Things to Do in Mykonos Greece
Mykonos is a small island with a wide range of days on it. Nine options below, each set out the same way — how long, how much, who it suits, how to book — so you can compare them rather than read nine sales pitches. The last one is the one nobody plans for and everybody needs. If the water is the part you came for, the best boat tours Mykonos start at $44 and run to a full catered day.
Get on the water for the Rhenia swim day
The single most-booked thing here, and the reason is simple: Rhenia is uninhabited, its bays are sheltered from the north wind, and nothing but a boat reaches it. Catamarans and sailing yachts run from six jetties around the island, most with a cooked meal and an open bar in the fare, and the swim stop runs from ninety minutes to four hours depending which you take.
Time it takes: Five to six hours, morning or afternoon
What it costs: From $112 to From $177 per person, usually with lunch and drinks included
Best for: Swimmers, couples, anyone whose idea of Greece is the water rather than the town
Book it: See the catamaran cruise
Land on Delos
Delos is the sanctuary island, an hour's sail west, where a whole ancient town stands at ankle height and the mosaics are still in the floors. Three of the cruises here tie up and let you ashore for about ninety minutes; the scheduled boat from the Old Port gives you three and a half. The €20 site ticket is yours to buy either way.
Time it takes: Half a day, or six hours as part of a cruise
What it costs: From $147 for the cruise, plus €20 for the site ticket
Best for: Anyone with an interest in the ancient world, and photographers
Book it: See the Delos sail cruise
Walk the Chora with someone who knows it
The lanes of Mykonos Town were laid out to confuse pirates and they still work. On your own you will see Little Venice, the windmills and Paraportiani and miss almost everything between them. A walking tour puts the shape of the place back: the Kastro quarter, Tria Pigadia, the working bakery, and why the streets bend the way they do.
Time it takes: Three hours, on foot
What it costs: From $164 per person for the walking and tasting tour
Best for: First-time visitors, walkers, anyone staying more than one night
Book it: See the walking food tour
Eat your way through the back lanes
Gioras is a wood-fired bakery that has been working in the same building for generations, and it is one of the stops the food tour has entry to. Around it sit the tavernas that locals still use, which are not the ones on the waterfront. The tour includes snacks, water and a map; what it really includes is knowing which door to open.
Time it takes: Three hours, mostly standing and walking
What it costs: From $164 per person; minimum two travellers
Best for: Couples and food-minded travellers who do not want a restaurant list
Book it: See the food tour
Drive the north and east of the island
Half of Mykonos has no bus. Fokos, Ftelia, Agios Sostis and the Armenistis Lighthouse sit on roads the KTEL network does not serve, and they are the quiet half. An island circuit by van covers them in four hours, usually with Ano Mera and the monastery in the middle and the Chora at the end.
Time it takes: Three and a half to four and a half hours
What it costs: From $58 in a coach group, From $129 in a twelve-seat van with hotel pickup
Best for: Anyone without a vehicle who wants more of the island than the beach strip
Book it: See the small-group island tour
Ride a quad over the headlands
A 650cc quad and a lead rider, out from the Old Port to the lighthouse, Ano Mera, Fokos and Agia Anna. Helmets, a briefing, water and energy bars come with it. It is the same ground the island circuit covers, done under your own throttle and with the wind in it, which is either the appeal or the reason to book the van instead.
Time it takes: Three hours
What it costs: From $118 per person, ten riders maximum
Best for: Confident drivers, and families with children over ten
Book it: See the ATV tour
Stay out for the sunset
The sun goes down behind Little Venice and half the island turns to watch. From the shore it costs a drink and a good position. From the water it costs less than you would think: the party boat runs down to Agios Stefanos for a swim, then holds off Little Venice for two hours while the light goes, with a DJ and a bar aboard.
Time it takes: Three hours, evening
What it costs: From $44 per person — the lowest fare on this list
Best for: Over-eighteens, groups of friends, anyone who wants the view from the other side
Book it: See the sunset boat
Do it on the bus for a few euros
Worth saying plainly, because it is often the right answer. The KTEL buses run from Fabrika and the Old Port to Ornos, Platis Gialos, Paradise, Elia and Ano Mera on a published timetable, for a couple of euros a ride. The Sea Bus crosses between the two ports for €2. If your day is the Chora and one southern beach, you do not need to book anything at all.
Time it takes: As long as you like
What it costs: A few euros a ride; the Chora, the windmills and Paraportiani cost nothing
Best for: Independent travellers, longer stays, anyone on a budget
Book it: Or take the lowest-priced guided circuit
What to do when the meltemi is up
Between June and September the meltemi blows from the north at force five to seven, hardest in July and August, and it is stronger by day than by night. It does not cancel a holiday. It moves it: three of the boat operators here carry a written clause that lets the captain re-route to the sheltered south coast, and travellers who were told in advance still rated those days five stars.
The practical answer is to put the boat day on the calmest morning you have and keep the land options for the windy one. The Chora is sheltered by its own walls, Ano Mera sits inland, and a van has no weather at all. What the wind does hour by hour, month by month, is on the weather page.
Time it takes: Whatever the wind leaves you
What it costs: Nothing, if you booked something refundable
Best for: Everyone, at some point in a Cycladic summer
Book it: Book the boat for the morning and keep the afternoon loose
Nine days, one island
Every one of these is bookable now and refundable up to 24 hours before it starts, so a change of weather is not a change of plan.
For what each of these actually is — the landmarks, the dates, the reason they matter — see key highlights, and the best time to visit covers which month suits which of them. Mykonos Greece Tours compares them all on price and hours.
Sources
Checked on 5 September 2026. Fares and durations are each operator's own, taken from their listings. Bus and Sea Bus services are seasonal.
Pick your day
Boat, van, quad or on foot — all of them refundable up to 24 hours ahead.
See Top Tours