There were a couple of news stories about Mykonos that caught my eye recently, so I thought I’d share them in case you’re thinking of visiting.
Uber
The first story was that an Uber boat service has been introduced on the island, starting June 2023. You can use the rideshare service on Mykonos to book a boat for up to eight people to take you between any of 25 different destinations on the island. How cool is that?
The only proviso is that you have to book at least 45 minutes in advance, so don’t wait till you’re starving before being asked to be picked up from your beach and taken to a restaurant for lunch.
The service is available from now until October. There’s already an Uber taxi service on Mykonos, but with the boat you won’t get held up by traffic!
Best Things to Do on Mykonos
Cruise Ships
The second story wasn’t such good news. There were complaints from local residents about overtourism on Mykonos, in particular the number of cruise ships visiting the island. One resident posted a video on Twitter showing five cruise ships tied up off Mykonos, with a total capacity of 14,000 passengers. If they all descend on the main town of Chora at the same time, you can imagine how packed the streets get.
The local complaint is that the cruise ship passengers make life intolerable both for residents and for visitors staying on Mykonos. They complain that many cruise ship passengers don’t put anything into the local economy. Some buy souvenirs but they rarely eat on the island as meals are provided on board the ship.
In June a total of 131 cruise ships stopped at Mykonos, an average of over four per day. By the end of the summer, 895 cruise ships will have visited Mykonos and nearby Delos.
If you’re going to be on Mykonos on August 22nd, then be warned what you have in store. Over the course of the day, eight cruise ships will visit Mykonos. At 8am alone, 3,500 passengers will descend on Mykonos, and by the end of the day there will have been 15,000 cruise ship visitors. Time to book an Uber Boat and head for a remote beach!
Best Time to Visit Mykonos
(Apart from August 22nd)
That’s it for this week. Till next time…
Yammas!
Mike and Donna
Good tip about those cruise ships. Hubby & I went on only 2 cruises so far in our lifetime. One was a workplace reward to Ensenada Mexico. The other was inside passage up to Alaska. We noticed then it was difficult doing/seeing anything because of the crowds. When we took our own planned trip to Cozumel, we had the same type of experience with cruise ship people inundating the town square & shops. We don't go on cruises anymore. We prefer planning our own travels.