A Mykonos Delos day trip is a short boat crossing from Mykonos to the uninhabited island of Delos, where the ruins of a sacred sanctuary stand above the shore. Browse more island excursions in our list of tours in Greece.
This page covers the crossing, the Sanctuary of Apollo, the Terrace of the Lions, the Theatre Quarter, the Sanctuary of Dionysos, the museum, Mount Kynthos, Rhenia, the UNESCO rules and what to bring.
What is a Mykonos Delos day trip, and how does it work?
A Mykonos Delos day trip is a short boat ride from Mykonos to the island of Delos. You walk through its ancient ruins and sail home the same day. Delos has no hotels, so nobody stays overnight.
Delos lies close to Mykonos in the Cyclades. Ruins cover the entire island, a strip 5 kilometres in length and 1.3 kilometres across. They are the remains of a sanctuary to the gods Apollo and Artemis. They also include the city that grew up around it.
On a Mykonos Delos day trip you board a boat in Mykonos Town. You cross the water and land at the island’s harbour. At the ticket barrier you pass through to the ruins. Visitors who go alone queue at the ticket office, while a guided tour handles that step for you.
Independent visitors can hire a tour guide at the gate. A map with coloured routes helps those who walk alone.
Guided tours bundle every part together. Operator pages list the return boat, admission to the ruins plus the museum, a certified tour guide and skip-the-line entry. One operator page calls these half-day guided tours. Such a Mykonos Delos day trip needs no ticket queue.
Guided tours also run by language. One operator page lets English speakers join a tour every day. French, Italian and Spanish tours each have a set weekday or two. German, Portuguese and Russian tours run as private tours only. The same page sets a minimum group of 8 people for each Mykonos Delos day trip with a tour guide.
How do the boats from Mykonos to Delos run, and how long is the crossing?
The boats from Mykonos to Delos take about 30 minutes each way. A Mykonos Delos day trip runs with multiple sailings a day, between 1 April and 30 November.
The crossing is short and, in calm weather, smooth. One traveller who gets seasick called the ride nice and smooth, and put it at around 30 minutes. A veteran visitor passes on a trick for rougher water: keep your eyes on the horizon. Sea-sickness pills help anyone who feels the waves.
The ferries on this route are large. Two sources give the same size: they carry around 200 people. They have toilets and a small shop that sells drinks and snacks. The site sits in the northwestern part of the island. One writer says the ferry drops you right where you need to be on a Mykonos Delos day trip.
Sailings start in April and stop at the end of November, with multiple departures each day. A much reduced service is offered in December, and the dates for it are not posted.
One operator page warns that its schedules change with the weather. It asks you to check the timetable again shortly before you travel. The Mykonos Delos day trip therefore needs a quick look at the latest times.
Boats from other islands reach Delos as well. One page says the ferry leaves Naxos Town at 8:45 in the morning. It gives three hours on Delos, then goes on to Mykonos. Paros has a 9:30 departure from Parikia with the same split.
Visitors with their own yacht can sail to Delos and pay at the ticket office. The Naxos and Paros trips are not a Mykonos Delos day trip, but they end in Mykonos Town.
Where in Mykonos does the boat leave, and at what time?
Every Mykonos Delos day trip departs at the pier for Delos, on the Old Port waterfront in Mykonos Town. Morning sailings start at about nine o’clock, and a second round of boats goes in the afternoon. Confirm the exact time with your operator the day before.
The pier for a Mykonos Delos day trip sits on the Old Port waterfront. Find the Town Hall, the only tile-roofed building in Mykonos. Opposite it stands a small blue domed chapel of Saint Nicholas. Walk between the two, and the pier is straight ahead. The ticket kiosk and the boats wait there.
A Mykonos Delos day trip has no single timetable, because the pages disagree. One travel page lists boats at nine, ten and eleven in the morning. Its returns leave at quarter past twelve, half past one and three.
One operator page lists sailings at half past eleven and at three in the afternoon. It also lists an English guided tour at ten. That page moves the afternoon boat earlier in autumn. It leaves at half past four in early September and at three by late October.
Arrive early for a Mykonos Delos day trip. One page tells guests to be at the check-in desk half an hour before sailing. Another page says guests swap their vouchers for tickets at a desk beside the pier in that same half hour.
