A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup turns a port call into a sightseeing drive: a vehicle collects passengers at the cruise terminal, crosses the island and returns them to the ship. Other days out are listed on the home page of tours in Greece.
This page covers what the trip is, where it starts, how long it lasts, what Mykonos Town shows, the sights outside the town, the weather and the questions travellers ask.
What is a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup?
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup is a sightseeing trip for passengers who call at the island. One operator lists a pickup at the cruise port, a drive in an air-conditioned vehicle and a town walk.
A shore excursion is a trip ashore during a cruise. Wikipedia says cruise ships sail round trips and call at ports, where passengers can go on shore excursions.
One operator calls its tour a sightseeing trip designed for cruise passengers who have limited time on the island. Its aim, as the listing puts it, is to see much of Mykonos during the ship’s stay in port.
The format of a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup has two parts. The first operator lists a drive in an air-conditioned minibus. A walking tour of Mykonos Town follows, with a second tour leader who joins there. Another operator lists an air-conditioned bus and then a walking part in Mykonos Town.
Wikipedia sets Mykonos among the Cyclades, and names Naxos, Paros, Syros and Tinos as the nearby islands. The surface measures 85.5 square kilometres, and the highest summit is 341 metres tall. The same article places the island 150 kilometres east of Athens. Wikivoyage gives a length of 12 to 15 kilometres and a width of 10 kilometres.
The main town, called Mykonos or Chora, lies on the west coast, says Wikipedia. In the listings of both operators, the walking part of a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup happens there.
Where does a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup start?
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup starts at the cruise port. One operator meets passengers at the Cruise Ship Gate when the ship arrives at the New Port. For a ship at the Old Port, the Old Port Station is the meeting spot.
Wikivoyage lists two ports on the island. The old port sits inside Mykonos Town. The new port is at Tourlos, around two kilometres north of the town. The page adds that almost every cruise ship docks at Tourlos, while others call at the old port.
The way into town differs by port. Wikivoyage says a passenger at the old port is ten minutes on foot from the centre of Mykonos Town. At the new port it names a cruise shuttle bus. It puts the walk from Tourlos at about 45 minutes, on a busy main road that has no sidewalk.
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup skips that choice, because the operator meets the group at the port. The first operator adds meeting notes. Passengers meet 30 minutes before the scheduled start. A team member holds a sign so the group can find them.
For Old Port arrivals, the first operator sends the exact location and instructions about 7 days before the tour. A second operator names the cruise ship terminal as the meeting point. Passengers meet 15 minutes before the tour starts. The two operators state different lead times.
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup also ends at the port side. The first operator lists port drop-off, plus a guarantee that the group returns to the ship on time. It says its tour is adjusted to ship docking times. The second operator ends its tour at the waterfront, close to the tenders and sea-buses.
How long is a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup?
At one operator, a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup has a two-hour minibus drive and a two-hour walk. Another operator gives start times instead of a total length. Both put the drive first and the town walk last.
The first operator lists two local English-speaking tour leaders. The driver leads the panoramic minibus portion in an air-conditioned vehicle. A professional tour leader joins for the walking tour. No more than 18 passengers ride in each vehicle. The first operator asks guests to confirm the starting time by email before the day of the tour.
The second operator does not state a total length for its Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup. It lists three start times every day. These are half past 8 in the morning, 10 in the morning, and half past 2 in the afternoon. Guests meet 15 minutes before the start, against 30 at the first operator.
The two operators differ on the walk of a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup. The first puts the walking tour at two hours. The second says the tour holds about 1 hour of walking on the cobblestone streets of Mykonos Town. The second operator calls the beach a short stop.
The main text of each operator gives the stops in one order. The tour leaves the cruise terminal for the Armenistis Lighthouse. A southern beach follows, then the village of Ano Mera, and the tour ends in Mykonos Town. The first operator names Kalafatis Beach or Elia Beach, depending on traffic and crowds that day.
The first operator adds that the tour arrives with plenty of time to spare before the ship departs. The same operator guarantees that guests are back at the ship on time. The second operator designs its Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup for passengers with limited time on the island.
What does a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup show in Mykonos Town?
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup walks through Mykonos Town, also called Chora. Both operators name four sights: Little Venice, the church of Panagia Paraportiani, the windmills and the whitewashed streets.
Wikivoyage describes Mykonos Town as a maze, with tiny whitewashed streets, houses and churches. It adds that the town allows no cars. Mykonos Town is accessible only on foot, the first operator notes for its Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup. Both operators describe a fishing village of cube-shaped, whitewashed houses.
Wikipedia counts 16 windmills on Mykonos, with seven on the landmark hill in Chora. They are white and round, topped with a pointed roof. The Venetians built the majority in the sixteenth century, and the mills mainly milled wheat. The first operator calls this stop optional, as it can be skipped for mobility concerns or heavy foot traffic.
Wikipedia calls the row of windmills on the hill Kato Mili, Greek for lower mills. A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup shows mills that face the sea and catch the strong northern winds. Wood and straw form the caps. The first operator adds that the mills were once vital to grain production and trade.
Wikipedia dates the first Little Venice house to the mid-eighteenth century. Rich merchants and captains owned the houses, and balconies hang over the sea. Basement doors opened straight onto the sea. Wikipedia says they made people think the owners were secret pirates. Bars, cafes and little shops now occupy a number of the houses.
