Old Port

The Old Port of Mykonos sits at the northern edge of Mykonos Town (Chora), directly below the famous windmills and within walking distance of Little Venice. It is the island's original working harbour — a compact quayside where fishing boats, small ferries, excursion vessels, and water taxis have docked for centuries. For visitors, it functions as the primary departure point for day trips to the sacred island of Delos and to the uninhabited islet of Rhenia, as well as a hub for inter-island connections on smaller local ferries.

Unlike the New Port at Tourlos, roughly 2 kilometres north, the Old Port was not built to handle large vehicle-carrying ferries. Its character is closer to a traditional Cycladic fishing harbour than a modern terminal — low-slung jetties, moored caïques, and the constant movement of excursion operators calling out departure times. The waterfront promenade that runs along it connects directly to the main pedestrian lanes of Chora, making the Old Port both a transit point and a natural gathering place.

Note that major high-speed and large conventional ferries from Piraeus, Heraklion, and other Aegean ports now arrive and depart from the New Port at Tourlos. If you are catching a ferry to Athens or another main island, confirm your departure point in advance — the two ports are not interchangeable.

What to Expect

The quayside at the Old Port is short and manageable. Along the waterfront you will find ticket booths and small offices run by excursion operators, primarily selling day trips to Delos and combined Delos–Rhenia tours. Boats for Delos run to a published schedule tied to the archaeological site's opening hours; the crossing takes roughly 30 minutes. Rhenia day trips, which include swimming stops in clear shallow water, typically depart in the morning and return by early afternoon.

The surrounding area is fully integrated with Mykonos Town. The narrow lanes of the market district begin just steps from the waterfront, and the bars and restaurants of the seafront extend south toward Little Venice. The port itself has no formal waiting hall or enclosed terminal building — passengers wait on the open quay. There are cafes and snack spots immediately adjacent where you can have a coffee before boarding.

Small inter-island ferries and water taxis also operate from here, connecting to nearby islands on routes that larger vessels do not serve directly. During summer the quay can be congested in the morning when multiple excursion boats load simultaneously, so arriving 20–30 minutes before departure is advisable.

Fishing boats return in the early morning, and the central fish market and nearby tavernas source directly from what comes in. The working harbour atmosphere is most visible at dawn, before the excursion crowd arrives.

Activities and Facilities

Day trips to Delos: The archaeological site on Delos — one of the most significant in the Greek world — is accessible only by boat, and the Old Port is the standard departure point from Mykonos. Tickets are sold at the quayside booths. Entry to the Delos site itself is paid separately upon arrival.

Delos–Rhenia combination tours: Many operators run a combined itinerary: a morning visit to the Delos ruins followed by a swim stop off Rhenia's uninhabited shoreline. The water around Rhenia is shallow and clear, and the island has no permanent infrastructure — bring food and water.

Water taxis: Small motorboats operate on demand to beaches on the southern and western coasts of Mykonos that are difficult to reach by road. Fares are typically fixed per route and displayed at the waterfront.

Fishing harbour: The working section of the port remains active. Early risers will find the day's catch being unloaded and sorted before the tourist activity begins.

How to Get There

The Old Port is walkable from virtually anywhere in Mykonos Town. From the main square (Manto Mavrogenous Square), head toward the waterfront and turn north; the port is a five-minute walk. From Little Venice, follow the seafront promenade northward for about three minutes.

By bus, the Mykonos Town bus stop (Fabrika) is the central hub and is roughly a 10-minute walk from the Old Port. Taxis can drop you at the waterfront directly. There is limited vehicle access along the quayside itself due to narrow lanes, so if arriving by car or scooter, park in the lots on the edge of Chora and walk the remaining distance.

For visitors staying at hotels in the Ornos, Psarou, or Platis Gialos areas, the local bus network connects to Mykonos Town, from which the port is on foot. Allow extra time during peak summer mornings when traffic in and out of Chora is heavy.

Best Time to Visit

The Old Port operates year-round as a working harbour, but excursion services to Delos run seasonally — roughly from late March or April through October, in line with the Delos archaeological site's opening period. The site is closed on Mondays.

For boat trips, morning departures are the standard: excursion boats typically leave between 09:00 and 10:00, allowing several hours on Delos before the afternoon heat peaks. Returning boats come back mid-afternoon. If you want to photograph the harbour itself, early morning light before the excursion boats begin loading offers the best conditions and the least foot traffic.

Summer (July–August) brings the highest volume of visitors and can make the quayside genuinely crowded during peak departure windows. The Meltemi wind, which blows strongly across the Cyclades from mid-July through August, occasionally disrupts smaller boat services — if the sea is rough, departures to Delos may be cancelled or delayed. Check conditions on the day.

Shoulder months — May, June, September, and early October — give you calmer seas, shorter queues at the ticket booths, and more comfortable temperatures for walking around Delos after the crossing.

Tips for Visiting

• Book Delos tickets early in high season. Excursion boats have limited capacity and the Delos site has its own visitor caps. In July and August, tickets for morning departures can sell out the previous day.
• Confirm your ferry port before travel day. High-speed ferries and large conventional ferries from Piraeus and other main ports use the New Port at Tourlos, not the Old Port. Check your ticket carefully.
• Bring cash to the quayside. Some smaller excursion operators and water taxi services are cash-only. There are ATMs in Mykonos Town a short walk away.
• Arrive 20–30 minutes before departure. The quay loads multiple boats simultaneously in the morning rush, and the boarding process is informal — there are no assigned gates.
• The Delos site has minimal shade. Take water, a hat, and sunscreen. There is a small cafe on Delos, but it is often busy and not a substitute for adequate hydration before you board.
• Water taxis are priced per route, not per person on all services. Confirm whether the fare is shared or individual before boarding, especially for smaller private boats.
• Monday visits to Delos are not possible. The archaeological site is closed every Monday regardless of weather or season. Plan accordingly.
• Wind forecasts matter. The Meltemi can make the short crossing to Delos uncomfortable on smaller boats even when the weather looks sunny. Check a local marine forecast, not just the general weather, if you are sensitive to choppy conditions.

History and Context

Mykonos has been a maritime crossroads in the Cyclades since antiquity, and the natural harbour on the western coast of the island has served as its main port for centuries. The town that grew around it — now called Chora — developed along the hillside above the waterfront, with its characteristic cube-shaped whitewashed buildings pushed close together partly for defensive reasons and partly to make the most of the limited flat land.

The proximity of Delos, just a few kilometres to the southwest, gave the Mykonos harbour particular strategic and commercial importance in antiquity. Delos was one of the most sacred sites in the Greek world — the mythological birthplace of Apollo and Artemis — and at its commercial peak in the Hellenistic period it was one of the busiest trading ports in the eastern Mediterranean. Mykonos served as a supply and transit point for the pilgrims, merchants, and sailors who moved through Delos.

In the centuries that followed, the Old Port remained the island's main point of contact with the wider Aegean. Fishing, small-scale trade, and eventually tourism all passed through the same compact quayside. The harbour's character has changed with each era, but the physical relationship between the waterfront, the town above it, and the sea routes connecting Mykonos to Delos and the other Cyclades has remained fundamentally the same.

The construction of the New Port at Tourlos in the modern era shifted large-vessel traffic away from the Old Port, effectively preserving its smaller-scale character. The quay today looks and functions more like a traditional Aegean fishing and excursion harbour than a modern ferry terminal, which is part of what makes arriving or departing from it feel distinct from the utilitarian experience of the New Port.