Mykonos Greece in the Shoulder Season: May, June, September and October

Hours, prices and access verified by the Mykonos Greece Tours team — last checked 2026-09-05

Mykonos Town and the bay from the hill above, with the sun going down

Four months either side of high summer, all with everything open. What separates them is the sea, the wind and how many people are in the lane — and one of the four has no trade-off at all.

What does shoulder season mean on Mykonos?

Not what it means on a mainland coast. Here the season is set by two things that have published dates: the Archaeological Site of Delos, open 1 April to 30 November, and the Sea Bus between the two ports, running 1 April to 31 October. Everything else — boats, beach clubs, the frequency of the buses — thins out around those two anchors rather than switching off.

So the shoulder here is genuinely four months: May, June, September and October. All four have everything open. What separates them is the sea, the wind and how many other people are in the lane you are standing in.

	May	June	September	October
Max °C	22.3	26.7	25.7	21.9
Min °C	16.7	20.8	20.7	17.6
Sea °C	18.5	21.5	23.5	21.5
Rain days	3	1	2	5
Sun hrs/day	9.5	11	9.5	7.5
Meltemi	Rarely settled	Building, mostly afternoons	Easing through the month	Largely gone
Crowds	Light	Building	Falling after mid-month	Thin
Delos	Open	Open	Open	Open to the 31st
Sea Bus	Running	Running	Running	Stops on the 31st

May, in numbers and in practice

22.3 °C by day, three rainy days across the month, nine and a half hours of sun, and an 18.5 °C sea. The meltemi has not settled in, which makes May the calmest month on the water of the four — and if you dislike a rolling deck, that matters more than the temperature.

The trade is the sea. 18.5 °C is swimmable and bracing rather than pleasant, and some beach clubs are still opening up. The Chora is walkable at midday, which it is not again until October.

June, before it tips

A catamaran anchored over clear turquoise water in the Aegean

26.7 °C, effectively no rain, eleven hours of sun and a 21.5 °C sea climbing fast. The first half of June is arguably the best fortnight of the year here: full summer conditions, everything open, and the crowds still building rather than arrived.

The meltemi starts during June, usually as an afternoon wind rather than an all-day one. From here on, book boat trips for the morning — see the weather page for why.

Why is September the month most people should pick?

Because the sea does not know the schools have gone back. September holds 23.5 °C in the water, the same as July, while the air drops to a much more usable 25.7 °C. The meltemi eases through the month. Crowds fall week by week after the first fortnight. Nothing has closed: Delos is open, the boats are on their full timetable, the Sea Bus is running.

It is the one month of the four with no real trade-off attached, which is why it is the answer for most travellers who have a choice.

October, and what closes

21.9 °C by day and a 21.5 °C sea — still warmer than June's water — but five rainy days and seven and a half hours of sun. Two dates matter: the Sea Bus stops on 31 October, and the last afternoon Delos sailing runs on 26 October. Boat operators start thinning their timetables through the month.

It is a good month with a firm end attached. If you are coming in late October, check what is still sailing rather than assuming.

Which of the four has the best sea?

September, at 23.5 °C, with October second at 21.5 °C — which surprises people, because June is also 21.5 °C and feels like the swimming month. Water lags air by roughly two months here, so the back half of the shoulder beats the front half every time on temperature. May, at 18.5 °C, is the outlier.

What does the wind do in each of them?

May: rarely a settled meltemi, and the calmest sailing of the four. June: it starts, usually in the afternoons. September: it eases week by week. October: largely gone, replaced by the first Atlantic weather of the autumn. If you are booking a boat and the deck matters to you, May and late September are the two to aim at.

How does it compare with August?

	August	September
Max °C	28.4	25.7
Sea °C	24	23.5
Meltemi	Strongest of the year, force 5-7	Easing
Crowds	Peak	Falling after mid-month
Booking window for a capped boat	Three to five days	A day or two
What is open	Everything	Everything

Half a degree of sea temperature and three degrees of air, against the difference between booking five days ahead and booking tomorrow. That is the whole argument for September.

What is still running, and what is not?