Panagia Paraportiani stands in Kastro, a neighbourhood of Chora. Its name refers to a side gate, since the church stood beside the gate of the old Kastro. Wikipedia says this whitewashed church is five churches joined together. Four sit at ground level and form the base of a fifth above them. Building took around 200 years.
Petros the pelican was the official mascot of Mykonos, says Wikipedia. A wounded pelican was found off the coast by a local fisherman, and islanders nursed it to health. Three newer pelicans later settled around the main town. The second operator ends its Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup at the waterfront, close to tenders and sea-buses.
What does a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup show outside the town?
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup stops at a lighthouse, a beach and a village. The operators name the Armenistis Lighthouse, Ano Mera and a southern beach. They list Delos as a view across the water.
Wikipedia says the Armenistis Lighthouse still works and bears witness to the maritime past of Mykonos. The place is called Fanari, the Greek word for lantern, and lies 6.5 km from Mykonos Town. One operator sets the lighthouse at Mykonos’s northern tip and lists views of Delos, Rineia and Tinos.
On a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup, the southern beach changes with the operator. One operator names Kalafatis Beach, and another lists Kalafati or Elia Beach. Wikivoyage calls Kalafati a very large, less developed beach, 12 km from Mykonos Town. It calls Elia one of the larger beaches.
Ano Mera sits at the centre of Mykonos and is its only inland settlement, says Wikivoyage. It is about 7 km from Mykonos Town. The village centres on a big square with tavernas on three sides.
The Panagia Tourliani Monastery is the Ano Mera stop on a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup. Wikipedia calls it the chief monastery of Mykonos, named after the patron saint of the island. Inside, a church museum keeps icons, epitaphs with gold embroidery and the monastery’s first bells.
Wikipedia says Delos lies only 2 km away. The island is small, with an area of only 3.43 square kilometres. Greek myth makes it the place where Apollo and Artemis were born. Rineia, a larger island, lies west of Delos and spans 14 square kilometres. Nobody lives there now, says Wikipedia.
What is the weather like for a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup?
A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup runs in a hot, dry summer with a steady north wind. Wikipedia gives an average summer daytime high of around 27 degrees Celsius. It adds that the meltemi wind and the sea moderate the heat, leaving the days dry, sunny and fairly cool.
Wikipedia classes the climate of Mykonos as hot and semi-arid, with Mediterranean features and a strong Aegean influence. The rainy season runs between October and March. Summer nights average over 24 degrees Celsius.
Wikivoyage describes summers that are hot and dry and winters that are mild, with rain rare in summer. It lists a daytime figure of 30 degrees Celsius for July and August and a night figure of 22. That is the weather a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup meets in those months. The two sources give different summer figures.
In Greek the etesians are meltemia: northerly winds, strong and dry, that sweep the Aegean, says Wikipedia. They begin blowing in late spring and stop by the middle of September. A second Wikipedia article names July and August as the months with the greatest frequency. Afternoons bring the strongest wind, and a spell can last for days.
Kalafati is a favourite spot for windsurfers, Wikivoyage says, thanks to its offshore breeze. The same page adds that the constant wind of July and August eases the heat.
The very strong winds on Mykonos earn it the title The Island of the Winds, says Wikipedia. They erode areas of the rocky granite terrain. A Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup crosses an island shaped by wind. One operator states that the itinerary is subject to change.
What else do travellers ask about a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup?
Can a traveller stay on in Mykonos Town after a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup, and which museums does the town itself hold?
One operator drops travellers back at the port, unless they want to stay longer in Mykonos Town. Wikipedia says the Archaeological Museum of Mykonos sits close to the old port. Its pottery, urns and sculptures date from the Cycladic, Geometric and Classical eras. The Aegean Maritime Museum lies in the town centre and focuses on merchant ships of the Aegean.
Is a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup suited to young children, slow walkers and guests with mobility limitations, given the amount of walking in Mykonos Town?
One operator does not accept children under 5 years old, for safety reasons, and takes no refund requests for them. It calls the tour unsuitable for guests with mobility limitations. It also asks every participant to carefully assess their physical ability to complete the tour before joining. Another operator calls the tour unsuitable for people with walking difficulties.
If the ship cannot dock, what becomes of a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup, and what about a late cancellation, a no-show or a delay?
Two operators refund the traveller in full if the ship is unable to dock in Mykonos as scheduled. One of them refunds a cancellation 24 hours or more ahead; a later one or a no-show is not refunded. That operator asks a delayed traveller to contact its office on the day, and lists customer support at all hours.
Are food, drinks, bottled water and gratuities part of a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup, or do travellers pay for them separately?
One operator does not include food or drinks, and leaves gratuities to the traveller’s discretion. It adds that anything not named in its inclusions is not part of the trip. Another operator includes one bottle of water per person in its Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup. That operator says gratuities are welcome if the traveller enjoys the tour.
Besides a Mykonos shore excursion with cruise ship pickup, how else can a traveller see the island: by bus, taxi, boat or on a private tour?
Wikipedia says taxis, buses and boats are available for transportation on the island. Regular service from a northern depot above the old port reaches Ano Mera, Elia and Kalafatis. A traveller who wants a vehicle without other groups has another option. One operator lists a private tour, and another invites groups of friends or family to ask about one.