One day in Mykonos, Greece

Last year, Derik and I went on the most amazing Mediterranean cruise with Princess Cruises for our anniversary.  I haven’t had much time to write about it, let alone go through pictures, and decided today was the day! Mykonos, Greece was our first port destination of the cruise that left out of Istanbul, and it didn’t disappoint. I mean, how could it?! I’ve always wanted to visit the island of white and blue, and with only 7 hours allowed to explore, we crammed in as much as we possibly could!

Mykonos was exactly everything I had dreamed about and more. The white-washed walls, the pretty streets, flowering trees, colorful doors, delicious food, and stunning sights. Our short venture around the island wasn’t nearly long enough, and I hope someday we can visit again for a more extended period of time!

So what can you do with one day on the island?

Eat #allthefood – Food was the #1 thing on Derik’s itinerary as we stepped off the boat and into Mykonos Town. There is literally nothing like authentic Grecian food, and I totally understood his urgency. We stopped at the cutest little cafe that had a great outdoor seating area and ordered stuffed grape leaves, some sort of white fish, greek salad, and bread.

We stuck up a great conversation with a man that was also on our cruise, who was born in Mykonos. His parents moved to the US when he was very young, so he doesn’t remember anything of the island. It was a wonderful experience for him to be back (at 87 years young), and he was looking forward to visiting his old homestead later that day. Warmed my heart…I truly hope he had a great island experience!

Back to food: later that day we hit up a small place for gyros and coffee, again appreciating how fresh everything was (even fast food), and went back to the boat thoroughly stuffed.

Wander around Mykonos Town – One of my favorite things to do is get lost in a new place. Mykonos town can be quite a maze of white-washed walls, but amongst those walls you can find the greatest treasures. I would say Derik and I spent a good portion of the morning wandering around town trying to capture everything we could with our eyes and cameras. Not having a phone with signal or a map, we ended up making our way through town anyway just looking for a few of the locations below.

Visit Little Venice and the windmills – Before we arrived in Mykonos, Little Venice and the windmills were number one. After visiting, although stunning, I wouldn’t consider them top of my list for next time. I’ve heard the sunsets from the windmill vantage point are amazing though, so if you can time your visit around then, maybe you’d have a different experience. Ours was pretty “meh” but I think that has to do with over-crowding (as in we were standing in line to move) due to multiple cruise ships.

>>> TIP <<< If you decide to wear a dress on the day you visit, be sure to bring a hair tie or something similar to tie down your dress when you go up to the windmills. For some reason this area of the island is incredibly windy, and you WILL struggle. Trust me. Why I decided on both a dress AND hat I will never know. Major struggle moments for sure.

Photograph Panagai Paraportiani – If you’ve seen pictures of Mykonos on Instagram  or elsewhere, odds are you’ve seen a photograph of this church. The construction of Panagai Paraportiani began in 1425, and was finished in the 17th century. It is one of the most visited and photographed churches on the island.

Find Petros the Pelican – We ran into Petros twice during our day excursion through Mykonos, and behind him he led a train of overly-excited tourists snapping pics and videos on their smartphones. I can honestly say Petros is probably the islands biggest celebrity, and I’m pretty sure he knows it. He goes where he wants, takes food off peoples plates, and doesn’t give the slightest concern or care to the people fawning over him. He is GIANT and a sight to behold, so during your adventures through Mykonos Town, keep an eye out for Petros!

Take a quick side trip to Delos – We also managed to squeeze in a self-guided tour of the neighboring island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo. Delos is one of Greece’s most important archeological and mythological sites, and is among the biggest ongoing excavation projects in the Mediterranean. I’ve always had a fascination with ancient history as well as Greek and Roman mythology, and walking around the ruins was one of the coolest experiences we had on our cruise.

>>>TIP<<< Make sure you buy your tickets for this tour early in the day because they tend to sell out fast.

Experience a gorgeous sunset – As you get ready to jump back on your ship, take a few minutes to appreciate the gorgeous Mediterranean sunset. I absolutely loved how the colors reflected off of the white buildings — making Mykonos shine in a completely different, magical way.

Have you gone to Mykonos? What did you enjoy the most on your visit?

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