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Welcome to Mykonos!
The famous windmills
are a Mykonos landmark.
Welcome to the world's adult playground.
Mykonos is the Acropolis of PubClub destinations, a place where the
afternoon scene exceeds the nightlife at many other destinations, where
nights roll effortlessly into daybreak and where meeting people is as
easy as seeing them.
If
parents were truly interested in teaching their kids sex education,
they would take them to Mykonos and let them observe the ancient process
up close. The stuff written in the books happens here in the flesh.
Mykonos is Club Med without the choreography. It's nightlife is so
active and the people so friendly, it's impossible not to become intoxicated
from its lively atmosphere and, oh yes, the endless amounts of alcohol.
Believe it or not,
this is the main street in Mykonos.
This is a small island, or at least what true PubClubbers see of it.
In fact, one could blissfully survive here by sticking to a "Paradise
Beach by day, Skandinavian Bar by night" routine. Mykonos is the most
popular of all the Greek Islands, and is therefore its most crowded
and expensive (at least when compared to other island destinations).
Yes, it's paradise
on Paradise, but it's not the only beach on Mykonos.
It has a fairly well-deserved reputation as one of the world's most
popular gay hangouts. True, it is very accommodating for those individuals.
However, for heterosexuals, shutting out Mykonos for this reason would
be akin to casting aside
San Francisco. Yes, there is an active gay
scene, but unless one really seeks out such activities, that aspect
of the island will scarcely be noticed.
And we must also note that while Mykonos is the adult party playground
of Europe it is also ideal for couples, families and individuals seeking
solace from the fast pace of life. There are many beaches and places
to go that are so quiet and secluded, it is impossible to believe there
is major raging happening on parts of the island.
Mykonos town: Venice (top) and from the harbor (below).
Rooms to Let
Finding Accommodations is No Problem
This lineup of people offering rooms greets every ferry arrival.
Insist on a place adjacent to the port
town (also known as Mykonos; don't say you want to stay in Mykonos because
this could be interpreted to mean the island and have you located halfway
across to nowhere). Be persistent; ask specifically how far a walk the
room is to town. Any response longer than "5 minutes" is unacceptable.
PubClub always stays right in town at a lovely Greek apartment run
by the lively Evangelia. It's capacity is just three people, so it doesn't
work for big gropus, but it's as sweet as the owner. Sometimes, she
can accommodate another person or two elsewhere (50-80 Euros). Evangelia
can be faxed at 0289-26931.
Beach-lovers and super-budget travelers should consider Paradise
Beach. It's sparse but livable, right on the sand (8 Euros a day
in summer). It's a bit inconvenient for the in-town revelry but buses
run until 4:30 a.m. (1 Euro). The bars at the beach also are holding
more night parties to not only keep the backpackers at the beach but
also to pull people from town. Clearly-marked vans provide transport
from the ferry and airport.
Pub Clubbing
Watch out for those shots – they are a standard part of partying
in Mykonos.
Finding social activities on Mykonos is as easy as going to the beach.
In fact, that's the place to start. The revelry starts late afternoon
and goes until you decided to call it quits. It's not quite morning,
noon and night, but more like afternoon, night and morning.
Mykonos By Day
Paradise Beach is Spring Break for Adults
Is is any wonder
why they call it Paradise Beach!?
Follow Me To Paradise Beach.
You will see this phrase on T-shirts and flyers, and they are words
well heeded by serious revelers.
Paradise Beach is both a quiet, sleepy patch of sand and water and
a seaside fraternity party. It has a pair of restaurants (go to the
cafeteria because the fruit is refreshing, the Greek salad is fresh
from a garden and the chicken soulvaki is very tasty), grainy sand,
a few small thatched trees providing shade and topless bathers stretched
out on rented lawn chairs (2.5 Euros).
There's no better
place to be in the afternoon than Tropicana Beach Bar.
Buses run every half-hour to and from town and water taxis come along
every hour (what suffices for a bus station is at the far end of town;
ask at the adjacent convenience store for the water taxi departure point).
Daredevils arrive by moped and dozens are lined up behind the beach.
The roads from town are narrow, bumpy and steep. Considering the party
the beach throws in the daytime, it's best to leave the driving to someone
else. After alll, the bus is only a single Euro and while its SRO in
summer, it's the best option. The station is at the edge of Mykonos
town away from the port; buy the R/T tickets in advance at the adjacent
mini-market.
Most
people emerge from their nighttime den to Paradise in the early afternoon
for some swimming, relaxing and the all-important power-napping. The
beach offers limited recreational activities (jet skis, tubing, water
skiing, even scuba diving). Put on a mask and fins but the snorkeling
is not too exciting. The water temperature is in the 70s; – cool
and refreshing!