Through all four shoulder months: Delos, the Delos boats, the island tours, the KTEL buses, and the great majority of the cruises. The Sea Bus stops after 31 October. Beach clubs close through October at their own pace. Nothing that matters to a first visit is unavailable in any of the four. The best time to visit has the full open-and-closed table.

What is different about the town itself in these months?

More than the weather figures suggest. In May and October the Chora is a working Greek town with visitors in it; in July and August it is the other way round. The practical difference is that in the shoulder months you can eat where you want without booking, walk Matogianni at midday, and photograph Little Venice without waiting for a gap. The tavernas that stay open through the shoulder are disproportionately the ones locals use, because they are the ones that are not there purely for the season.

The cost is atmosphere, if atmosphere is what you came for. A half-empty beach club in early May is a quieter thing than the same club in August, and some of them have not opened yet. Which of those two versions of Mykonos you want is genuinely a matter of taste rather than of value.

Do the cruise ships still come in the shoulder?

Yes, and it changes the calculation. The cruise calendar runs well into October and starts again in April, so a shoulder-season day can still be a several-thousand-passenger day in the Chora between about ten and five. What thins out first is the independent traveller, not the ship.

The move is the same one that works in August: take the town early or late, and use the middle of the day for the water or the north of the island. In May and October you also have the option nobody has in August — simply going somewhere else on the island for a few hours, because the roads are empty and the beaches are not full.

Should anyone still come in August?

Yes, and it is worth saying rather than implying otherwise. If your holiday dates are fixed by school terms, if you want the island at full volume, or if the nightlife is genuinely part of the plan, August is the month that delivers all three. Book the capped boats three to five days ahead, take the morning sailings, and use the middle of the day for the water rather than the town.

Which month, by traveller?

If you are	Take
Swimming-led and flexible	September
Nervous on a boat	May, or late September
Travelling with young children	June, before the peak crowds
Budget-led	May or October
Coming for the nightlife	July or August; the rest is quieter than you want
Coming for Delos above all	May or September, for the site without the queue

Every trip named in this guide is compared on price, hours and what the fare covers at Mykonos Greece Tours.

Frequently asked questions

How far ahead should I book a tour on Mykonos?

Between June and September, three to five days ahead is sensible, because the boats cap between twelve and twenty-five guests and the small-group vans at twelve to fourteen. In May and October a day or two is usually enough. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before means booking early costs you nothing if the plan changes.

Is Delos open in winter?

Not from 1 December. The site and museum run 08:00 to 20:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 08:00 to 16:00 through November, then close, with visits arranged only on written request. The licensed boats from the Old Port run 1 April to 30 November for the same reason.

What happens if the meltemi is blowing?

The route moves, usually to the sheltered south coast, and three of these operators write that into the listing rather than spring it on you. The meltemi is a dry north wind that runs from June to September and is strongest in July and August, at force five to seven. It eases overnight, so a morning departure is the calmer one.

Can I swim on every boat trip?

On every cruise here except the sunset party boat, which stops once at Agios Stefanos for about half an hour. Swim stops run from ninety minutes to four hours, and almost all of them happen off Rhenia rather than off Delos. Snorkel gear is included on six of them and rented on one.

How much do Mykonos Greece tours cost?

The range here runs from $44 for the sunset party boat to $183 for a private half-day with your own driver-guide, all per person. Mykonos Greece ticket prices cluster around $120 to $150 for a boat day with a meal and drinks, and around $60 to $130 for a half-day on land. The private tours quote per person with a two-traveller minimum rather than per vehicle.

Tours that run the full shoulder season

Small-Group Half-Day Tour in Mykonos

A twelve-seat van with hotel pickup, running when the coaches have thinned out.

From $129 per person

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Mykonos Greece Sail Cruise to Delos and Rhenia

Delos and Rhenia by sailing yacht, on the water from April through to the end of the season.

From $147 per person

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Half-Day Private Mykonos Island Tour with a Local

A private half-day with a local driver-guide, which does not depend on numbers filling a boat.

From $183 per person

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September is the answer for most people, and May for anyone who dislikes a rolling deck. Whichever month you take, the tours here refund in full up to 24 hours before they start.