Getting to Mykonos– We ended our stay at Santorini and headed to Mykonos by Sea Jet ferry. This was an adventure to say the least. Once again, we upgraded to avoid large crowds; however it did not work out as we had imagined – you basically wait around until the ferry shows up. I do not recommend you standing out in the sun waiting for it – go into one of the cafes at the dock and have a bite to eat or something to drink, people watch.
When the ferry docks, that is when the craziness begins: all those people waiting to board try to get as close as possible only to be held back in a massive herd. Passengers disembark first, well sort of, as midway through the process of people walking off the ship, you start to see all the cars come down. And then it is your turn to board – while there are still people coming off and cars driving by. Organized chaos but it seems to work – I think it was only us who were amazed at this systems.
Once you get on, you store your bags on luggage shelves and of course, not enough space. You jam them into any space you can find or pile them up on the ground. And as soon as the last person and car are up the ramp, the ferry is on the way. We were getting up to a high speed while trying to rearrange bags to fit ours in. I was a bit uncomfortable with leaving my luggage because anyone can just grab and get off with it but that was the way it worked.
We proceeded to go to the upgraded section and relax. It has wider seats and offers waiter service though this ferry didn’t really have that as we had to walk up to the snack bar – right next to the seating area so not an issue. While it would be great to get priority treatment for bags, getting on or leaving, it is what it is. Saying all that, for the minimal cost to sit here it was well worth it for the two hour or so ferry ride. The key tip is to listen to the announcements as there are many stops of the ride, depending where you board – good to check their website and google all the stops so you are aware.
At the end of the day, it is the easiest way to island hop – most flights do not go island to island so you would need to stop in Athens which just didn’t make sense. We enjoyed our drinks, tried to take a nap and when we had the mad rush to exit onto Mykonos, our bags were there!
When you disembark, like in Mykonos, a huge mob of people are there waiting to get on. If you have a driver waiting, like we did, you need to scan the crowd looking for your name board – fortunately he was waiting for us right up front and we were off in no time to the hotel.
Mykonos Ammos Hotel
Accommodations– We stayed at The Mykonos Ammos Hotel simply because we wanted some beach time. Mykonos has a main town that is a great place to stroll and shop during the day and turns into a party town after 11PM. I would know nothing about the party scene except that it starts way past my bedtime and goes into the early morning. Mykonos town was very quiet when we were strolling through because everyone was still sleeping! The beach scene is very much a thing in Mykonos. There are many beach clubs and some are more family oriented and some are more party scenes. We opted with Ornos bay which is more family oriented. There were two sections on our beach, one section for day guests and one section for hotel guests. Paradise, Super Paradise and Paraga beaches are the main party beaches. Renting a chair and umbrella can be pricey however if you are staying at a beach resort it’s included. We loved our hotel and look forward to staying again. It was a quick 10 minute ride into town!
Toiletgate!!!
Checking into Mykonos Ammos Hotel was a great experience. One of the staff members gave us a detailed tour of the grounds – from the restaurants to the spa, pool, and beach.
It ended with our room. Now we booked a beach access room to splurge for the three nights. It was not inexpensive to say the least but well worth the cost as you do get a sunbed included in their private area.
There was no lost in translation moment when we were given the “poop” about, well, the poop. We were told that due to the old plumbing on the island (small diameter pipes, and old), that flushing toilet paper was not a practice to be followed. Instead, there was a garbage can with a lid next to the toilet to dispose of your paper and it would be picked up daily (yes, once a day).
Doug stared at me when he heard this, and I could only imagine what he was thinking. Fortunately we didn’t say a word to the man giving the tour. We instead googled reviews – and one person said that the bins are airtight so no smell would be released in the room.
Let’s just say that there were about a dozen or so flushes made to not overwhelm the plumbing. And no, you cannot make this up. Hence we referred to the incidents as Toiletgate for the rest of the trip.
I am very thorough with my research and there was nothing mentioned out in the web about this issue!
Mykonos Restaurants
There really isn’t a bad meal in Greece however, I do recommend the following restaurants.
Taverna Konstantis– Ornos Beach- Great authentic Greek food.
Sunset Mykonos – Little Venice- Great little resturant right on the water. If you are lucky the local Pelican will stroll through. At the end of your meal the water throw the left over bread. You may experience a local casting a fishing line close to your table like we did.
