Anyone going to Mykonos? Here are my recommendations...

This was my second year visiting the Greek Island, Mykonos and it is still one of my favorite summer destinations. Here’s why, its beautiful, with great energy, great food, nice people and its just a ton of fun. The only thing I will warn is that if you are expecting to see cliffs with bunches of white wash buildings, fisherman in the lagoons and a restaurant run by a bunch of old Greek grandmothers, you likely will be disappointed. Mykonos is metropolitan (or as metropolitan as an island can get,) modern and packed to the brim with tourists from all countries of all ages. Below are my recommendations but if anyone is going and would like more details send me an email!

PS – I’m having major computer issues so will update this post later with photos and outfits! Just wanted to get something up because so many of you have reached out!

STAY

We stayed at the Mykonos Grand Hotel. It was my second time staying there and I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to splurge a bit (it is one of the pricier options.) Pros – beautiful, modern rooms, gorgeous pool, nice people watching, and an awesome breakfast buffet with a stunning view. Cons – not walking distance to town.
HERE IS MY BIG ADVICE: The island of Mykonos is known to have a shortage of taxis. If you are not staying walking distance from town, or plan to go to some beaches during the day (highly recommend) you will want to look into some car options:

Ask your hotel to call taxis in advance to get you to a location. You can ask your driver to pick you up from that location and take you back to your hotel but you run the risk of the driver not showing up
Try to befriend a taxi driver, get their number and make an arrangement with them for your entire stay (you can typically negotiate something like four transfers a day at 25 Euros each way cash)
There are tons of concierge services on the island who can help with reservations and transportation. Many that I looked into are complete rip offs… HOWEVER, I found one amazing company. They charged us 30 Euros per transfer (and allowed us to use credit card) for a 24/7 available driver. This means the driver was able to pick up other people throughout the day but would be available for us within 40 minutes of a phone call. It worked out for us seamlessly. This company was also very helpful in squaring away our bookings and they did not charge extra for this. We had some issues upon our arrival (detail below.)

DM or email me (thatpencilskirt@gmail.com) if you would like their contact info!

Do, do, do not miss out on checking out at least one of Mykonos’ beach clubs. Yes, they are slightly cheesy, yes, they can get pricey, but yes, they are worth it. My favorites (in no particular order) are below. If you are booking lunch, try to get a reservation between 3 – 4:30pm and if you would also like to enjoy the beach beforehand, I recommend arriving at 11ish to get a day bed.

BEACHES

Scorpios – Scorpios is like nothing I have ever seen. The scenery is set along a “cliff” overlooking the ocean. There are three tiers of lounge chairs. Try to get a spot on the top tier if you want to be in the midst of the party, or the bottom if you want to be closer to the ocean. I will warn that the ocean is very rocky and not the best for swimming. I like the middle tier so you have an “escape” from the party when you want but aren’t too removed. The food is the best on the island (in my opinion.) It gets very crowded at around 7pm and they throw a crazy sunset party (that turns into a full blown rager – especially on Sunday nights.) Even if you aren’t in the mood to hit up an intense beach “nightclub” I still think Scorpios is worth checking out for a late lunch.
Nammos – At Nammos, you feel like you are transplanted into the heart of the South of France… but in Greece. There are huge turquoise and white umbrellas and it has a very chic feel. Nammos is also crazy, like Scorpios, and you should definitely be prepared for a large bill and a “tough time at the door.” For the big name beach clubs, I prefer Scorpios because of the unique scenery but Nammos also won’t disappoint. The food is equally good, the scene is trendy, and the actual beach is my favorite on the island.
Spillia – Spillia is a much smaller beach club than Scorpios and Nammos. It is also set up in the cliffs with a beautiful view of the water beneath. I found the crowd to be more “inviting” because the space is smaller. Instead of tables completely keeping to themselves, tables seemed to chat and mingle with each other (which was fun for us.) It was definitely more low key than the first two I mentioned, but was not boring by any means. The food also did not disappoint. Although, I will warn you – the best item on the menu was the fresh caught fish…. The problem is that they charge you over $100 Euros per Kilo!!! If you order it, make sure you ask before hand how big the fish is…
Alemagou – Alemagou had the most genuinely “cool” vibes of all of the beaches we went to. It had that rustic, desert-chic feel (similar to Scorpios) but was much more intimate. Nothing against bachelorette parties – but there were none of these at this beach and there were loads of them at the others J) At least in our experience, this was not a party, but there was just something very cool about the energy. There were people of all ages, older, younger, babies hanging out. The lunch was interesting and the menu expanded beyond just the traditional dishes. We got the “grandma’s eggplant” for a starter and it was a chilled eggplant and cheese salad that was just amazing. I also had a salmon burger which was a nice change from all of the fresh white flakey fish.
Principote – This is a newer beach club and is currently in its second season. It felt bigger, and way more polished than the others (I felt a bit like I was at Bagatelle or something.) It felt a little less boutique and interesting but had a ton of energy. The music was great throughout the entire day and the beach was beautiful. On the craziness scale, I thought this was sandwiched right between the Nammos & Scorpios and the more low-key Spilia. Its the best of both and definitely worth visiting.
Don’t feel bad if you had too much fun during the day and miss dinner. If you DO make it to dinner, though, here are my recommendations. If you book dinner before 10pm, I think you’ll regret it since the days start later in Mykonos. BUT – If you’re feeling up to it, it’s really fun to walk around town or grab a drink before you sit down. The town is open all night and it amazed me how busy and bustling it was even at 11pm! You could legitimately go on a shopping spree in the middle of the night if you so desired. I will say that I skipped shopping in Mykonos entirely as I didn’t think anything was interesting enough to buy…

RESTAURANTS

Interni – Interni definitely delivers on the wow factor. The music has that sexy bossanova feel that you would ONLY find cool in this particular setting and the bar is always packed. The restaurant is situated in this surprisingly expansive courtyard smack in the middle of the town. You may have to wait a bit for a table, which would be frustrating if it wasn’t for the very cool bar with very interesting drinks. It really wasn’t too bad.. My only negatives is that the service was pretty slow. It took over 2 hours to get a burger, but the food really is good and I was easily distracted by the cool vibes (and good company, of course!)
Remezzo – Remezzo is a must go. Food YES, views YES, people YES. If you make it for sunset, the views are spectacular – you sit perched above the port and get to look down on all of the beautiful boats. Remezzo is one of the older restaurants in the town and is an institution, it’s been around forever. There are live music some nights, and the food is anything but ordinary.
Sea Satin – I heard great things about Sea Satin. Everyone said it was a fun, classic Greek restaurant right on the port with dancing and live Greek music. We did not have this experience. Although I found the food to be good, I thought it was overpriced and overrated. The night we went did not have live music and I sort of felt like we were at a diner…. Rushed in and rushed out. Although the location is amazing, I would pass on this one.
For more casual options (which we were craving) there are amazing crepe shops on the streets and I swear I had one of the best savory crepes I’ve ever had in my life from one (if only I wrote down the name…) and Gyro stands.