The Plan for the day
We would fly into Mykonos and spent two days on the island. The first day we would focus on sightseeing Mykonos town and the next day we would visit the outskirt towns and beaches.
Athens to Mykonos
Flying from Athens to Mykonos
I had considered both flying and sailing to the Aegean island but in the end I had chosen to fly because I did not see much cost saving and advantages by sailing to Mykonos.
Our flight from Athens to Mykonos was €60 one way per person with Olympic Air which included a check-in luggage. The boat trip would cost about the same price and the journey three time as long.
I had booked an early 8 am flight for Mykonos so as to have a full day to explore the island. At 6 am we left our apartment and walked to Kepameikoy Station and took a subway train right to the airport. The flight was only 45 minutes and by 9 am we had already exited Mykonos airport and picked up our rental car at the Airport Avis Car Rental office.
Athens Airport – Morning view
Rental Car
Our rental car was reserved online and the cost was €77 for two full days. The Avis staff was a very friendly old man and he jokingly told us that the “war” was over. He told us that if we had come to Mykonos a month earlier we would have to drive with extreme care because the roads were jam packed with cars and tourists and it was very common to have car returned with bumps and scratches. Rental cars in Mykonos did not come with GPS but luckily Mykonos was small island so it was easy to navigate using paper map.
Our rental car from Avis
I had considered renting a ATV bike (for two) which seemed like a popular mode of transportation for tourists in Mykonos but decided against it.
Mykonos
Though riding a ATV bike might seem fun, the rental charges was not cheaper than that of a car and it was so much less comfortable and slower. Since we intended to explore the whole island, a car would be a better option. Though the local car rental companies offered cheaper rental rate, I had came across many posts on the internet mentioning cases of bad rental practices and ripoff by local companies and that made me decided to go with only international car rental company.
There were many cases when the cars were in such bad condition that they broke down afterward. The local rental companies refused to provide a free replacement creating a lot of frustration and wasted time for the tourists. All this inconvenience was definitely not worth the cheaper car rental rates.
Windmills
Our first sightseeing destination was the famous Windmills of Mykonos. It was located at the edge of the Mykonos town and its distance from the airport was about 2.5 km.
Route to Mykonos Windmills
There was a carpark just behind the windmills and it was free of charge. When we walked to the front of the windmills we were overwhelmed by the scenery we saw in front of us.The scene in front of us was much prettier than those postcard pictures of Mykonos Windmills. The blue sky, the white windmills, the sand and the sea was absolutely stunning.
Mykonos Windmills (co-ordinates: 37.444607, 25.325640)
Mykonos Town
Leaving our car in the carpark behind the Mykonos Windmills we walked to the town center to see the other attractions of the Mykonos town.
Mykonos Town (Yellow stars — attractions)
Based on the town map that I had downloaded from the internet it looked like all these attractions were reachable on foot. From the windmills we just had to walk along the waterfront all the way to the old port to see these attractions.
A couple of metres from the Windmills was Alefkandra, nicknamed the “Little Venice”. The view of the many restaurants bordering the waterfront were very picturesque, they looked as if they were floating on the water.
“Little Venice”, Alefkandra (co-ordinates: 37.445459, 25.326038)
After “Little Venice” we via right into narrow alley franked by two storey low houses on both sides.
Alleys of Mykonos Town
The wooden frames, doors, wooden balconies of most houses were painted blue and they contrasted beautifully with the white colored walls. The alley walkways were laid with stones and the gaps between these stones were painted white to bring out the grayness of the stones. Houses after houses they were painted with the same uniform theme of white and blue, this made the town looked uniquely beautiful.
The alley led to the old port waterfront where there were more shops and restaurants. Many tourists were dining and others were basking in the sun on the sand and some were in the water.
Mykonos Old Port Waterfront
At the old port we saw a several ferry companies and I walked into one to buy tickets for our ride to Santorini two days later. Unfortunately we were told that the tickets we wanted were sold out for the whole week. I was very surprised because on the internet I read that there would be plentiful of tickets outside the tourist peak season. It seemed that where the Greek islands hopping cruises were concerned early October was still considered peak season. In the end we made some changes in our plan and took an alternative route to Santorini.