The same operator page adds a weather warning, so check again the evening before your Mykonos Delos day trip.
The Old Port is not the only start for a Mykonos Delos day trip. One travel page adds that boat trips also run from Platys Gialos and Paranga Beach. The island also has a newer harbour at Tourlos, north of the town. The Delos boats use the old harbour.
How long can you stay on Delos, and why is there no overnight stay?
A Mykonos Delos day trip gives you about two to three hours on Delos itself. A night there is not possible. Overnight stay on the island is forbidden, and the only people who live there are security staff and archaeologists.
Guided versions of the Mykonos Delos day trip set the time out clearly. One page lists a guided walk of two hours inside a total of about four hours. Another lists a guided tour of one and a half hours, then 50 minutes of time of your own. Its total is also four hours.
A traveller who took such a tour spent about an hour on the guided part and an hour alone. That Mykonos Delos day trip lasted about three hours in all, with the crossing included.
On your own, a Mykonos Delos day trip gives you the time between two boats. One travel page says visitors spend two to three hours on Delos and advises you to watch the boat times. On the first travel page, the last boat back leaves at three. The site is open from half past eight to three.
Queues take part of that time on a Mykonos Delos day trip. A writer who visited waited about 20 minutes at the site ticket office. Another page advises you to get off the boat quickly, to stand near the front of the line. A guided tour skips this wait.
The reason for the rule on a Mykonos Delos day trip is simple. Archaeological remains cover almost the entire island, and there is no hotel, no other accommodation and no airport. One page names only caretakers and archaeologists as residents. A population survey recorded 14 inhabitants.
The nearest beds are in Mykonos, so every Mykonos Delos day trip ends with the boat back. Keep an eye on the clock while you walk the ruins, and be at the harbour before your boat leaves.
Why is Delos a sacred island in Greek myth?
In Greek myth, Delos is the island where Zeus and Leto had their twin children, Apollo and Artemis. A Mykonos Delos day trip lands you on the island where the ancient Greeks said that birth took place.
The name Delos means “brought to light” in ancient Greek. Apollo and Artemis are the twin god and goddess of light and the moon. Pilgrims came from around the Greek world to worship at their sanctuary from the eighth century BC.
The myth even shaped the name of the island group. One travel source explains that the other islands form a circle, kyklos in Greek, around sacred Delos. A Mykonos Delos day trip visits the island that gave the Cyclades their name.
The holiness is older than the Olympian gods. Wikipedia dates the holiness back a thousand years before the Olympian myth gave the twins their birth here. The Odyssey already knew the island as the place of that birth.
The Athenians went to great lengths to keep the island pure. In the sixth century BC, they dug up the graves in sight of the temple and moved the bodies away. A later decree said nobody was allowed to be buried or give birth on Delos. A Mykonos Delos day trip crosses ground kept ritually clean.
The Delphic Oracle later ordered the Athenians to clear the whole island of dead bodies. Two tombs stayed, those of the Hyperborean Maidens, because a hero cult surrounded them. The Greeks even had a proverb, “you sing as if sailing into Delos”, for a person who feels carefree. That mood suits a Mykonos Delos day trip.
How did Delos grow into a trading centre in ancient times?
Delos grew into a trading centre because the sanctuary drew crowds and the Delian League met there. Later Rome gave it a port without customs duties. A Mykonos Delos day trip takes you through the ruins of that busy harbour city.
The Delian League gave the island its first political weight. After the Persian Wars, the island became the natural meeting ground for the league, founded in 478 BC. Its shared treasury stayed on the island until Pericles took it to Athens in 454 BC. A Mykonos Delos day trip stands on that meeting ground.
The same decree kept the island neutral in commerce. Because nobody was buried or born there, nobody was able to claim the land by inheritance. A separate quarter held foreigners and the sanctuaries of foreign gods. A Mykonos Delos day trip passes through the same ground.
The island grew almost nothing it needed. Food, fibre and timber did not grow on the island, so traders shipped all three in. Close to the harbour, the Agora of the Competaliasts was the main market square. A Mykonos Delos day trip shows the remains of its shops.
