In June 2006 we visited probably the most cosmopolitan of the Greek Islands, Mykonos. The island is famous for its teeming life and all the wonderful beaches with crystal-clear sea and white or golden sand. Most of the beaches are in leeward bays on the south coast, providing idyllic conditions for all sea-lovers.

Mykonos slideshow (86 photos)

Platis Gialos is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island, its slightly-sloped beach is perfect for families too. We reserved a room with sea-view in Hotel Kosmoplaz, which is literally on the beach! You can find the hotel's website at www.hotelkosmoplaz.gr with lots of pictures and also panoramic view.

Three weeks before our departure all charter flights from Budapest to Mykonos got cancelled, so we had to arrange everything ourselves at the last minute. First it seemed hopeless as the flights were fully booked, but with the help of the manager of Hotel Kosmoplaz we managed to find a good solution.

We took a scheduled flight from Budapest to Athens, then a thirty-minute taxi ride to Rafina Port, that's how we managed to catch the last ferry to Mykonos. The car ferry needed almost 5 hours to cover the distance of 120 km, which was a little long but the sights and the experience made really worth our while.

Our huge 5-storey ferry was named Aqua Jewel, and as it was her first voyage in the summer season there were only a few passengers on board. We felt as if the ferry was ours! After going around the deck we decided to sit down at the leeward back on the third floor and got a nice panorama of Rafina town.

Our first stop was the town of Gavrio on the island of Andros, two hours from Rafina. It seemed a very lively town even from the port. I always wonder what life might be like at a place where the sea gives rhythm to everything. Even a Greek pope got on board.

Four or five seagulls were following the ferry for quite a while, waiting to be fed. They found their people as we happily shared our sandwiches with them. Then we just had to sit down and enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets of our lives, right at the Aegean!

Two hours later we called at Tinos, the main city of the island with the same name. We were happy to see it fully floodlit as it had a special atmosphere that way. Nine days later, on our way back from Mykonos, we arrived at the same port before sunset so we were lucky enough to see the same city in daylight too.

We arrived at Mykonos Port half an hour later than scheduled but Mr Kalamaras Antonis, manager of Hotel Kosmoplaz was steadily waiting for us. Without his help we would not have been able to arrange our journey at the last minute, so we are most grateful to him. He is an exceptionally nice man!

Fifteen minutes later we were already standing on the balcony of our room overlooking the wonderful sandy beach of Platis Gialos, feeling as if we had fallen in the middle of a fairy tale! The sea was only mysteriously sparkling behind the umbrellas illuminated by the light filtering out from the tavernas all along the beach.

By the time we had unpacked our suitcases and finally made ourselves at home in our room, the full moon was giving us another spectacular view as it let us see more and more of the sea, illuminating a bright line over the surface of the water. The sea was actually only a few meters away! I couldn't even sleep tight over the night as I loved listening to the sound of the waves arriving softly on the shore. I even got up several times just to look out of the window and see how much the moon had advanced and how the sea was illuminated at the moment.

And this was our morning view! Amazing shades of green and blue, softly swinging boats on the sea, calmness and silence everywhere, no people at all! I liked sitting on the balcony every morning while most people were still sleeping, I just couldn't have enough of this amazing view.

To the right we could see the little port and the white-washed buildings of Petinos Beach Hotel glittering in the brilliant morning sunshine. The calmness was just unbelievable at such a lively place like Mykonos! Luckily, people having a passion for the night like to sleep late, so people preferring tranquility can enjoy all the morning until about midday.

The beach of Platis Gialos looks to the south, it is surrounded by a mountain range which prevents you from seeing either the sunrise or the sunset, but there is brilliant sunshine all day long. The glorious morning light is reflected by the white buildings of the west side, while late in the afternoon the east side is given an amazing golden glamour. The sea is changing its color all day long, there aren't two minutes which would be the same!

Above all these, still there is something that makes the bay of Platis Gialos even more unique: a symmetrical hat-shaped rock which is connected to the island by a narrow promontory, sheltering the beach from the southeast winds during the year. At summer time the north wind called meltemi dominates all the island, so if you prefer calm seas you should choose one of the nice beaches on the south coast of Mykonos.