Old Port
Our original plan was to arrive at Santorini on the deck of the Blue Star Ferry cruise ship. I had read that the view of Santorini caldera as seen on the open deck of the Blue Star Ferry cruise was magnificent.
The cruise boat did not call at Mykonos Port, the nearest port that it would stop was Naxos Port which was another Aegean Island near to Mykonos. Our original plan was to travel by SeaJets catamaran to Naxos and from Naxos to board the Blue Star Ferry cruise to Santorini.
Unfortunately there was no more tickets on the Blue Star Ferry Cruise for the leg between Naxos to Santorini for the rest of the week. So in the end we bought a direct catamaran trip to Santorini with SeaJets. The direct catamaran trip required only two hours and the cost was €55.50 per person one way.
Cosmote Data Sim Card
Before arriving on Mykonos I had researched for Germanos shop on the island and found that there was only one.
Germanos Shop (co-ordinates: 37.438806, 25.333536)
Finally after being in Greece for 3 days, I was able to buy a data sim card. I bought a 3G(15 days) data sim card for €30. We figured that after the 15 days we could top up the card with another 2G(5 days) for €18. That should be sufficient to cover our internet needs for the rest of the days in our trip. I installed the data sim card in my spare phone and activated its hotspot feature, then both my husband and I connected our other mobile devices to the hotspot SSID and instantly we had internet access.
Whenever we travelled DIY I felt more assure when I had 24/7 internet access as I felt that with it I would always be able to find my way around. I would be more confident to explore new areas, areas that I had not done any research on prior to my trip. Applications such as Google map, google translate, chrome were very important to me during my travel.
Mykonos Sunset
Mykonos is an island so we figured that somewhere on this island we would be able to see great sunset view over the Aegean sea. We came prepared for sunset shots and I had the sunset timing at my finger tips.
So an hour before sunset we drove westward searching for some nice spots. We found one and waited for the sun to set and took some beautiful pictures.
West end of Mykonos
Windmills at Night
We drove back to the famous Windmills after the sun gone down to take more photoshots of them at night. The night scene was very different from the day scene, beautiful in its own way. The cloudless sky with a full moon that night had also played a part in enhancing the beauty of the night scenery.
Night view of Windmills
Our Accomodation for two nights
We had booked to stay at Akrotiraki Hotel for two nights. This is a small hotel located just along the coast, 1.2 km from the Windmills of Mykonos.
Sometimes in the afternoon we had already checked in and dropped our luggage in our room. Our room came with a double bed and a ensuite toilet with shower. The cost was €63 (inclusive of tax) for two nights that included breakfast.
The room was clean, bright and airy. Our hotel was on a raised ground just beside the road which ran along the coast. Standing outside the door of our unit which was on the ground floor we could see the gorgeous blue Aegean sea on our left and the Mykonos Town in front.
This hotel was indeed value for money.
Hi Jaik,
Can I take the public transport on the Greek islands if I don’t drive? It seems that renting a car is the easiest way to get around so I am worried about the local transport. Thanks.
Hi Ju,
There is not much public transport on the Greek Islands, if you dont drive, rent an ATV vehicle it is three wheelers sort of motorcycle.
Jaik
Hi Jaik,
I noted that you took a 8am flight from Athens to Mykonos, and took the metro to the airport, leaving your apartment at 6am.
What time were you at the airport for check-in, with luggage to check in too?
It appears that you were at the airport an hour or less before flight departure. Was that OK?
I noted in the Metro from Athens Center to Athens Airport – Timetable, the metro leaves KERAMEIKOS Station at 06:02, 06:32 for the airport, and arrives at the airport at 06:44, 07:14 respectively.
Fyi, we are taking a 7.50 am domestic flight out from Athens.
Thanks so much for your help.
Rgds,
Seok
Hi Seok,
We were at the airport about 1hr before flight time. At the airport we did an electronic-checkin and a luggage drop. Somehow during our time online checkin was not available to us so we had to be at the airport to do a e-checkin which was very efficient. There were many e-checkin machines so no long queue. Santorini is part of Greece so no custom check too. We flew by Olympic Air and the last e-checkin then was 30 mimutes before flight so we figured 1hr would be sufficient.
By the way just to let you know, in case you planned to visit Plaka Bridge,the bridge that we visited on day 16 of my trip is destroyed in 2015 due to a massive flood.