View overlooking Psarou Beach
When I think of Mykonos, I think of crystal clear blue water and gorgeous beaches … and cocktails priced at 30 euros. It’s definitely a paradise you pay for, but who doesn’t like to be bougie every once in awhile?
Athens –> Mykonos, Day 3
I’m sitting here chuckling because I don’t quite know where to start with our boat-ride-gone-wrong story. We booked a high-speed ferry out of Athens with Seajets early in the morning so we wouldn’t waste a whole day traveling (the slower ferries almost double the time of your trip). I heard over and over how crazy the ports were, but had no idea the surprise we were in for.
We arrived at our port an hour early to be safe. The first shock of the morning came when we were boarding with hundreds of people and literally shoving our suitcases on the floor of the boat. I remember thinking “I’ll never find this; I’ll never get my luggage back,” but everyone was thinking (and verbalizing) the same thing. Somehow, you do find your luggage when exiting. I guess it’s just one of those risks you have to accept.
A short while after boarding, I heard several announcements, but none of them were in English. I started getting concerned when people were getting up and leaving so I decided to find a crew member. When I got to the staircase, it felt like we were in a movie. People were herding and yelling … and everyone looked confused. It was a chaos I can honestly say I’ve never experienced before in my life.
I pushed my way to a crew member who told me “Mykonos, E7.” I assumed it meant we had to leave — but that’s honestly the only information we were given the entire day. There was no communication about why were getting off the boat, and no direction on where we could find E7, assuming it was a another port.
I’ll spare you all the details, but long story short, we walked over a half mile in the rain with no real destination in mind. I half-led, half-followed other girls our age who were on the same travel schedule; it helped to know we weren’t alone. We eventually saw another boat, asked if it was heading the Mykonos, got a head nod, threw our luggage on the floor, boarded an already-full boat with nowhere to sit … and had a 7-hour ride ahead of us (instead of the 2.5 hour planned trip). The worst part? We had no idea we were tripling our travel time until another passenger mentioned it. Alex and I found a spot on the upper deck, which was beautiful at first but then more windy than I could’ve ever imagined. You could barely stand or walk.
It was a rough day (to put it lightly), but to be fair, it was the only hiccup of our entire trip, and we later heard that a day after we left Athens all flights and ferries were canceled because of wind — so ultimately, we were lucky and chalked it up as part of the adventure. Bonus: we saw a huge double rainbow that was much prettier in person when we were hauling our luggage to the new port.
When we arrived in Mykonos late in the afternoon, we were s-t-a-r-v-i-n-g. Thankfully, I did enough research to know you should absolutely have transfers set up in advance when you arrive because the ports are … well … crazy. All of our Airbnb hosts were more than happy to set up a transfer for us. It was slightly more expensive than other methods, but I was never more grateful to see someone with our name on a sign when we arrived. Mykonos also only has about 30 taxis, so I wasn’t putting my faith in grabbing one of those, either.
Our driver took us to our Airbnb in Platis Gialos. It was such a great location because we could walk to both Platis Gialos and Psarou Beach (where Nammos is) in less than 10 minutes each.
As soon as our driver dropped us off, we starting looking at restaurant reviews nearby on Yelp. We read awesome reviews about Avli Tou Thodori on Platis Gialos Beach so we headed there for an early dinner.
Alex had the sea bass and I had the mushroom risotto. They were both delicious, but I was partial to the sea bass I stole from Alex’s plate, ha! It was SO good, in fact, that we ate dinner there twice.
After dinner the first night, we discovered a small, dirt path down a rocky cliff to Psarou beach. We grabbed a cocktail at Nammos and quickly decided we would rent chairs right next to the club for a cheaper price the next day and enjoy the same beach.
We ended the night with a slice of pizza from Blue Myth’s take-out window right near Platis Gialos. As we sat on random hotel steps overlooking the beach eating our pizza, we laughed about being peasants in a place that felt overly expensive. But hey, it’s all about finding your slice of comfort when you’re far away from home!
Mykonos, Day 4
By day four, the time change and our crazy travel mishap the day before finally caught up to us and we slept in until 10:30 a.m.! It was our first day to sit down and relax, and Alex was so excited.
We walked to Psarou Beach by 11 a.m. to grab sunbeds and an umbrella. Most clubs open up around this time, so it’s important to get their right on time if you want to snag a spot. We paid 50 euros for two beds and an umbrella, but you pay that almost anywhere in Mykonos. We did discover that almost every beach has a tiny sliver of sand that’s public — and free — if you want to lay down your towel for the day. We didn’t do it because #honeymoon, but if you’re trying to cut costs, it’s a great way to do it.
We were livin’ our best life drinking fancy cocktails allll day. Evidence:
We ate dinner at Nikos Gallop that night, a restaurant in Platis Gialos highly recommended for seafood, and of course, it didn’t disappoint. I ordered sea bass and Alex ordered swordfish. We got hummus and pita as an appetizer and both agreed it was the best pita we had our entire trip!
Most of the restaurants in Mykonos brought us a complimentary dessert after our meal, and Nikos Gallop was no exception. We were able to try portokalopita, a Greek orange cake that sounds gross but is actually really tasty.
After dinner, we caught a bus to Mykonos Town. It’s definitely worth a visit because the bus ride is short (and cheap). We just got lost walking through the narrow, winding paths of the town, shopped, and switched up our dessert game for some gelato … which was a mistake. When in Greece, always choose the lukumades. Nothing else compares!
Mykonos, Day 5
You can’t go to Mykonos without renting an ATV. I mean, you can, but that’s boring. Alex was a little nervous because the roads were so steep and narrow … and people drive like maniacs, but we obviously didn’t let that stop us. You can drive and park them practically anywhere, so it was a great way for us to explore other parts of the island.
We drove the quad to Elia Beach and rented chairs for the day. It’s definitely a quieter beach, and we enjoyed experiencing the different atmospheres.
When we left the beach, we rode the quad to the other side of the island near Agios Sostis. A friend recommended eating at Kiki’s Tavern, but we just never made it. The reviews look amazing, though, if you ever have the chance to go. If nothing else, it’s a good address to plug into your phone if you want an excuse to see the opposite side of the island.
For dinner, we headed back to Avli Tou Thodori. If you know me at all, I’m always harping on Alex for wanting to eat at the same places over and over, but just like all the other Yelpers, we had to go back for the sea bass one more time. Fun fact: You can eat on the beach when the sun goes down so we made a reservation the first time we went and were so glad we did. Note the complimentary lukumades on our table … yum!
We headed to bed early to mentally prepare for the ferry trip to Santorini the next morning. It would be Alex’s birthday and we were hoping for the best … and little did we know, that’s exactly what we were going to get. Thanks for keeping up!
Keeping Up With Kate 