Visiting Delos from Mykonos Greece: Scheduled Boat, Guided Cruise or Alone
Three ways onto the sacred island, and the cheapest is not the worst. What each one costs, how long each gives you ashore, whether a guide is worth €45, and the Monday timetable gap nobody warns you about.
The three ways onto Delos
There is no bridge, no ferry timetable to a village and no way to walk. Every visitor arrives by boat from Mykonos, and there are exactly three shapes that takes.
| Route | Time ashore | What you pay | Also get | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled boat from the Old Port | About 3 hr 30 min | The crossing, plus €20 on the island | Nothing else | At the Old Port, on the morning |
| A cruise that lands | About 1 hr 30 min | From $147 upwards, plus €20 | A swim at Rhenia and lunch | Ahead, especially in summer |
| A cruise with a licensed guide | About 1 hr 30 min, guided | From $125 upwards, plus €20 | A guide or a 3D app, a meal, an open bar | Ahead; the guide is pre-booked |
What does the scheduled boat cost and when does it run?
The licensed service leaves the Old Port beside the Chora, not the New Port at Tourlos, and it runs 1 April to 30 November. The 10:00 sailing returns at 13:30 every day. An 11:30 sailing returns at 15:00 Tuesday to Sunday. A 17:00 afternoon sailing runs from 2 May to 26 October, returning between 18:00 and 20:00 as the season shortens.
That gives you about three and a half hours ashore on the morning boat — more than twice what any cruise here allows. Tickets are sold at the port on the day. The Delos page has the full timetable.
What does the €20 ticket buy?
One ticket covers the archaeological site and the museum together, and it is set by the Greek Ministry of Culture rather than by any operator, so it is the same figure whichever boat brings you. No cruise fare in this list includes it. Two of them say so in writing; the rest simply do not mention it, which is how travellers end up surprised at the gate.
Take cash or a card. Site hours are 08:00 to 20:00 from 1 April to 31 October and 08:00 to 16:00 through November, and the site closes from 1 December.
Do you need a licensed guide?
Not to get in, and not to understand the shape of the place: the site is signed and the museum does a lot of the work. A licensed English-speaking guide is sold as an option on two of these cruises, at €45 per person on one, running about ninety minutes. One traveller who took it called it excellent for adults and dry for children. Another, on the same boat, said plainly that if you enjoy exploring at your own pace you do not need it.
Both are right, and the honest answer is that it depends on whether you want the site explained or discovered. What a guide definitely buys you is the difference between a field of stones and a town.
What about the audio and 3D options?
One operator offers access to a 3D web app for a self-guided walk, available in nine languages. It suits anybody who wants the explanation without the group pace, and it is the only route here that works in a language other than English without booking a private guide.
How much time does each route give you?
Three and a half hours on the scheduled boat. About ninety minutes on any of the cruises that land. That is the trade: the cruise gives you a swim at Rhenia, a cooked lunch and a boat to lie on, and takes two hours of Delos to pay for it. If the ruins are the point of the day, the scheduled boat wins on every measure except comfort.
What do the cruises include, and what do they not?
- Included on the cruises that land: the crossing both ways, a meal aboard, drinks, snorkel gear, and a swim stop at Rhenia.
- Not included, on any of them: the €20 site ticket.
- Sold separately on one: a hotel transfer at €20 per person return, and a licensed guide at €45 per person.
- Sometimes excluded: towels. Check the card.
Why does Monday change the plan?
Because the 11:30 sailing does not run on a Monday. The choice is the 10:00, which is the good one, or the 17:00 afternoon boat. If Monday is your only free day, be at the Old Port for the morning departure and treat the afternoon as Mykonos. Nobody publishes this clearly and it is the single most useful line in this guide.
What is on the site, and what should you head for first?
Delos is not one monument, and that catches people out. What survives is the plan of a whole town: the Sacred Way running up from the harbour, the sanctuary of Apollo around which the whole island turned, the theatre cut into the slope with its cistern beneath, and the residential quarter where the floor mosaics are still in the floors. The terrace of the lions is the image everyone knows, and the lions standing there now are replicas — the originals are in the museum, a hundred metres away and included in your ticket.
With ninety minutes, walk the Sacred Way, the sanctuary and the theatre quarter, then give the museum twenty minutes at the end. With three and a half hours, add the residential quarter and the climb up Mount Kynthos, which is short, steep and the only place you see the whole layout at once.
What is the site actually like to walk?
Open ground, uneven ancient stone, and almost no shade. In July and August the sun is up for twelve hours and there is nothing to stand under. Take water, a hat and shoes with a sole. There is a small cafe and a museum with a roof, and that is the extent of the shelter.
What can you not do on Delos?
- Swim. It is a protected archaeological site. The swimming happens at Rhenia, next door.
- Stay the night. There is no accommodation and no service after the scheduled returns.
- Arrive in winter. The site closes on 1 December and the boats stop on 30 November.
- Be guided by just any guide. Guiding inside a Greek archaeological site requires a licence that ordinary driver-guides do not hold, which is why a Delos guide is always a separate booking.
Does the crossing itself need thinking about?
It is about half an hour each way from the Old Port and the boats are small. In a settled meltemi the channel between Mykonos and Delos is exposed, and the scheduled service can be cancelled outright rather than re-routed — there is nowhere else for it to go. That is the one respect in which the cruises have the advantage: a catamaran with a captain's-discretion clause turns a windy day into a south-coast day, whereas a Delos boat either sails or does not.
Check the forecast the evening before, and if you have a choice of days, put Delos on the calmer one. The weather page sets out how the wind runs through a Cycladic summer.
Which route should you take?
| If you | Take |
|---|---|
| Came for the archaeology and have a whole morning | The 10:00 scheduled boat from the Old Port |
| Want the ruins and a swim in one day | A cruise that lands |
| Want somebody to explain it | A cruise with the licensed guide option |
| Are travelling with young children | A cruise that passes; ninety minutes on hot stone is a hard sell |
| Are ashore off a ship for four hours | Neither — the crossing does not fit |
Every trip named in this guide is compared on price, hours and what the fare covers at Mykonos Greece Tours.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a Delos ticket?
Is the Delos entrance fee included in a cruise?
Do I need a guide on Delos?
How long do I get on Delos?
Can I swim at Delos?
Is Delos open in winter?
The cruises that reach Delos
Mykonos Greece Sail Cruise to Delos and Rhenia
Lands for ninety minutes, with a licensed guide sold separately and two and a half hours at Rhenia after.
From $147 per person
Check Availability
Mykonos Sail Cruise to Rhenia with a Guided Tour of Delos, Lunch and Drinks
Lands, with the choice of a licensed guide or a 3D app in nine languages, and an open bar aboard.
From $125 per person
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Mykonos Delos Rhenia Daily Cruise with BBQ, Drinks & Transfer
Ties up at Delos and returns for anyone who goes ashore, with the transfer and everything else in one fare.
From $171 per person
Check AvailabilityDelos rewards planning more than any other half-day in the Cyclades. Whichever route you pick, the cruises here refund in full up to 24 hours before they sail.