Mark P.
Google
Mykonos Town in general:
I had high hopes of Mykonos, old fashioned unspoilt little white-washed buildings, small narrow cobbled streets, lots of shops and restaurants within, very picturesque, small pretty churches dotted about. Nice harbour surrounded by cafes and restaurants, picture postcard stuff. I was not disappointed in that respect, absolutely amazing and pretty.
Sadly, though, this is the town’s downfall and a major problem, as it attracts between 2-5 cruise ships a day during the holiday season. (Speaking to various locals, it appears the island more or less closes down out of season, Nov.-Mar., when the cruise ships stop coming). The thousands of cruisers makes the town very busy, people milling about trying to navigate the small alleyways and streets, and it can get very hot and oppressive.
Mykonos has a reputation for being relatively expensive – make up your own mind. The whole town is geared to the cruise ship tourists and maximising their profits, charging stupid money for what is essentially typical holiday nicknack tat. The ‘supermarkets’ (read corner shops) only seem to sell booze, tobacco, toiletries, and crisps – nothing useful to sustain yourself if you were self-catering (there must be something somewhere on the island where you can buy meat and veg etc. but it’ll require a car or taxi as there’s nothing in the capital). Cheap nasty looking bottle of wine? Starts at around € 18.50; anything recognisable is € 30-50.
The restaurant prices don’t seem too bad (is that because the cruise lot don’t eat there?), about what you’d expect to pay anywhere else, but where they do get you is on the booze, c. € 10-15 a pint. They typically only sell 33cl bottled beer at € 7-10. Some restaurants are asking € 80-90 for a bottle of wine. Your liver will enjoy this holiday.
Another unusual influence is, I would estimate 90% of the restaurants more or less offer the same thing, listing themselves as Greek/Mediterranean/European – basically, Greek. The other restaurants call themselves Italian/Mediterranean/European, a nod to Italian, plus there are literally a couple of hints at Japanese. There is an Indian and a Mexican, half a mile outside the town up the big hill. I was disappointed by the lack of variety. Chinese/Thai? Forget it. I’m not sure I’ve been to any place in Europe that doesn’t have a number of Chinese restaurants.
I was told that there are only 30 taxis on the island. They are not short of business. I wanted to book a trip to and from the Indian restaurant 10 mins away. I was told that there was no point trying to book a taxis as there was no guarantee they would turn up. So I booked a private hire to ensure we honoured the restaurant booking, € 72, kerching. I do not think I was being deliberately ripped off.
I guess you cannot blame the locals for trying to make a good living, particularly, as in theory they only have 7 months in which to do so, but it’s very sad that such a lovely place – like so many around the world - has been ruined by tourism (driven by greed) and lost most of its authenticity.