In 166 BC, according to Strabo, the Romans turned Delos into a duty-exempt port. It also became the hub of the slave trade, home to the biggest slave market around. After Rome destroyed Corinth in 146 BC, Delos took over part of its role as the premier trading centre.
An archaeologist’s estimate puts the goods passing through the port at 750,000 tons a year in the first century BC. Around 90 BC about 30,000 people lived on the island. Wealthy merchants built luxurious mansions up into the hills, and a Mykonos Delos day trip passes them.
The riches also attracted pirates. Forces of Mithridates VI of Pontus struck the island twice, in 88 BC and 69 BC. Then trade routes changed, and Puteoli took over from Delos as the main port for Italian trade with the east. The Mykonos Delos day trip shows what remained.
What is the Terrace of the Lions on Delos?
Marble lions line the Terrace of the Lions on Delos. Naxos set them up for Apollo shortly before 600 BC. A guided Mykonos Delos day trip includes a stop at the terrace.
The first row had between nine and twelve statues, every one crouched and snarling. The row follows the Sacred Way. One source says the people of Naxos gave the statues to guard the harbour. The boat on a Mykonos Delos day trip lands at that harbour, on the island’s western shore.
The lions you meet on a Mykonos Delos day trip are copies, as are other statues on the island. The originals stand inside the museum, out of the weather. The museum labels its lion statues as Naxian work from 620 to 600 BC.
Only seven of the first lions survive. One lion left the island and stands above the main entrance of the Venetian Arsenal. Looting hit the island for centuries, as people carried off marble for building work on other islands.
The island map of a Mykonos Delos day trip starts at the harbour district. The important ruins there include the Lion Terrace, the temples of Apollo and the sacred lake.
The lake sits in a circular bowl, and the caretakers leave it dry on purpose, to hold back malaria-bearing mosquitoes. The lions are one of the sights people recognise first on Delos.
What was the Sanctuary of Apollo, and what is left of it?
The Sanctuary of Apollo was the sacred centre of Delos, made up of three temples to the god. A Mykonos Delos day trip shows the remains of those temples and the torso of a giant statue of Apollo.
The whole city of Delos grew up around this sanctuary. A Mykonos Delos day trip comes here for that reason. The biggest of the three temples was the Temple of the Delians. One page calls it a classic example of the Doric order. Beside it once stood a colossal statue of Apollo, and only parts of it remain.
Another page lists the remains of more than one temple and other religious and ceremonial buildings on the sanctuary ground. A guided Mykonos Delos day trip includes the Sanctuary of Apollo on its route.
Only the torso of the giant Apollo is left, probably because it was too heavy for looters to move. A hand from the statue is in the island museum, and a foot is now in the British Museum. Seen on a Mykonos Delos day trip, the torso is one piece of a statue now spread over three places.
Naxos left more than lions. Built in the first quarter of the sixth century BC, the Oikos of the Naxians was a long hall with one central row of Ionic columns. A porch of three columns stood on its west side. On a Mykonos Delos day trip the Naxian link shows up again here.
A kouros base found in the Sanctuary of Apollo belongs to the seventh century BC. The words cut into it say that Euthycartides, a man from Naxos, made the statue and gave it to the god.
The museum also holds a woman’s statue in the archaic style, found in the sanctuary, which dates to 580 BC. A fragment from the Temple of the Athenians shows Boreas carrying off Oreithyia. A Mykonos Delos day trip that enters the museum sees these finds.
What are the House of the Dolphins, the House of Masks and the mosaics?
A Mykonos Delos day trip passes the House of the Dolphins, the House of Masks and more mosaic homes. Wikipedia counts 354 surviving mosaics on Delos. The bulk date to the late Hellenistic period, and they lie in private homes.
On a Mykonos Delos day trip, the House of the Dolphins is easy to spot from its name. Its atrium floor shows erotes riding dolphins, and the riders carry a thyrsus, a caduceus and a trident. The artist, Asclepiades of Arados, signed it. Only one other signed mosaic survives on Delos.
A Phoenician owner also ordered a floor of the goddess Tanit for his vestibule. In the same house the peristyle floor sets a circle inside a square, a layout Wikipedia calls unusual for Delos. A Mykonos Delos day trip needs only a short stop here to read the floor.
