Tours in Mykonos

Walk into Mykonos Town in the late morning and you will notice the lanes are whitewashed and narrow on purpose. They twist, double back and drop you at a blue door or a pile of bougainvillea you did not plan to find. Everyone gets lost here once. Let it happen, then follow the sound of water and you will end up in Little Venice, where the balconies hang over the sea and people gather at the end of the day to watch the light go.

Most visitors stay in that tight knot of town and the beaches around it. The windmills on the ridge, the harbour with its pelicans, the church-studded streets of Chora, all of it is worth your time. Paradise and Psarou have their crowds and their music, and some people come for exactly that. If you want a different island, you have to leave the southern coast behind.

Head inland and north and Mykonos slows down. Ano Mera is a proper village, with a square, a monastery and a pace that has little to do with the clubs. Further out the land turns dry and open, stone walls run across the hillsides, and the wind is a constant companion. Beaches like Kalo Livadi, Kalafatis, Agios Sostis and Agios Stefanos each have a different mood, from busy and sociable to wide and quiet. The lighthouse at the northwest end gives you the sea in every direction.

That is the side of the island our private minibus tour covers, and it is a good way to see it in a few hours without worrying about roads or parking. If there is somewhere else you want, Delos across the water, a particular chapel, a winery, a beach you have seen in photos, ask. A local guide can build a day around it.