Things to Do in Mykonos, Greece in 1 Day | Itinerary
With only 1 day in Mykonos, and since I was with my family, this might be a little different than your typical Mykonos travel guide. When I was looking up this destination, I found that I definitely wanted to hit this island, but I found myself intrigued by what the island had to offer apart from the classic party scene that its known for.
I couldn’t seem to find anything about the island outside of Mykonos Town (the main city section of the island) and so I looked to Google Maps to just scroll the island and see what different points of interest were on the map. So I came up with a tentative idea of how to explore both Mykonos Town as well as the rest of the island in only 1 day – don’t worry, it’s a small island.
Arriving by ferry from Santorini, we hitched a ride from a friend of our Airbnb host. Our Airbnb was less than a 5 minute drive from the ferry port, but since it is a busy road, it was nice to have a car drive us there with all of our stuff.
While this isn’t *technically a 1 day itinerary, if you were looking for an off-the-beaten-path itinerary, skip to Day 2 and that’s where the fun begins.
We freshened up at the Airbnb, and we wanted to make the most of that first night, so we headed into town to explore some of the hot spots to make sure we at least saw all those spots at least once. So yes, we walked a very long walk into town. While I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s safe to walk on those roads, if you’re on a budget and you want to make it happen – do it.
The roads are narrow and there are minimal sidewalks, but it is definitely doable seeing as the island is so small and it’s not as if any road is a highway or interstate.
Night 1: Mykonos Town
So, we walked into town and found ourselves just wondering the cobblestone streets and just getting a real feel for the vibrant and lively city. We looked at the shops, we looked at the restaurants. We looked at the sea behind the white-washed buildings. We saw the windmills peeking over the small city.
Then, we made our way to the Windmills of Kato Mili to see the classic 5 windmills sitting atop the waterfront right next to Little Venice. Especially following the infamous Bachelorette windmill drama, this was a great first stop. We walked around, tried to get a good picture without all the tourists, but let’s be real, this is one of the most famous spots on the island, so we didn’t have much luck. So, just be prepared for this being one of the more crowded areas in the town.
After that, we made our way down the stairs to get to Little Venice – a set of buildings right on the waterfront that look pretty magical at sunset. We went down to the rocks by the water and got some pictures, and we knew we had to be there for sunset, because the sun was already starting to set directly over the water with the cruise ships and sailboats out on the sea.
We decided to eat some great Greek food for dinner while we watched the sun set at Nice N Easy. This restaurant was directly in the middle of Little Venice in Mykonos Town, and it gave us the best view of the sunset while we waited for our food.
We all got different food, but I had the most delicious gyros that I still crave to this day. There’s nothing like Greek food in Greece – nothing like it.
After dinner, we walked a different path out of the town to see more of the town, and we headed back to our Airbnb to shower and go to sleep early to prepare for our early morning the next day so we could have a full day of exploration.
Day 2 – Off the Beaten Path
I can’t even begin to explain day 2 on a positive note, because it was honestly just hilarious. I already mentioned that the island is very small. Apparently, it’s not that small.
We knew to discover the road less traveled on this island, we would need a car (which to some people might mean an ATV or more money on a more convenient car location than we were willing to spend). So, we began our trek all the way from basically the cruise port to the airport where we had rented a car that day.
This was no easy feat. As I mentioned before, the roads are extremely narrow with minimal sidewalks, so our HOUR LONG walk was treacherous, yet scenic at times, but we finally made it to the airport.
Stop 1: Choriatiko
When we finally got to our car we headed southwest on the island to just sort of make a drive to each different area of the island to really get a feel for what it had to offer. We had walked so far that morning that we were so hungry, so we stopped at the cutest cafe called Choriatiko. We had a small breakfast and my sister got her morning coffee while me and my mom got our morning caffeine fix via soda. We got to sit outside and kind of plan for the rest of our day.
After that, we drove around that entire peninsula on the southwest side of the island before heading into the center of the island for our next stop.
Stop 2: Monastery of Panagia Tourliani & Ano Mera
The Monastery of Panagia Tourliani is in the small “town” of Ano Mera. I don’t have much to say about it other than you need to see this monastery that takes you back in time while also remaining beautiful and well-kept. It only costs about 1 Euro to get in, and it is well worth it! Plan to spend around 30 minutes walking around the grounds and exploring the artifacts.
Stop 3: Southern Public Beaches
There are a ton of public beaches on the southern side of the island. There are a good number of resorts on this part of the island, so the beaches may be more crowded here. We drove down to some, but we wanted to save our beach time for later in the day, so we kept going. But, these beaches and beach towns would be great for relaxing at between sightseeing or grabbing lunch and a cold drink. Just make sure you’re prepared for some crowds!
Stop 4: Profitis Ilias
Okay, here’s where this gets a little sketchy, so the next 2 parts of the itinerary are for people who are okay with a little risk and adventure. We drove our tiny, little car all the way to the east side of the island, into the green part of the map that is labeled “Profitis Ilias” – which, when clicked on, says it is a park.