The House of Masks stands close to a large outdoor cistern. Its mosaic strips show theatre masks on ivy scrolls around a central block pattern. In another panel, Dionysos rides a leopard, with a flute player and a dancer near him. One traveller account of a guided Mykonos Delos day trip names this house as a stop.
The House of Dionysos is a luxurious private house of the second century BC. Its court floor shows Dionysos on a panther, and one site says a tiger. The mosaic article adds open wings and a necklace of vines. Columns and plaster wall paintings surrounded the court. A Mykonos Delos day trip passes this floor in the peristyle.
The House of the Trident has a plainer floor. A black dolphin circles a red anchor, and black tridents sit on white. Wikipedia reads it as a sign that the owners worked with the sea.
Floors were mostly broken marble set in cement. The finest panels used tiny pieces of glass, clay and natural stone. A Mykonos Delos day trip lets you compare both styles on foot.
What is the Theatre Quarter, and how did the cisterns work?
The Theatre Quarter is the district of narrow streets around the marble theatre of Delos, where rich merchants built mansions. On a Mykonos Delos day trip you see how the cisterns caught rainwater, because the island had little other water.
One travel page says the narrow streets of the Theatre Quarter hold the grandest mansions on the island. Rich merchants owned them. A Mykonos Delos day trip walks through these ruins, and the marble theatre rises at the centre of the district.
Work on the theatre began shortly after 314 BC and ended about 70 years later, says a Greek theatre site. It gives a seating figure of about 6,500, while another page says 5,000 and Wikivoyage says 3,000 to 5,000. A marble retaining wall holds an upper section of 26 tiers and a lower one of 17.
On the west side stands a large cistern that caught the rainwater from the seating area. Its roof rested on eight granite arches. Another page calls it the largest cistern on Delos, 8.3 metres deep and able to hold 270 cubic metres. A Mykonos Delos day trip reaches this cistern beside the theatre.
The island grew none of its own wood, cloth fibre or food, says Wikipedia. Its water was scarce, so the Delians built cisterns, an aqueduct, wells and sanitary drains. The House of Masks stands near a large outdoor cistern too. Walkers on a Mykonos Delos day trip see these cisterns as part of the ancient city plan.
What do you find in the Sanctuary of Dionysos and along the Sacred Way?
A Mykonos Delos day trip follows the Sacred Way, a paved road from the Agora to the Sanctuary of Apollo. Beside the museum you reach the Sanctuary of Dionysos, known for its huge stone phalluses.
The Sacred Way starts on the left side of the Agora. It is a paved road about 45 feet wide. Marble bases line it, and they once held statues and monuments given by kings and generals. Ancient pilgrims walked this road, and so did the yearly procession of the Delia festival.
Walkers on a Mykonos Delos day trip use the same road today.
On a Mykonos Delos day trip you reach the Propylaia where the road meets the Sanctuary of Apollo. It was built around 150 BC. It has three white marble doorways held up by four Doric columns, and it marks the entrance to the sanctuary.
The Sanctuary of Dionysos holds a building called the Stoibadeion. A rectangular platform carries a statue of the god. Two actors dressed as old satyrs, called Papposilenoi, once flanked it. Those two statues now sit in the museum for protection, so a Mykonos Delos day trip meets them again later.
For about a thousand years, from the ninth century BC, worshippers honoured Dionysos and Leto on Delos. The Mykonos Delos day trip route therefore passes a place of worship for the god of wine.
Two stone pillars, one on each side of the platform, once carried a huge phallus, the symbol of Dionysos. Reliefs of the god with a Maenad, a small Silenus and Pan decorate the southern pillar.
An inscription says a Delian named Carystios set up that pillar around 300 BC. He did so to celebrate a winning theatre show that he sponsored. The pillar still stands for visitors on a Mykonos Delos day trip.
What does the Archaeological Museum of Delos hold?
The Archaeological Museum of Delos keeps the sculpture, vases and household items found in the ancient town. Museum entry is part of the site entry. A Mykonos Delos day trip needs no second entry for it.
