loungers cost €50-100 per day in summer. The crowd is deliberately glamorous. Paradise Beach and Super Paradise are the party beaches, with sound systems operating from afternoon through night in summer. Elia on the south coast is the longest beach and slightly more relaxed. For genuinely quiet water without beach clubs: Agios Sostis on the north coast, accessible only by road, has no organised facilities.

Practical Notes

Mykonos International Airport is 3km from the town. Ferries from Piraeus (Athens) take 3-4 hours on high-speed catamarans (€50-70); slower conventional ferries take 5.5 hours and are cheaper. In July-August, book ferry tickets at least a few days ahead.

The bus system (KTEL) covers the main beaches cheaply (€1.80-2.50). Water taxis from the old port serve beaches directly but are more expensive. Renting an ATV is the standard way to get around independently; expect €25-35/day and drive carefully on the narrow roads.

Shoulder season (May, June, September, early October) gives you most of the same experience at meaningfully lower prices and smaller crowds. August is the peak; the island is genuinely packed.