Delos
 

We are going to be on a Wind Star cruise in September. We stop at Mykonos for the day. How difficult is it to get to Delos? Is Delos worth visiting?

Kaliméra danen5

What time of day does your cruise ship come here? Also, it may be your ship will use tenders to bring its passengers to the town and if so then those boats will arrive at the same part of the harbour the Delos caiches leave from. Maybe only 10 metres to walk!

If you ship does not use tenders then it will arrive at the new port and from there transport will have been made for you all to come into Mykonos town.

The small caiches to Delos usualy leave between 08:45 until 10:00, the journey time is about 20 minutes, returning to Mykonos town usually after 4 hours (sometimes 3.5 hours) on the island. Monday there is no service as site is closed.

Normally no need to reserve in September. Find our little church with dome at the harbour side accross from our town municipality building and you will see the signs for Delos services.

Yes it is worth visiting. It is a unique and very important archaeogical site in Greece.

thanos

There is really nothing more to add to your post,
Here are our pictures of Delos.
http://travel.webshots.com/album/552001505EYxVYT

I was there this past April. If your interested in ancient history ruins etc you will love it. If interest is not that strong forget it. Best thing is hard to reach but worth it a hike to the temple on the hillside that still is almost totally intact. Museum was so-so compared to the ones in Athens. Guides on island but you don't really need them if you have read a book on Delos or you can pick one up at the museum and do it on your own. Rough walking in some areas, no shade, no place to get drinks so be sure to wear good shoes, take good sun hat and carry some water with you.

Thanks for your post, Joanne. You mentioned a temple that was a fun hike. Is this on Delos or Mykonos?

Its on Delos you come in by boat and walk along a quay and to your right and left are ruins. If you cast you eyes over the top of the ruins to the right you will see the temple about 3/4's of the way up the hill.
Path looks like a goat or sheep trail and that was about what it was. I did not go past the temple but there were some other ruins above it.

Thanks, Joanne! Since we are not avid history buffs, I have not decided if Delos would be worth an afternoon's trip. What are your tips for Mykonos?

We are taking a cruise that stops in Mykonos in October. They offer an optional tour to Delos Which our friends have decided to take. According to my tour book, you can not go to Delos after 3 PM or at all on Mondays. Our ship arrives at 3 PM on, you guessed it, Monday.

Do you suppose they make an exception for cruise ship tours? Or is the information about being closed on Monday or after 3 incorrect?

Debbie

Reply to last poster -- no they don't make exceptions for cruise ships, and yes they ARE closed Mondays & after 3 pm.

Delos is for those interested in ancient Greek history. Those who are on a cruise for other reasons should stay in Mykonos. Tips on Mykonos for a short (4-6 hour) stay.. shop, sit in cafe. If you have a wife who is susceptible to expensive jewelry, tie her up & leave her aboard ship!

Thanks travelerjan. Thanks for the tips. I was just summarizing some of what I'd gleaned for my friends and wrote:

"Wandering, shopping, watching the sunset, and having overly expensive drinks seem to be the most popular activities in Mykonos."

I guess I should add a footnote about how to avoid the purchase of expensive jewelry. (G)

Two sets of friends have signed up for the excursion to Delos. I am curious what the ship plans to do with them if the island is not open. I suppose they could refund the payments - but the ship should certainly know in advance that the island is not available and not sell the tour. Maybe I'll write the ship and see what they say.

Debbie

I did a little more research on this. First I wrote the cruise company and they emailed back that they did offer the tour. I was still a little iffy after hearing that Delos was not open on Mondays. So today I did a google on cruisecritic.com for posts with both Delos and Monday in them.

According to people who'd been on tours, cruise ships do offer them on Mondays and if you are there on a Monday, it is the only way to visit the island. It does appear that the museum is not open.

Debbie

Just happened to be on Celebrity web site to see if they have an excursion to Delos (going on October 13th Galaxy cruise - Debbie when are you going?) and it's on a Monday. Been told yes, they arranged to have an excursion from the ship on that day. The tour does not include the museum.

I'm also wondering if it's worth going to Delos. I haven't been to Mykonos before. For my cruise, I will see plenty of archaeological sites (Rome, Pompeii, Ephesus). Our ship arrives at 2pm and departs 11pm, so if I did the tour, I would have around 4 hours to enjoy Mykonos.

Monica ((F))

I am going this fall too - but not that week. We are on Royal Carribean. I did some googling yesterday and found some information at

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/archi...?t-403362.html

Some people loved it and thought it was a must see - others didn't. I am thinking that it would be similar to Pompei (for the non-archeology buffs), but haven't been to either place.

From what I understand, the museum isn't open that day which would explain why the tour doesn't include it.

I would think that 4 hours would be enough to wander Mykenos - but again I suppose it depends on the person.

Debbie

If I had to make a choice between Delos and Mykonos I would visit the town and stay among the living. Mykonos is a town (an island) full of live. And a good example for cycladic architecture.
Gaspard