The museum is noted for its large collection of statues. It stands inland from the Sanctuary of Apollo. The Archaeological Society of Athens built it on the island in the early twentieth century. The first building had five rooms, and it later grew to nine.
Statues and reliefs fill six rooms, pottery fills two, and the ninth room shows items from daily life. One page says a visit to the island takes two to three hours. A Mykonos Delos day trip leaves time for a short museum stop.
Not every find is on the island. Athens holds a large share of the finest finds, in its national museum of archaeology. The pottery here runs from the twenty-fifth to the first century BC. Figurines, jewellery and mosaics date to the second and first centuries BC.
Look for the five original lions from the Terrace of the Lions. The museum keeps them out of the weather, and the lions outside are replicas. Visitors on a Mykonos Delos day trip also find a hand from the colossal statue of Apollo.
One kouros base carries a line in which a sculptor from Naxos says he made the statue and dedicated it. Among the archaic sculpture is a woman found at the Sanctuary of Apollo and dated to 580 BC. A fresco shows Heracles, two boxers and a flute player.
The island has only toilets and a small gift shop at the museum. Bring snacks and water on your Mykonos Delos day trip. The museum is open from half past eight until three, April to November.
How hard is the climb up Mount Kynthos, and what is the view?
The climb up Mount Kynthos is short and steep. It is a walk of about 20 minutes to a summit of 113 metres. On a Mykonos Delos day trip, it gives wide views over the ruins and the islands around them.
Mount Kynthos is the highest point on Delos and rises in the middle of the archaeological site. On a Mykonos Delos day trip, it is the one real climb. The path runs over stone-paved steps and dirt trails. A visitor in reasonable shape needs little effort at a comfortable pace. The track is steep, so skip the heels.
Heat makes the climb harder than the numbers suggest. One visitor account calls it a tough climb in the summer sun, and the site has virtually no shade. That Mykonos Delos day trip gave an hour of guided walking, then an hour to explore alone. The writer used the second hour for the hill.
The reward is the view that ends a Mykonos Delos day trip on a high note. From the top you look across Delos and over to Mykonos, Rhenia, Tinos, Paros and Naxos. The Aegean Sea surrounds them all. Another travel page says the climb also lets you escape the crowds on the paths below.
The summit holds history too. Large rocks and broken foundation stones mark an old sanctuary of Zeus. Another site page says the remains honour Zeus and Athena. For anyone on a Mykonos Delos day trip, the peak keeps a name from before the Greeks, also spelled Cynthus.
Why do Mykonos Delos day trip cruises stop at Rhenia?
Mykonos Delos day trip cruises stop at Rhenia because the island lies just west of Delos. Its bays offer clear, calm water for a swim. One boat can then join the ancient ruins with time in the sea.
Rhenia, also spelled Rineia, is a larger island than Delos, with an area of 14 square kilometres against 3.43. Its highest point reaches 136 metres. Today nobody lives there, and only a thin strip of water divides it from Delos. That short gap explains why a Mykonos Delos day trip can fit both islands into one outing.
The stop itself is a swim. An operator site tells of a secluded cove where the boat stops, with clear turquoise water. Another page describes a calm bay for swimming and relaxing, with snorkelling gear and a stand-up paddleboard. A travel writer adds that a Mykonos Delos day trip by boat can include swimming and snorkelling at Rhenia.
The order of the stops differs. One operator page says the cruise visits Delos first and then continues to Rhenia. A meal on board follows the snorkelling. Another page says the boat sails past Delos for a view from the sea, with no landing. The swim and lunch on deck follow. Both pages give a length of five hours.
The island also holds a sombre past. Athenian rulers had the graves of Delos dug up and the bones moved across to Rheneia. Expectant mothers and the dying were ferried over as well. Rheneia’s southern half became the cemetery for Delos.
The rest of the cruise varies by page. One page offers a choice of a morning cruise or a sunset cruise. Another says the boat returns along the Mykonos coastline past Little Venice and the windmills. Each Mykonos Delos day trip of this kind therefore ends with a view of the town from the water.
Why is Delos a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and what rules apply there?
UNESCO listed Delos for its exceptional ruins of a busy, international Mediterranean harbour. The island also influenced Greek architecture and held sacred importance. Every Mykonos Delos day trip lands inside this protected site.
