Fly direct if possible on Caledonian airlines from Gatwick (3.5 hours). Flights seem to be restricted to just 2 / week. The alternative is to fly to Athens and get either an internal flight if available or one of the ferries. There is a jet foil which takes around 3 hours or the daily slow ferry which is about 7 hours overnight. Going this route basically means you'll lose two days of your holiday.

For the complete package of flights and accommodation your best bet is to check out some of the offers available from Respect Holidays who specialise in gay holiday packages to Mykonos and other popular European gay holiday destinations.

Fortunately the authorities have had the good sense to ban large hotels. All the building are just one story high and all white washed adding to the charm of Mykonos and preventing mass tourism from moving in. There are however, large developments taking place next to Elia beach and along the coast in places so how long this will last is debatable.

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Geranium Hotel	School of fine Arts, Mykonos, Cyclades 84600, Greece	Tel: 30 22890 22867 Fax: +30 22890 24624
	Description: Exclusively gay hotel on Mykonos, on hillside approx 500m above Mykonos Town. Large swimming pool with marble decking and sun beds. Pool bar Daily cleaning. Entrance gate and own room keys. Private parking. All rooms with double or king size beds. Fridge, fan, Air-condition, direct-dial telephone, internet connection, satellite TV and private electronic safe. Apartments – Studio - Villa: Fully-equipped open-plan kitchen, stove/oven, large fridge with freezer, large TV, dining table and sofa bed. Each unit has either balcony or terrace. Gay managed, gay clientele. Friendly and helpful service. Visitors allowed over night. Email Website

Villa Konstantin	Villa Konstantin, PO Box 1030 Mykonos 84600, Greece.	Tel: 00 30 (0)289 25824 Fax: 00 30 (0)289 26205
	Description: Group of apartments and studios in Mykonos town. Gay friendly. Contact: Sharon or Dimitri. Email Website

Although Mykonos is a popular gay destination, there aren't any large gay clubs as in Ibiza or London. However there are a number of gay bars more than willing to relieve the gay tourist of their holiday handbag.

A good starting place is gay run Art Cafe Bar.Art Cafe (next door to Earth Travel) is just up from the bus stops on the left hand side.) Try their wicked Randy Andy coctail. Art Cafe also serve up probably the best cooked breakfast in town, handy if you're nursing a handover from the night before and need something inside you to soak up the alcohol.

The main bars are Pierros, Mantos and Icarus where gay men will congregate both outside. Spirits cost around (£4) although a gin and tonic is 50% gin / 50% tonic. :-). Some of the bars are now charging an entrance fee to go inside for the disco/drag show £4.00 although this normally includes you first drink. Pierros has reopened the the former upstairs Nefeli bar as a trendy bar with two rooms, once of which has a packed dancefloor. This is definately the "In Place" for 2000 and is certainly preferable to standing around outside the bars.

Suggestion: Buy cheap booze at the supermarket (Gordon's/Stolly £7), get squiffy at your apartment, then head out into the night to meet the man of your dreams. Anyone into Germans or Italians is well catered for.

Another popular bar is called Porta where the atmosphere is slightly friendlier and the drinks cheaper. Music is English language..

Kastros still serves wonderful cocktails (strawberry daquiri recommended) to drink watching the sun set and, the Montparnasse Piano bar (24 Ag Agargyron Str, Little Venice, Tel: 0289 23719) is still hughly popular with a variety of singers and their accompanying pianest keeps the punters entertained. Montparnasse Piano Bar still serves some of the best cocktails in town (around £5), our favourite being a Mai Tai (fabulous). The bar men aren't bad either. On our most recent visit the voluptuous Phyliss Pastore had taken over the reins and was belting out songs accompanied on the piano by her erstwhile colleague. The singing improves the more cocktails you drink. Great fun nethertheless. Don't forget to buy Phyllis's CD, a great gift for someone you love.

 

Culture & Reading:

The nearby island of Delos is full of Greek ruins. Famous in Greek mythology as the home of Apollo there are remains of buildings dating back 2 thousand years BC. The island, although now deserted, once had a large population who built beautiful temples, statues and mosaic floors before the Romans came along smashed the place up and spoiled everything.

Worth a visit if you get the odd dull day weather wise. We did it when the sun was blazing down. Talk about wilting queens in need of a refreshing gin and tonic. There is a handy little shop just up from the harbour which sells International press and books.
See our UK Gay Book Shop for useful travel guides.

Eating Out

Eating out in Mykonos has a never been a problem. Most restaurants offer good value and excellent choices from traditional Greek, French, Italian and Chinese. Most menus are written in English if you were worried about having to speak Greek. Sea Food is a specialty as well as Gyros and Souvlaki (grilled lamb or chicken served from a skewer). Most of the restaurants are reasonable value and seating arrangements are usually al fresco. Gay men are everywhere which is a nice feeling. We can thoroughly recommend the ever popular Tavera Nikos restaurant (just round the corner from the City Club), the slightly more upmarket Edem restaurant (Area Church, Panahrandou. Tel: 0289 23355) and the wonderful Chez Marias Garden (27 Kalogera St, Tel: 0289 27565, 27566).

There are two new internet cafes. Angelo's is situated between the bus station and the windmills. Price around 3000Drs/£6 for an hour. Although relatively expensive, the equipment was all new and the connection very reliable. There is another new internet cafe in the middle of the old town.