At some point in the afternoon, the Tropicana Beach Bar –
#1 in PubClub's rankings of World's
Best Bars – starts sending out musical messages
to beach-goers. At first, it's a subtle tap on the shoulder with some
mellow tunes. Next it's more like an "okay, time to start gathering
up your belongings" jab in the ribs. Finally, it's a sledgehammer to
the head, an all-out techno blitz that forces people to either join
the party or leave.
Not surprisingly, most choose to stay. With 16-ounce beers selling
for 3 Euros and a feast of foreign travelers to meet, how can one resist?
It doesn't take long for the party to crank into high gear. People jump
up to dance on the bar, others wiggle in the sand and water and beer
baths become common. It's what Paradise Beach is all about, what Mykonos
is all about.
It's loud and fun
each afternoon at the Tropicana Bar on Paradise Beach.
To keep things active, the Tropicana hires a few people to raise the
party bar a few notches. Okay, they only get a few dozen Euros plus
room and board, but think of the benefits! These "employees," male and
female, dance on the bar, entice patrons with drinking challenges and
often undress each other in a show that would cost a fortune to witness
in a sex club. It's wild, it's wet and oh, so wonderful.
This continues until about sunset. The Sunrise Bar at the far
end of the beach tries to compete with this scene, especially earlier
in the day, but the real party is at the Tropicana.
About once a month in the summer, Paradise Beach hosts a Full Moon
Party at night. Blow off all other forms of nightlife for this beachside
bash. The other almost-nightly beach parties make a nice change of pace
from the town; it's basically the same beach party under the stars.
Look for flyers around town for information.
A beach alternative is Super Paradise Beach. Best accessible
by water taxi, Super Paradise has a pool and a party, although the real
action is at Paradise Beach. Contrary to the name, it is not super to
Paradise. Super Paradise is the most popular beach destination among
gays.
Sunset om Mykonos
Tavernas in the Venice Area Provide Romantic Viewing
A classier way to spend sunset is at
the Caprice Bar in town. Located in the Venice section of Mykonos,
it is right on the water and offers a pastoral setting either inside
or on tables outside right over rushing waves. Mykonos' famous windmills
are just to the left, adding value to the view.
It's no beach party,
but late afternoons at Caprice Bar is it's own paradise.
The cocktailing cost is higher than most other bars in town – 6-7
Euros for a beer – and the lively attitude inspires multiple trips
to the bar. The fruit drinks and zesty margaritas for which it is famous
are 8-9 Euros.
Caprice Bar has several archways, giving the impression of an open-air
cave. The only problem – if you can call it that – is
that the place is so cool, you may be tempted to stay there and blow
off dinner and the evening nap. It is especially popular among the Greeks
visiting the island.
A large, mostly mellow sunset/post-sunset crowd also gathers next door
on the waterside tables at Gallaraki.
Once the sun settles, the people do not; from dusk until midnight,
the town packed with hearty revelers.
Mykonos at Night – Bars and Nightclubs
Now The Real Partying Begins; But When Does it End?
For the serious party people – and
this involves just about everyone on Mykonos – the evening begins
around 11 at the Skandinavian Bar and Disco. This is ranked as
our #2 selection of the World's
Best Bars. It's located in the middle of a highly-traveled
pedestrian intersection and is THE social gathering spot of the entire
Cyclades. This is the standard meeting place for hooking up with people
you encountered at the beach and where everyone begins their nighttime
partying.
People lick up the
fun at Skandianavian Bar (top and bottom).
Skandianavian Bar takes up an entire block and is comprised of two
tiny open-air service bars, an elevated outdoor patio and a thumping
disco. Cheap drinks (large beers for 4 Euros, cocktails for 6) and just
about every shot imaginable plus a few that aren't) make this a haven
of uninhibited fun. Stay outside for people-watching, bond with the
bartenders inside for some serious drinking fun and head to the disco
for sweat-soaked dancing.
After getting lubricated at the Skandi Bar, as it's called by longtime
Mykonos party zealots, Celebrities is a good choice. The music
is great, the employees energetic and it's a frenzy of fun. Opa! We
keep thinking that Down Under, right around the corner from the
Skandi Bar, will get back to at least part of it's old fury – it
was once an incredibly crazy place – but it's mostly in a long
lull. A couple dozen lively patrons and some good party tunes would
liven up the place considerably.
Back up by the Caprice Bar (away from the port), authentic Greek music
and dancing is played between dance sets at Mykonos Bar. Any
Greeks not at Caprice are likely at Mykonos. Another great thing about
the Mykonos Bar is that it also plays those fun party tunes, like the
movie Grease theme. It's pounding and the flashing strobe lights
create a dizzying head display (an effect accelerated, no doubt, by
the previous party activities).
Across the small street is a hip lounge, Seargo, a good "break
bar," meaning it's a place to recover the senses.
