Cyclades
Mykonos Town
Base three or four nights in or just beside Chora, ride the cheap KTEL buses to the beaches, give Delos half a day, and budget honestly for the waterfront.
Best length
3-4 nights
Airport
Mykonos (JMK), ~4km from Chora
Airport to centre
Pre-booked transfer ~10-15 min; KTEL bus €1.80
Best base
Chora for atmosphere; Megali Ammos or Ornos for a beach edge
In short
Mykonos Town at a glance
Mykonos Town (Chora) works best as a 3- or 4-night island base: sleep in or just outside the old town for the windmills, Little Venice and the bars, use the cheap KTEL buses to reach the beaches, give the Delos ferry half a day, and budget honestly because eating and drinking on the waterfront is genuinely expensive.
The short version
- Stay in Chora itself for the atmosphere and nightlife, or Megali Ammos and Ornos a short walk or bus away if you want a beach without sleeping in the noise.
- Book the Delos ferry or guided tour ahead in July-August: it is the one cultural half-day that justifies the trip beyond beach clubs.
- Skip the airport taxi queue in peak season by pre-booking a transfer; the KTEL bus is €1.80 if you are travelling light.
- Chora is almost entirely pedestrianised, so do not hire a car to stay in town; the buses cover the main south-coast beaches for €1.80-€3.
- Three nights is enough for the old town, one Delos morning and two beach days; Mykonos is small and you will not run out of island before you run out of budget.
Mykonos sells itself on two things that pull in opposite directions: the photogenic old town of Chora, with its windmills, whitewashed lanes and the sea-edge bars of Little Venice, and a beach-club scene that can empty a wallet in an afternoon. The skill of a good first trip is keeping both without letting the second one set the budget. Base yourself in or just beside Chora, walk the old town early before the cruise crowds and the heat, and treat the famous beach clubs as one chosen splurge rather than the default plan.
Three nights is the practical length. The island is small, so you can give one morning to Chora and the Delos ferry, then spend the rest on the south-coast beaches reached by the cheap KTEL buses from the Fabrika station. Delos is the one half-day that lifts the trip beyond sunbathing — an entire uninhabited island of ancient ruins, 30 minutes by boat — so book it ahead in high summer and go early, because there is almost no shade out there.
Where the island catches people out is the gap between the headline prices and the real ones. A beer on the Little Venice waterfront can be triple what the same drink costs a few lanes inland, and a premium sunbed runs past £100, yet a gyros from a Chora grill is about €7 and the bus to the beach is €1.80. Below, the structured planning — where to stay, what to book, how to get in from JMK, and a realistic budget in pounds — picks up from here.
Plan your Mykonos Town trip
Keep a first trip focused: book the big timed sights, then leave room for neighbourhoods and food.
Top things to do in Mykonos Town
Delos archaeological site
Delos is the uninhabited island of ancient ruins about 30 minutes by boat from Mykonos Old Port — the sacred birthplace of Apollo and one of the great archaeological sites of the Aegean. The boat is around €25 return, site entry about €20, and guided tours from roughly €79. Go on the morning sailing before the heat builds: the island has almost no shade and no real shelter, so take water, a hat and sun cover, and time your return boat carefully.
Mykonos Windmills (Kato Mili)
The row of seven 16th-century windmills at Kato Mili is free and open-air — you walk up the low rise above Little Venice, photograph the whitewashed mills against the sea, and leave. The catch most visitors miss: at sunset the sun sits low and off to the side of the row, so the glowing-white-mills shot people picture actually works better an hour or two earlier. Come mid-to-late afternoon for the mills lit from the front, then walk two minutes down into Little Venice for the actual sunset over the water.
Where to stay first
The areas that make a first visit easier — not an exhaustive directory.
Chora (Mykonos Town)
£££ premiumThe classic base: walk to the windmills, Little Venice, the Old Port and every bar and boutique. The trade-off is noise until the early hours, the highest prices on the island, and no swimming beach in the centre. Choose it if nightlife and atmosphere beat a quiet night's sleep.
Best for: First-timers, couples, nightlife, short stays
Megali Ammos
££ mid-rangeThe nearest actual beach to Chora, about a 10-minute walk south of the windmills. You get sea views and a sandy strip but stay in walking range of the old town and the Fabrika bus station. The best compromise between beach and old-town access.
Best for: Beach-plus-town balance, value over Chora
Ornos
££ mid-rangeA calm, family-friendly resort bay with a sheltered sandy beach, casual tavernas and a good bus link to town. Quieter and softer-edged than Chora; the better pick if you have kids or want early nights.
Best for: Families, calmer stays, swimming
Platis Gialos
££ mid-rangeA long organised south-coast beach with hotels, seafront tavernas and water taxis to Paradise and the other party beaches. Good for a sunbed-led trip, but you will bus into Chora for the old-town evenings.
Best for: Beach-first stays, easy beach-hopping
Airport to city centre
| Option | Time | Cost | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-booked private transfer | ~10-15 min | usually €25-€40 fixed | Best in peak season to skip the taxi queue |
| Taxi from the rank | ~10-15 min | about €25-€35 plus airport toll and luggage extras | Queues of 30-60 min are common June-September |
| KTEL bus to Fabrika station | ~15-20 min | €1.80 single | Hourly in high season; fine if you travel light |
When to go
Sweet spot: Late May to mid-June and September to early October are the sweet spot: warm sea, 24-28C days, everything open and noticeably lower hotel rates than peak. June and September give you the nightlife without the August crush.
July and August are the most crowded and the most expensive, with beach clubs, the old town and Delos all at their busiest. May and October are cheaper and calmer but some venues and ferries wind down, and winter is effectively closed: most hotels, the direct UK flights and the Delos boats stop. The summer meltemi wind can also chop up the sea and cancel the odd ferry.
What it costs
Direct UK summer flights run from Gatwick (easyJet) and Heathrow (British Airways), with Manchester and other charters seasonally. Booked ahead, returns often land around £120-£250; peak July-August weekends and last-minute fares push well past £300. The route is seasonal, so it largely disappears November to March.
Daily budget per person
Mykonos is genuinely expensive, but the bill is mostly self-inflicted: a beer on the Little Venice waterfront can be €8-12 and a premium beach-club sunbed €100+, while a gyros from a Chora grill house is about €7 and a KTEL bus to the beach is €1.80. Mix one splurge with cheap days and the island is manageable.
Book the essentials
Where to stay
Tours & tickets
Airport transfers
Stay connected
Also in Greece
Mykonos Town FAQs
How many days do you need in Mykonos Town?
Where should first-timers stay in Mykonos?
Is Mykonos really as expensive as people say?
Do you need a car in Mykonos?
Ready to book?
Find hotels in Mykonos Town