So, me being the curious traveler that I am, said of course we had to go see what this is since there is no information about it and it could be super cool. As we start driving that main road that takes you into it, the roads are pretty much just dirt and gravel, and all we see are some construction trucks leaving. You can’t really see much of where you were going because there were hills driving into it, but eventually we drove around a curve and came across this little white church sitting on the top of the hill.
There were abandoned buildings with graffiti on them and nothing and nobody else in sight. We weren’t sure if we were allowed to be there, but we did get some cool pictures of the buildings on the mountainside going down into the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean so I would say it is definitely worth going here.
Stop 5: Prophet Elias Church
Like I said, this stop was also treacherous. Once again, I wasn’t quite sure what we were getting into when I decided to make this a stop. I saw a large patch of green on the map again, and I decided to see what was there. I saw that there was a church, and from a couple of pictures, it looked like a pretty old church on top of a mountain, so I thought we should at least try to see it.
We started driving and this drive was scarier than the first. The road was all dirt, and it got pretty steep and narrow. The higher we got up, the more my mom and my sister got scared. We were essentially driving up the edge of the mountainside. The best part? The views. We got to a flat portion after a little while driving, and we decided to stop and get out and take in the views from there and abort the mission of making it all the way up to the top.
We could kind of see the church from where we parked, but we took in the 360 degree-views of the beaches and the towns and the Mediterranean Sea all around us. We took some pictures, admired the sheep walking along the side of the mountain, and then slowly made our descent down that dirt road.
Stop 6: Ftelia Beach
After our less-than-expected last two stops, we finally made our way to Ftelia Beach to get some sun and go in the clearest water I’ve ever seen. It was a beautiful day out, and we would have gone in the water longer if it wasn’t freezing cold! But, it wasn’t too hot, so we got to read books and hang out on the beach for a while.
The best part was that it actually wasn’t nearly as crowded as some of the other public beaches we kept seeing around the island. I would definitely recommend this beach! It is easy to get to and very relaxed compared to some of the other party/resort beaches.
Stop 7: Sun of Mykonos Studios
While we didn’t sleep here – although I kind of wish we had. It is the most colorful building with a beautiful garden and landscaping leading up to it. We parked on the outside, and just walked around the outside as much as we could. The flowers were the most unreal colors, and there was even a little church on the right when you first enter the driveway.
Stop 8: Home
Don’t forget to shower after spending the day outside and also at the beach! Also, make sure you get dressed up a little more so you will feel ready for your last night exploring Mykonos town. That’s why you need to make your hotel/Airbnb/resort a stop before going back out for the evening – get ready, relax, take that afternoon nap – you earned it.
Stop 9: Souvlaki Story Taverna
Next up, we decided to find a restaurant for dinner that would have our favorite meal – gyro & souvlaki. It’s actually a chain restaurant, but the whole place was super bright and cute and there was barely anyone else there when we went! The meal was massive, so we ate as much as we could of those delicious fries and savory meat before heading back to the airport to drop off our car.
Stop 10: Boni’s Windmill
Then, it was time to make that long trek on foot back home, but this time would be easier because we could break it up by stopping in Mykonos Town for sunset and gelato. We walked to Boni’s Windmill. When you see the city, as it goes more inland, the land gets higher and higher. Boni’s Windmill is on the outskirts of Mykonos Town and looks out across the whole town and out over the water.
This was the perfect spot for sunset. You can sit on the ledges around the windmill or sit behind it so that the windmill has the brightest orange background. There are a lot of places along that road to sit and enjoy, so bring your camera and get ready to be in awe! It is pretty crowded, but we were still able to easily find a spot to sit.
After we watched the sunset, we wanted to head into town to get some souvenirs and maybe even grab a little dessert. We had our first gelato here, and it did not disappoint. We sat outside on the patio at DaVinci Gelato and got the most delicious waffle cones filled with creamy gelato.
We walked back that night talking about what we loved about Mykonos and about our favorite parts of the day. We laughed at how many steps we had taken that day and how we were walking back to our Airbnb on the side of the road in the dark, but we wouldn’t change a thing.
We packed up our stuff when we got back, because the next morning we were heading to ATHENS! We woke up super early in the morning, grabbed our luggage, and we were back walking on the side of the road. While the short walk was not ideal with all of our bags, it was doable because it was so early in the morning that no one was up yet! We joined the other early birds who got there early, got our tickets, and made our way onto our ferry that we would call home for the next few hours before arriving in Athens.
Mykonos is definitely a fun spot that I would definitely go back to some day. It really has more than is expected when you hear about it, but it’s also a very simple place and I think that’s what makes it special. Next time, I would love to see the resort and relaxation side of the island while also spending time in the town exploring the shops and the restaurants in the heart of Mykonos Town.
