The excuse was a friend's birthday, but the whole point was to travel with my friends on a perfect carefree getaway to a casual yet exotic and picture perfect destination.
We arrived in Mykonos by ferry from Athens. We were stunned by the beautiful port and it was just a 10 min walk to our hotel. Mykonos like most of the Greek islands is hilly and the hotel Paradisson was on an incline. Walking up to the hotel with the baggage is not for the feeble hearted. Do wear comfortable footwear in Mykonos and generally in Greece.
We were pleasantly welcomed into beautiful cozy homely rooms. It was evident from the design and artefacts that this was a home converted into a hotel.
We ordered in some lunch and got ready for an evening outing to the Kalafatis Beach, Monastery of Panagaia Tourliani and the very famous Little Venice in the old port. We just had to take a sea bus from the old port where we lived to the new port, it costs around 2£ per person. You get a sea bus every hour between old and new ports. As we entered Little Venice, we were caught by the beautiful blue and white coloured houses and shops all around with occasional red colour. We walked around the narrow streets that led to the very stunning beach buzzing with tourists enjoying the evening and sunset. The clean waters, windmills and local cafes alongside the beach makes the place an absolute haven for photographers.
We went to fine dine in Little Venice for dinner. The restaurant was romantic, classy and on the beach. We simply loved the food and were pretty entertained by music and a cat.
How could we miss nightlife in Mykonos. We went to the very popular Paradise beach party and the Tropicana beach party, both on the same coast. Spent a ravishing and thrilling 3 hours and were back by 2am as we had a planned Delos trip the next day. Commute to Paradise beach was around 5 miles to and fro by Taxi. It costed around 40£ for the round trip. Night life is quite safe if you keep to your group and do not entertain much interference from trouble makers.
The Delos trip next morning was a trip down Greek and Roman civilization and culture. Delos is an island across Mykonos and you have to travel by boat to get there. It is better to get your tickets in advance as these are popular tourist activities. Greeks believe that Delos is the island of Gods and do not permit humans to live there overnight. This is a day trip and you are back by 3pm at Mykonos for a late lunch.
That evening after a swim and tea in the hotel, we visited the Light house for sunset followed by a visit to Little Venice again for some street shopping and walk along the beach in the night. We had dinner at the Birra Birra by the port and the food was delicious. We got back to the new port by bus as the sea bus has limited operation in the night. Bus fare is 2£ per person.
Next morning, we had an afternoon ferry to the island of Santorini, but we were in no mind to leave this island of Mykonos which makes you want to keep going back there.