Delos joined the list of World Heritage Sites at the fourteenth session of the committee. Four cultural criteria apply: ii, iii, iv and vi. That status shapes every Mykonos Delos day trip. Wikipedia ranks the ongoing excavations here with the widest in the Mediterranean. One archaeologist writes that the ruins stay largely intact. Restoration has not harmed their authenticity.
The listing covers a small place. Delos measures 5 km by 1.3 km, and ruins cover the whole island. A Mykonos Delos day trip is a walk through one open-air site. The paths are rocky and unpaved. The island has no airport and no hotel.
The rules for a Mykonos Delos day trip are simple. You need a ticket for the site on top of the boat ticket. The Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities admits the last visitors 20 minutes before closing time. Overnight stays on the island are forbidden. Only security staff and archaeologists live there.
Wikivoyage says a good map with coloured routes is on offer. You can walk the ruins alone or explore with a tour guide. Keep your entrance ticket with you, because staff check it again at the museum door. A guided Mykonos Delos day trip bundles the crossing, the site entry and the guiding.
Which season, wind and sea suit a Mykonos Delos day trip?
A Mykonos Delos day trip runs from April to November. One travel writer picks April through June, then September and October. The Cyclades are windy, and strong wind can cancel the small boats.
The Cyclades Ephorate of Antiquities lists shorter hours as autumn goes on. In early September the site closes at half past 7 in the evening.
In early October it closes at half past 6, and in late October at 6. November closes at 4 in the afternoon. From December to March the site is closed, and visits need a written request.
Summer brings heat and the meltemi. Wikivoyage describes hot, dry summers and a constant wind in July and August that softens the heat. Days reach 30 degrees and nights fall to 22. Rain showers arrive between October and April. Plan a Mykonos Delos day trip around the wind first and the heat second.
The sea decides the schedule of a Mykonos Delos day trip. One page says the island becomes unreachable in particularly high winds, because the crossing is unsafe. Another says the boats from Mykonos are small, so strong wind can cancel them. A third rates summer cancellations as very rare. Winter sailings are less regular and face more rough water.
A boat operator in Mykonos says weather conditions can alter its timetable. It asks travellers to recheck departure times shortly before travel. Check it again if the wind picks up before your Mykonos Delos day trip.
On a calm day the sea trip lasts about half an hour. One visitor who gets seasick found it smooth. Another visitor remembers a rough crossing and the advice to keep your eyes on the horizon. A third page advises sea-sickness pills if you are liable, since the Cyclades can get notoriously choppy.
Off-season visits bring fewer crowds. One writer went in mid-October and got everything done easily. A queue still formed at the ferry port in the morning. Between June and September the same page urges early booking, because ferry tickets sell out. That keeps a summer Mykonos Delos day trip on track.
What do you need to bring on a Mykonos Delos day trip?
Pack a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen for a Mykonos Delos day trip. Add comfortable walking shoes, a jumper for the wind and plenty of water. Delos is an open-air site with little shade. Its paths are rocky and unpaved.
The sun is the first problem. One page says there is no protection from the sun on the island. Another says the site has virtually no shade and can get very hot in summer. It suggests light, cool clothing that covers your skin. A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen finish the kit for a Mykonos Delos day trip.
The wind is the second problem. A travel writer tells visitors to pack a jumper, because the island can get very windy. The same page says the paths are rocky and unpaved, so wear comfortable walking shoes or sandals. The site covers the whole island, so the visit is a walking day out.
Food needs a plan. One page lists no cafe and no place to buy food and drink. It tells you to bring snacks and plenty of water. Another page says the small tourist centre in the Sanctuary of Apollo has a restaurant and a bar. The pages disagree, so carry your own water bottle.
Keep your papers close on a Mykonos Delos day trip. One operator page says you exchange your voucher at the ticket desk by the boats, half an hour before departure. Another page says staff check your site ticket at the museum entrance. Keep that ticket with you after you pass the barrier.
Is a guided Mykonos Delos day trip better than going on your own?
A guided Mykonos Delos day trip explains the ruins. The site carries little information, so a visit on your own does not. Going alone works with a map and a little reading, but a tour guide gives far more insight.