When my small family regained consciousness after the strains of the journey of the day before, we headed for the open air restaurant of our hotel to have our first breakfast here. I could sit for hours with a view like this, so we never hurried with our breakfast or found it hard to wait for our dinner to be served.

There were some clouds on our first day at this wonderful beach but they never really disturbed the brilliant sunshine. However the air was not as hot as we expected because of the cold front that had just left Greece the day before. Fresh and clear air got to Mykonos too, so the water seemed rather cool at my first dip in the sea.

The sea can't be cool enough for a maniac sea-lover to have a swim in it, but I was really cold when I first walked out of the water. Seeing my creepy body my darlings decided not to walk in the sea deeper than their ankles, they preferred staying dry on the beach, enjoying the spectacular surroundings of Platis Gialos. Dora was perfectly satisfied with playing with the nice golden sand, bringing the necessary water from the sea.

Forecasters predicted a big warm-up from the next day on, and luckily they were right! We had very good weather right until the last day. Sometimes it was a little windy but it was quite alright in the heat of 28-32 degrees Centigrade. The sea seemed to be warming up quite slowly, but the wonderful crystal clear water could not be resisted for long.

Hearing the weather forecast we decided to go and see Mykonos town before the arrival of the big heat, so on our second morning we took the bus from Platis Gialos to Mykonos, or Hora as it is called by the locals. Ten minutes later we were already wandering around the white maze of all those lovely narrow streets of Mykonos town.

Walking along the narrow streets first we found probably the most famous part of town, Little Venice. The special atmosphere of the place has inspired many artists: houses built over the sea with polychrome porches, balconies, windows, doors and stairways, wooden terraces under which the waves break. Now we were welcome by absolutely calm water in the small beach of Alevkantra.

From Little Venice you'll get an overall view of the famous windmills of Mykonos, which you just can't miss to see. These important structures for the grinding of agricultural products numbered 16 in the past and were all in operation. Pure-white, circular, with a conical wooden roof, they sprang to life with the wind that blew (and still does) 200-300 days a year.

Today they are no longer used for grinding, as "civilization" has brought their sails to a halt. But their position and importance remains. A few have been restored and operate as museums, such as the Bonis mill. Others have been renovated and are used as dwellings. Furthermore, in some new dwellings mills are built along dove-cotes, which helps to contribute to the preservation of local architecture.

Up from the windmills you'll have a picturesque view of the whole town including the surrounding mountains. You feel as if you were standing at the edge of a medieval town, amazing! The only thing to disturb this feeling are the huge cruisers and ferries that come in the picture from time to time, still they seem to be in perfect harmony with all that you can see.

Then we headed for the Old Port through the white maze again and we were all surprised to find it much sooner than we had expected. As it was really hot by now, we decided to sit down and have an ice-cream at one of the shaded taverns along the port. Dora got really excited to make a video of the place.

An inseparable part of life on the harbor are the pelicans, the island's mascots. They wander through all the neighborhoods but prefer the harbor and Alevkantra. They are so sweet and beloved that everybody looks after them, locals and foreigners just as much.

We knew Mykonos town from webcam images too, but feeling and seeing something in real life is a completely different experience. If you would like to see most of the webcams operating all year in Mykonos, click here. You can also choose to see webcam movie clips of the latest sunrise and sunset and even the traffic of the port.

The new port for big ferries is opposite the Old Port. Huge cruisers also arrive in Mykonos but they cast anchor further from the harbor and then small boats are used to bring visitors into town. It's better to visit Mykonos in the morning when there are fewer people around.

Walking along the harbor we found Paraportiani, which is the upper part of an inspired architectural complex of five churches, built gradually during the 16th and the 17th century. The passage of time have contributed to the formation of the external morphology creating a unique aesthetic whole through deterioration and damage.

The houses in the streets, pure white and cubical, are all set in a line. Whitewashed and sparkling clean, they reveal the ardent care of the Mykonian housewife and the high level of the island's culture. The houses are two-storey, with two openings on each floor, one for the door and another for the window, and contain a central fanlight, necessary for the lighting of the upper floor.

