Mykonos - the reality.

[sasandy]

Is it warm enough to swim late September?

 

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, sasandy said:

Is it warm enough to swim late September?

 

It should be.   We have swam in early October on other islands. 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, sasandy said:

Is it warm enough to swim late September?

 

You decide.  Here is the average water temps for September:

https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/greece/mykonos-september.htm

[Cruiscs]

On 9/3/2023 at 9:13 PM, sboh said:

Sorry you had a bad experience on Mykonos. We were in Mykonos in June on a port stop and had a wonderful time. I went to the beach and thought it was one of the nicest beach experience I have ever had. The sand, the water, just lovely. I didn’t eat there, just ordered an iced coffee (€5.50). My two adult sons went to Delos then stopped in Mykonos town for a coffee and to wander a bit before returning to the ship. We would have been disappointed if we had stayed on the ship.

Name of the beach?

[sboh]

Elia Beach
 

[Jayhoaps]

On 9/3/2023 at 3:13 PM, sboh said:

Sorry you had a bad experience on Mykonos. We were in Mykonos in June on a port stop and had a wonderful time. I went to the beach and thought it was one of the nicest beach experience I have ever had. The sand, the water, just lovely. I didn’t eat there, just ordered an iced coffee (€5.50). My two adult sons went to Delos then stopped in Mykonos town for a coffee and to wander a bit before returning to the ship. We would have been disappointed if we had stayed on the ship.

It's great to know you enjoyed the beach. Time.

Edited April 13 by Jayhoaps
Had to change my post

[mfs2k]

I'm ok with 5-6 hours on an overpriced party atmosphere beach, listening to loud music, lounging and tanning in the sun, people watching, swimming, drinking, eating mediocre beach food, then going to back the ship.  The other 5 port stops will be sightseeing.  A beach stop in early September to break up tons of walking on other days sounds perfect to me. 

Edited May 22 by mfs2k

[Hlitner]

Last month, we spent a port day in Mykonos (been there more then a dozen times) and decided to simply stay in town.  Normally we would have taken the local bus to one of our favorite beaches, but it was a bit early in the season for a beach day and the weather was a delightful temperature for just walking around Mykonos Town, browsing shops, grabbing some lunch, etc.

 

If I were to put any stock in the OP's post, it is unlikely we would ever go to Mykonos!  We do not know what happened to the OP, but our experience in Mykonos (many times) has been absolutely fine.  Yes, Mykonos Town can get crowded (especially if there ar a few ships in port) but that is the nature of overtourism that seems to exist in many parts of Europe.  There are plenty of beautiful beaches, decent places to rent loungers and enjoy drinks/lunch, etc.  Like many tourist destinations, there are some unsavory places/vendors, but this is not a big deal if one uses common sense and does some pre-cruise homework.   The one warning we give folks is that if you go to Platus Gialos Beach (a very popular and nice beach with many restaurants) be sure to AVOID stopping or giving any business to a restaurant called DK Oyster (you can google this place to learn more).  Otherwise, that beach is a fine destination if one wants a popular beach with lots of places to get a decent lunch.  There are plenty of other beaches (we also have enjoyed Paradise and Super Paradise) ranging from crowded popular places to more quiet laid-back beaches.

 

Hank

[erby2283]

@Hlitner 2) questions for you Hank.

 

We have a day pass booked at St. John but plan to leave early and do some walking around and hopefully see the Windmills.  We are in port 7-5.   What time would you suggest we leave in order to take in the Windmills and walk around a bit and is there anyway to know if our ship will be at old port?  I have in my notes on "trip it" that there are 5 larger ships in port with us that day - approximately 14k passengers (Sept 10th). Luckily our ship and Epic are the first to arrive.  

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, erby2283 said:

@Hlitner 2) questions for you Hank.

 

We have a day pass booked at St. John but plan to leave early and do some walking around and hopefully see the Windmills.  We are in port 7-5.   What time would you suggest we leave in order to take in the Windmills and walk around a bit and is there anyway to know if our ship will be at old port?  I have in my notes on "trip it" that there are 5 larger ships in port with us that day - approximately 14k passengers (Sept 10th). Luckily our ship and Epic are the first to arrive.  

Regarding the port, you either get to dock at the new port or will be tendered into the downtown harbor area (i.e. old port).  I actually prefer tendering since it gets us right into town.

 

As to the windmills, they are about a 10-15 minute walk (as long as you don't take a wrong turn) from the where the tenders dock.  You can see those windmills from many parts of town, and we have never understood why so many (including me) bother to walk over to the actual structures (which are locked).

 

If you are docked at the new port you will need to allow additional time to get back to the port.  For folks who plan on waiting for a shuttle bus, who knows?  We have walked to/from that port (in about 30-40 min) but, many suggest that is not a great idea because of the traffic along the road.

 

With 14k passengers on the island, town will be a real crowded zoo, but such is life.  The reality is that when folks choose to cruise on mega ships (like the Epic) they really should not be upset about over crowded places.  It is partially because of the huge ships that the problem exits, especially on Mykonos and Santorini..  

 

Hank

[erby2283]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

The reality is that when folks choose to cruise on mega ships (like the Epic) they really should not be upset about over crowded places.  It is partially because of the huge ships that the problem exits, especially on Mykonos and Santorini..  

 

Hank

Thanks. We’re on the Carnival Legend but unfortunately Epic is with us in both Mykonos and Santorini. 
 

Just got off Icon and it was my first mega-ship since 2016. Never felt crowded ON the ship but I can just imagine all those people converging on a small island. 

[luvabargain]

My husband and I really enjoyed our day in Mykonos.  We are not “stay on the ship” people, so that would never happen.  We like to venture out and experience each place as it is, some we like better than others, we always enjoy ourselves, but to each their own.  I believe there were 3 or 4 ships in port.  It was busy getting off and figuring out which water taxis to take, but we figured it out.  

 

We didn’t spend time at the port shops, we like to go out and explore.   We rented scooters, so found the place after a lot of walking and away we went on our own.  We went all over the island, exploring beaches and photo ops, etc. We had an incredible meal, yes there were other tourists there, but not busy like at the port.  We did a 3 week land/cruise Europe vacation and Mykonos was in the top 3 of our favorite meals. The locals were super nice and we heard over and over how much they love Americans and how nice we were. (probably love the $ we spend - LOL).  

 

Anyway, it’s what you make of it, there were spots that had the party atmosphere for sure, but other quiet relaxing spots as well.