In summer 2021, I finally got a chance to visit the Greek islands - a place that has been on my list for decades. We spent about 10 days on two islands, 7 in Tinos and 3 in Mykonos. And they were both from a different world.
There was sun all the time, so much so that it stopped being exotic. The high winds sometimes dampened its warm effect, but not so much. We had nowhere to get to and nothing to do. And for me, that was the highlight of this holiday - a typical laid back Greek island vacation.
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| Principote beach |
We started and ended in the island of Mykonos which was the busier of the two islands. There were more crowds and it had fancier and more stylish places to go to. We visited many of its amazing beach bars and had some awesome evenings on the beaches, all with magnificent views. It was definitely more happening than Tinos, which was a lot more tame, idyllic and remote.
Our trip itinerary in Mykonos was as follows
Day 1: Land in Mykonos; stay at Hotel Super Paradise Suites; explore Paradise Beach Club; dinner at Jackie O
Day 2-7: Ferry from Mykonos to Tinos; Stay in Kardiani, Tinos; Explore Tinos
Day 8: Ferry from Tino to Mykonos; dinner at Scorpios
Day 9: Explore Mykonos Town; Agios Sostis beach; Principote beach bar; Nammos beach bar; dinner at Yalo Yalo at Platis Gialo beach
Day 10: Platis Gialo beach; fly back to Amsterdam
Reaching Mykonos
Surprisingly in summer, the Greek islands have direct flights from many European cities. So it was quite convenient to get there. The views while flying over the islands were superb. We could see many islands strewn across the Aegean Sea. As we were landing into Mykonos, we could see all the white houses on the cliffs along the shore. They were everywhere. And there were loads of churches too, with their blue domes. There were lots of boats moored all around the coast. And the island was dry. Brown bare lands with some shrub vegetation, dotted with only the Cycladic houses breaking its monotony.
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| Greek islands from above |
I had no idea the Greek islands are so dry, so that was my first shock of the trip. The second which came later was how windy it was (I had no clue!). This is when I decided to read a bit about the islands😊. There are about 2000 of these, with about 200 of them inhabited. They are divided into 6 groups - Ionian, Cyclades etc. And all of them are different - some greener, some less, some windier, some less, some Venetian in culture, some Ottoman and so on. All are different and their differences are very evident when you get there.
The Cycladic islands are the peaks of a submerged mountain range, so they are mountainous themselves. The climate is generally dry and mild, but with the exception of Naxos the soil is not very fertile. And they are very windy, making them colder than the other ones. They are quite bare and have the typical Cycladic houses, white with some blue, juxtaposed across the yellow of the sand and the land. Santorini is the most famous of these white blue islands and all these islands look similar.
But for now, as I got out of the plane, the warmth and island vibe was in the air. Which got me into the vacation mode immediately.
Stay at Super Paradise Club
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| Super Paradise Beach Club |
Our first stay in Mykonos was at the Super Paradise Club boutique hotel and we stayed there just a night. We had a hotel shuttle to the hotel, and the route was extremely curvy and mountainous. The roads were so narrow, it would have been tough for me to drive here. It was a beautiful little hotel close to the airport next to the Super Paradise Beach Club. It had a magnificent view of the beach club in front, and had enough things to do nearby. So we did not leave the hotel at all.
We ended up spending a very lazy day at the beach club. We had lunch and lounged in the sun first. It had a lot of sunbeds, warm water in the sea and great music. It was quite expensive though. There were lot of water sports options there too. But it was emptier than we expected, and that is when we got our third shock – the tourist season was coming to an end and lot of places had shut down for the winter. Crowds were also lower at a lot of places.
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| Jackie O dinner |
We saw a beautiful sunset and for the evening, just crossed the beach to the Jackie O restaurant. It had a gorgeous view and was very very happening. There were a lot of interesting people there, and the food was to die for. The beach club also had music playing till very late, providing a nice ambience while we had our dinner at Jackie O.
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| View from Paradise hotel |
The next morning, we woke up to the first sun rays slowly lighting up the white houses one by one, and finally over the hotel. It was quite a sight to see the blue water slowly start sparkling. We however did not do much that day, just soaked in the sun the whole morning at the beach club. And then took the shuttle to the ferry terminal in town, to take our ferry to Tinos. On the way, we drove through town and saw that it was quite busy and active. There were loads of shops and tourist activities everywhere, so clearly this was a popular place. And after this short stay, we had to say goodbye to Mykonos before coming back a week later.
Stay at Palladium Hotel
When we were back in Mykonos after a quiet time in Tinos, it felt like coming back to civilisation. And it was almost like holidaying with a vengeance! We stayed at a 5-star resort and visited the best and most famous beach bars of the island.
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| Palladium Hotel |
We stayed at the Palladium hotel near the Platis Gialos beach. It was a boutique 5-star hotel, with personalised service. And we loved it. We got upgraded to a gorgeous suite right next to the pool. And since the hotel had been renovated just before the pandemic, it was all shiny and new still.
After the stay in an Airbnb in a village, this felt like luxury. We swam in the outdoor pool, and the heated pool in the spa, just to take in the luxury. It had a great restaurant with a view, for breakfast and lunch. And the attendants were extremely helpful, helping us book a car rental, find the right places to go to, and so on. It was also walking distance to the beaches of Platis Gialos and the Nammos beach bars which was convenient. The hotel was definitely a high point of our stay at Mykonos.