The access to the upper floor is via external wooden staircases, most of which are decorated with flower-pots, an example of Mykonian housekeeping skills and grace. The facade of the house is of exceptional interest. The lovely, simple wooden balustrades of the stairs, the wooden balconies with their parapets, the drains and the chimneys are features all Mykonian houses have in common.

When we got back to Platis Gialos it was really hot, there was only a soft breeze even on the beach, so Dora and Peter just couldn't resist swimming in the sea any more. Now the water seemed quite pleasant even though you needed some time to get used to it. Dora wanted to try her brand new doggy air-belt for the first time.

First we held the air-belt tight to avoid any accident but Dora was so brave and felt so safe with her doggy belt that we could let her float free. She was swimming all around us and was not afraid at all, not even of the deep water. But we, of course, had to be careful as parents.

Then she wanted to try her boat-belt, the one she wasn't really keen on the year before. Now she found it nice and safe enough to "drive", only we were afraid of her falling into the water as she liked to sit rather in the front than in the middle. But nothing dangerous happened.

She had got used to the water so much by now that she felt like walking into the sea alone too. She was playing with the waves, collected small white pebbles which were not easy to find in the glittering golden water but she really enjoyed the challenge.

Our dinner view was just as special as the morning one, only the lights were different in a spectacular way. The waiters and the manager of the restaurant got to like Dora so much that they brought a free dessert for all of us every evening! Isn't it all a fairy tale?

From the door of our sea view room we could see the separated buildings of a five-star hotel surrounded by palm trees, right on a mountain peak. The guests of this hotel must have been able to see the sunset from their rooms as the white walls of the hotel reflected the light of the sun even when all the other parts of Platis Gialos were in the shade.

And the hotel looked just like a fairy castle at night! All the buildings in Mykonos perfectly fit in their surroundings, in undeniable harmony with the scenery. No masses of concrete or high-rise buildings anywhere! And the arrangement is special too as there are no unified boring blocks, each building has its special characteristics.

Having seen our daughter's love for the sea and considering the big heat we decided to spend all the next day on the beach. We took all our sea equipment down to the beach with us and tried each of them in the crystal clear sea. No complaints at all!

Dora's absolute favorite was her doggy air-belt. She tried it in every possible way, we were truly surprised by our daughter's rich fantasy. And this was the first time we hadn't had to find out different tricks to make her like the "big water".

Actually, now it was her who walked into the water the most easily: when we were only at the phase of getting used to the coolness of the sea, she was already playing in it... She didn't even mind the salty water splashing into her face.

Platis Gialos Beach is not only special for its very clean, crystal clear sea, brilliant sunshine, rocky scenery and pure-white buildings but all kinds of spectacular ships that emerged from time to time. We couldn't take pictures of all the beauty we encountered here but the ones we took really speak for themselves.

Dora immensely enjoyed playing with the sand. She often browsed our pictures we had collected from the internet months before our vacation and spotted how beautiful the sand and the beach of Platis Gialos was. She was in full despair for a couple of days when our charter to Mykonos got cancelled and our well-planned holiday was jeopardized, just like me. She didn't even want to hear of other beaches!

Our compulsory program after each dinner was to take Dora to the slides of course. There was a small playground in the middle of the beach with this yellow slide which she loved so much. A few meters away we found a smaller magenta slide too, and even if she didn't enjoy the latter so much she was in love with its color, so we couldn't go to bed until she had just enough of both slides.

The next morning we decided to explore other beaches too, so we took the rocky path towards Agia Anna and Paranga Beach. You can take spectacular pictures of Platis Gialos from the top of the rock at the east end of the bay, don't miss the chance!

The way was a little bit longer and also steeper than we had thought but Dora took the obstacles with ease. Actually, she loved those parts of the walk which seemed the most dangerous, at least for us, parents...

First we arrived at Agia Anna Beach which is right next to the hat-shaped rock. The scenery is beautiful but the beach is not the best as most of it is covered by dark stones making the water really dark.

Paranga is on the opposite side of the hat-shaped rock and offers one of the most picturesque beaches on the island. The sea has many colors as there are sandy and rocky parts as well, everybody can find what they are looking for. We saw nudist couples and families with small children too.

