Marvellous Beach

About ten minutes wander from the centre of Mykonos Town, Grand Beach is a real find. The staff are unusually friendly and helpful (free hotel airport transfers, complimentary cold fruit cocktails when minor wind-proofing work was going on around the pool etc etc) and the hotel was exactly as it appeared on its website. First is Oia (also known as Apano Meria), the most northerly town, which is picturesque, majestic and wild. And just because we’re here at Mykonos, don’t miss the beaches of Kamari and Perissa, two coastal settlements with a marvellous beach of black sand and all the delights of the seaside over on the island of Santorini. The Myconos Beach Hotel is located 10 minutes walk from the centre of Mykonos Town, 4 km from the port and the beach is only 50 m away. The main tourist attractions, shops, restaurants, bars, entertainment and nightlife venues of Mykonos are within easy reach from the hotel, making it the ideal starting point for a visit to Mykonos.

The town of Mykonos is one of the best examples of Cycladic architecture and is a maze of streets and alleys so that you never know where you will end up. But along the way you will see things that may surprise you, from a branch of your favorite boutique that you assumed only existed in Manhattan, to expensive french restaurants, traditional churches, gold shops, tavernas, an internet cafe and a pelican named Peter who would be in his mid sixties had he not been replaced so often. Head east from Mykonos town on the road to Ano Mera, turning left after 1.5km (1 mile) on the road to Ayios Sostis and Panormos. At Panormos, you’ll find a cove with 100m (328 ft.) of fine sand backed by low dunes. The capital considered to be one the most beautiful of all islands towns. It Greek island clich: cubic white houses with blue doors and windows narrow little streets.

There is an amazing choice of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, many located along the picturesque waterfront of Mykonos town. The town itself is charming, with quaint, brightly painted houses set in narrow, winding alleyways — the perfect setting for quiet afternoon strolls. Mykonos has the cubist charms of a traditional Cycladic town; narrow alleyways wriggle between the white-walled buildings and the flower-bedecked churches are scattered everywhere. Well, it figures; Mykonos claims to have 400 churches. Our hotel was at Platis Yialos, a quiet beach from which we could easily get to Mykonos town and all the other beaches. From our room we looked down toward the cove.

Unlike most island ports, the main town is built not on a hillside but spread out over a flat plain. The harbour area is split between the fishing quay, with its small boats beached on the sand, and the main port where the ferries pull in and tarmac and concrete make up the view. In contrast to Mykonos Town is the village of Ano Mera, offering a taste of a more rural Greek life. Life moves a little slower here. Go to the bus station in the centre of the town and get on a bus to Plati Yiallos. The buses leave on a strict timetable (it’ll seem like chaos but it isn’t) every half hour.