Beaches and beach bars of Mykonos
The beaches of Mykonos felt larger and more sandy than the ones in Tinos. And the beach bars we went to were definitely more posh and trendier. We spent most of our 2 days there just exploring the best of these.
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| Scorpios |
The first night, we took a taxi to Scorpios which is a posh beach bar near Paraga beach. Apparently all the celebrities go there and it is tough to get a reservation. We were able to get a 2 hour booking for dinner as it was the low season. It was quite a fancy place, with a fabulous view. There were many seating areas – casual sitting with sunset views, lounges on the cliff, beach chairs as well as a formal dining area. We had dinner there and the food was tasty.
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| Mykonos, from Scorpios |
The highlight of course were the views from there – of the beaches below and Mykonos town across the bay. The twinkling lights far off made it look like heaven on earth and I loved it. It was quite windy though, which made it tougher to stay there longer. Of course, being there after being on the non-pretentious island of Tinos, I found the place too posh for me😊. This is when I realised, I enjoy the non-pretentious places lot more than the fancy ones.
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| Agios Sostis Beach |
The second day we visited a few of the beaches and beach bars on the north part of the island. First, we drove to Kikis tavern. It is a small restaurant in the north which is quite popular for its cliff location, great food and casual vibe. However, it had a long queue, so we decided to swim on the Agios Sostis beach and totally loved it. I think it was one of the most picturesque beach I visited on the islands. The beach extended for long, the sand was yellow, the water extremely blue, the bay kept the waters calm and the swimming was outstanding.
There were also a lot more people there than expected. We stayed there for a long while, swimming for hours. There was a lot of wind later though, but it didn’t matter as the water was amazing.
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| Principote beach bar |
After the swim, we went to the Principote beach bar for lunch which was right next to the beach. It was the last open day for Principote too. I think this was my favourite beach bar of the lot. It was located on a huge yellow sand beach with panoramic views of the beach and bay. It was huge and sitting there, you felt close to nature. We had a long relaxed lunch there while looking out at the sea. The beach there also had soft yellow sand and it was fun to swim there. The waves were too huge though due to the wind, so we got out soon to avoid any accidents as there were no lifeguards there.
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| Nammos beach bar |
In the evening, we walked to Nammos beach bar and realised it was their last day too! It was a fancy beach bar and we spent some time there just enjoying the views of the ocean (though we couldn’t see the sunset). It was located at one of the most posh areas on the island and you could see it in the high end shops, huge apartments and cars all around. It also had different vegetation – it was all so green with huge palm trees making it look like an oasis.
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| Nammos beach |
It was tough to eat dinner there though given how loud the music was, so we walked to the closeby beach of Platis Gialo and had dinner at Yalo Yalo. It was clear this was a touristy place as a few waiters came and spoke to us in Hindi saying they had learnt it for the tourists😊. The Pakistani chef also came and said hello to us there.
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| Platis Gialos beach |
The last day, our flight was in the afternoon. And the attendant in our hotel kind of convinced us to go for one last swim. So we walked to the Platis Gialo beach again and this time swam in the water. It was a gorgeous beach, quite shallow till quite far and we enjoyed the swim. Though it got windy and cold very quickly. The beach was lined with beach hotels which looked like a good option to stay at a place with easy access to the beach.
Exploring Mykonos town
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| Windmills in Mykonos |
The second day, we had hired a car and started the day with exploring Mykonos town. Overall, it was quite big and touristy, with loads of cars. The main town had cobbled streets and shops on every street, with the typical white houses, blue doors and green plants adding to the colours.
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| Little Venice in Mykonos |
There is an area in town called Little Venice which is a must see. But it turned out to be just some restaurants on the sea giving it a feel of being right next to a canal. It felt a bit of a let-down. And there are some windmills on a hill which felt quite old and gave a nice photo opportunity. We walked around just a bit but overall found the town to be average. A highlight of course was two churches which I finally saw from the inside. There were some ceremonies going on and it all felt so elaborate – the decorations, the candles and incense, the priest robes and so on. I found it so different from the other churches I have been to in Europe, it was quite interesting.
Leaving Mykonos
The airport was just 5 mins away from the hotel. And as usual as happens in covid times, we were early at the airport which was not needed at all. It was so chill, with only a single gate and everything managed quite ad hoc. Was such a welcome change than all the busy airports we are used to flying from, like Heathrow and Schipol. The flight to Athens was quite picturesque, over all the small sparkling Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. And then I took the connecting flight back to Amsterdam, back to a faster pace of life.
Impressions of Mykonos
Mykonos has been made famous by all the celebrities who come here. Like the Kardashians, Kylie Jenner etc. In fact our hotel driver made fun of it too saying he didn’t understand how these celebrities had made the island such a popular spot when it was so cold, and there were better islands to visit.
Mykonos had more lights and more holiday homes than Tinos. It was more commercial, more crowded, and had a better vibe and fancier places with more things to do. The roads were narrower and had more turns, with bigger cars, so driving was tougher. Renting an ATV would have been a good experience here.
It was definitely more touristy, and surprise surprise, we ran into a Pakistani petrol attendant in town!
Greece had been on my list of places to travel for long, and I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday – especially interesting was the contrast between the two islands I visited. It was as relaxing and fun as I wanted. I can see myself visiting some of the other islands too, though I would definitely prefer the greener and less windier ones the next time.
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