A person who went alone told one writer that Delos was not worth it. She did not enjoy it because she was unsure what she was looking at. The writer then took a guided tour and loved it. Another page agrees. Without a tour guide, it is hard to work out what you see on a Mykonos Delos day trip.
There are two ways to join a Mykonos Delos day trip with a tour guide. You can pay for the boat yourself and hire a tour guide at the ticket barrier on Delos. Or you can book a full package online. One writer calls the package the easiest option, because the company handles the ferry times and the tour guide.
Between the two sits the audio guide on a Mykonos Delos day trip. One page lists a boat transfer with an audio guide as its own option. Site entry is not part of it. Another operator page lists a wireless tour guide system on its guided tour. It sits next to the tour guide and the return boat.
Going alone has its own tools. One page says you get a good map with differently coloured routes. Guidebooks sell at the ticket booth at the entrance. A traveller with a tour guide found the book unnecessary. She still called it a good option for a self-guided visit, as its map shows where everything is.
Whichever way you go, plan time of your own. One writer says a site as large as Delos needs at least an hour on your own. She liked that her tour gave her that hour. A Mykonos Delos day trip on your own is yours to plan, and the boat times set the limit.
What else do travellers ask about a Mykonos Delos day trip?
Where do you meet for a Mykonos Delos day trip, and how early do you arrive?
Two pages place the meeting point at the Old Port of Mykonos Town. It is the pier beside the small church of Saint Nicholas. One operator page asks you to swap your voucher at the ticket desk outside the vessel. That desk opens half an hour before departure, so be there by then.
Two pages also show a guided departure at 10:00 from that pier. A travel writer adds that a tour guide can pick you up at your hotel instead. Read your booking for the exact point of your Mykonos Delos day trip. Wikivoyage says boats to Delos also leave from Platys Gialos and Paranga Beach.
What happens to a Mykonos Delos day trip when the wind stops the boats?
The Cyclades are windy, and the boats from Mykonos are small. Wikivoyage says strong wind can cancel a trip. A travel writer adds that in particularly high winds the island cannot be reached. The crossing is unsafe for the boats then, and the trip does not run.
One operator page says its schedules change with the weather. It asks travellers to check the timetable shortly before the travel date. Book your Mykonos Delos day trip with a spare day around it in case the sea is rough. Another page advises sea-sickness pills for the crossing, and an archaeologist suggests keeping your eyes on the horizon.
What shade, toilets and food does Delos offer on a Mykonos Delos day trip?
Cover from the sun is thin, and the ruins stand in the open. One page calls Delos an open-air site with not much shade, and another says the site has virtually no shade. Wikivoyage also warns that nothing on the island protects you from the sun, so cover up.
The pages differ on food. One lists toilets and a small gift shop at the museum, with no cafe and nowhere to buy food. It says to bring snacks and water for the Mykonos Delos day trip.
Wikivoyage lists a restaurant and a bar at the small tourist centre in the Sanctuary of Apollo. The boats have toilets and a small shop for drinks and snacks.
Are photos and drones allowed on a Mykonos Delos day trip?
A travel writer on a guided visit took photographs among the ruins and on the summit. The Greek foreign ministry says special permits are required for filming or photography in archaeological sites. Its page does not describe single holiday snaps, so check with the ticket barrier staff first.
Drones need more than a camera permit. The same ministry page says aerial filming with a drone requires a permit from the Civil Aviation Authority. It also points to the Drone Aware-GR platform. Without that permit, pack no drone for a Mykonos Delos day trip. Phones and small cameras are the safer choice on the island.
Is a Mykonos Delos day trip suitable for children, and what are the paths like?
The visit is on foot. Paths around Delos are rocky and unpaved, so one page asks for comfortable walking shoes or sandals. A family travel page asks for suitable shoes, especially for children, because the walk crosses an excavation site. Ruins cover the whole islet, which measures 5 kilometres by 1.3 kilometres.
One article lists public restrooms and facilities for people with disabilities at Delos. It gives no detail on the surfaces. Before booking with a pushchair or wheelchair, put that question to the operator. The crossing lasts about 30 minutes, a short sea leg for a Mykonos Delos day trip with children.