Greeks cut loose
with tourists at the Mykonos Bar.
The biggest dance club on the island is Space Bar, located near
the bus station and the post office. It's a sister to the popular club
in Athens and brings in people from all over the island looking to dance.
With a capacity of about 1,000, it's one of the largest bars in all
the Greek Isles. The music is non-stop techno. The cover is 10 Euros
and so are the beers, but people come here to dance, not to drink. There
are other clubs, one by the harbor that's like a Vegas lounge, but Space
Bar gets the nod.
Mykonos also has a Hard Rock Cafe. It's far outside of town
although pink shuttle buses depart every half-hour at the end of the
port. The bar itself is a high-priced poolside outdoor dance club but
it does have an awesome go-kart course out the back door of the
hotel. It serves beers, plays techno and has a very challenging track.
Back in town, the bars shut down long after many of their patrons,
which is about 4 a.m. Clubs stay open until 6 on weekends, though on
Mykonos it's hard to tell one day of the week from another. Diehards
then head down to the ferry dock to the bar that never closes. It is
unofficially called the Port Bar (because it's at the port) and
some refer to it as The Yacht Club, but it really has no name.
It does, however, have great pizza and offers one final opportunity
to meet your soulmate for the night. The bar is also very popular among
gay men.
This is what happens
after a night in Mykonos – wild and crazy fun!
The Late-Night Alert
Watch Out for the "Mokes"
Mykonos – and all of Greece –
is thankfully incredibly safe and free of crime. However, Mykonos can
present challenges to small groups of girls in the wee hours.
One of the fun things about Mykonos is the never-ending party where
all of a sudden it's 5, 6 or even 8 in the morning. But this can also
pose problems for inebriated girls walking through town. On weekends,
Greek males come in from Athens and other places and pray upon what
they perceive are easy pick-up targets. And the drunker, the easier,
they believe. They are as persistent as flies at a picnic and try and
take girls to "private parties" or a late club. In Hawaii,
these people are known as "mokes,"which means the punks on
the outer islands. So ladies, use your common sense, keep some wits
about you and be forceful. Eventually, they will give up the chase,
like a lion giving up on a gazelle.
Dining in Mykonos
Where to Eat Great Meals in Town; Click
Here for a Typical Greek Menu
In a town with taverns located side-by-side,
Mykonos has many choices for food. Seafood and classic Greek dishes
are specialities and some restaurants specialize in Italian food.
The easiest way to find a taverna is to check the menu and then see
how many tables are taken. We will give a couple of our favorites. The
best place for authentic Greek food is the large and ever-popular Niko's
Tavern. Just in from the harbor, it's has daily specials (roasted
lamb, fish, for example), seafood and pasta and Greek dishes, all for
5-10 Euros (and beers are just 2 Euros). For appetizers, the dolmades
and in particular the humus are conversation-stopping delicious.
Mid-town is Kostas, which always has a crowd, and for good reason.
Prices are 7-10 Euros and items like the lamb and roast pork are fantastic.
Restaurants charge a Euro "cover charge" to sit down (this
includes silverware and bread) but tavernas by the water – especially
along the harbor – bump this up to 4 Euros. These prices are supposed
to be posted on the menu; if not, ask in advance.
Mykonos Sightseeing And Activities
See Post
Party for all active adventures
in Greece
Mopeds are okay for a one-day adventure
on Mykonos. There's really not much to explore beyond that time frame.
Mopeds offer a chance to see remote areas of the island -- head out
of town past the port, along the cliff and up the dirt road past the
hotel. There's a taverna up there somewhere. It's illegal to ride the
mopeds through town -- the streets are narrow and are almost exclusively
reserved for foot traffic.
The island's only other village is Ano Mera, 7 km from Mykonos
town. Quiet beaches, such as Plati-Yialos, are within easy reach
of moped travel. Buses also go to these beaches.
There's also a small stretch of beach a 10-minute walk past the busy
bus stop.
Here is one of Greece's great contradictions -- the islands offer the
chance to be completely alone or in the middle of the world's wildest
party. These seemingly impossible situations can change as quickly as
one's mood, in either a few hours or days.
Walking around Mykonos town and shopping is a daytime
or nighttime treasure. Jewelry -- particularly of dolphins, which represent
love to the Greeks -- is a specialty. Bargaining for price reductions
is part of the deal.
The seemingly million travel agencies offer day trips to Delos..
It's an extensive historical site containing, among other things, a
temple to commemorate the birthplace of Apollo. For us, a trip to Delos
is hardly worth passing up a day on Paradise Beach.
For a more detailed look at non-bar activities in Mykonos, check out
the Beyond PubClubbing
section of Greece.
 Next
stop on the Party Bus: Paros
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