We sat down to have a little rest and enjoyed the beautiful panorama from the rocks of Paranga. Dora first wanted to have a dip but changed her mind seeing the dark parts in the sea, so we decided to walk back and have a swim in Platis Gialos instead.

It was the hottest day of our stay in Mykonos, so it was refreshing to have a nice swim in the crystal clear sea after the big walk. Dora especially enjoyed the deep water now, she didn't even need her doggy air-belt. Now we looked at the scenery differently as we knew exactly how the hat-shaped rock looked from close.

Later she couldn't resist her doggy and was swimming around us with joy. She could swim wherever she wanted, the depth of the water didn't matter, only for us, as she became almost as independent by sea as by land, which is not so easy for parents...

Then she decided to go closer to the shore and let the waves softly swing her to the edge of the sea, enjoying the game the sun was playing with the crystal clear sea, hunting for her favorite small white pebbles to add to her collection.

The next morning we decided to walk over to Psarou, the neighboring beach of Platis Gialos. If you plan a walk in the morning, it's a good idea to reserve your sunbeds before you leave so that you will have your place when you come back. And you can also take a picture of your daughter standing on the table on your balcony, making you "a little" nervous...

To get to Psarou from Platis Gialos first you have to walk along the road and then take the narrow rocky path along the east side of the bay. This walk was even more exciting than the one on the previous day as our stubborn daughter wanted to be perfectly independent on her way...

Psarou is surrounded by mountains all around, the bay stretches deep into the land, so probably this is the most leeward bay of the island. Choose a hotel here if you like perfectly calm water, you won't even feel the meltemi either.

Psarou is a favorite place for rich people and celebrities too. You will see several luxury yachts waiting around at the side of the bay too. And be prepared to spend lots of money if you come here to have your vacation.

On our way back we took another picture of Platis Gialos, now viewed from the west end of the bay. Your holiday here will be more expensive than on other Greek islands, especially if you come in July or August, when the price of the rooms are usually doubled.

We spent the rest of the day on our favorite beach which we never found boring at all! The days ran very fast one after the other, the time for dinner always came sooner than we thought. The place is just wonderful, just like Hotel Kosmoplaz where Mr Dimitris and Mr Kalamaras will do their best to make your stay perfect in every way. Efaristo poli!

The beach is especially nice in the morning when there are only few people around. Later all the sunbeds are taken and the beach can become a little overcrowded, mainly in the high season.

The next day we went to see some of the most famous beaches of Mykonos, all on the southern coast: Paranga, Paradise, Super Paradise, Agrari and Elia. The taxi boats leave from the small port of Platis Gialos, just in the neighborhood of Hotel Kosmoplaz.

As we had Dora with us, we didn't want to get out of the boat on any of the beaches, just to have a closer look at them and then come back to our beach. If you want to do the same you should take the first boat in the morning departing at 10.15. The trip takes about one and a half hour.

All the beaches are very interesting when viewed farther from the coast, as you can also see the upper part of them. Here you can see Platis Gialos where hotels are still being built but never in summer, to avoid unpleasant noises. If you click on the picture you will have a closer idea of Platis Gialos' future look.

To get an overall view of the beaches we took pictures only from afar and used our video camera to get a closer image of them. The sea is crystal clear and there is golden sand everywhere. Here you can see Paranga where we had our walk two days before.

Paradise Beach (or Kalamopodi in Greek) is a favorite spot for young people who come to Mykonos for entertainment. There is a camping site too and music is played loudly even in the afternoon. If you want to see a live webcam image of this beach click here.

The other noisy beach is Super Pradise, alias Plintri in Greek. It is a favorite place for gay people and nudists too, so not really suitable for children. If you want to go to a family beach, choose Platis Gialos or Ornos instead.

Agrari is a quite small beach but very nice. The rocks along the coast are heavily eroded, they are hardly on their place! Small fences are put up everywhere to avoid accidents by the rocks falling down.

Our final destination was the biggest beach of Mykonos, Elia. Here you can choose from several hotels and the beach is very nice too. The next beach on the south coast would be Kalo Livadi, but the taxi boats don't go as far as that.

Our way back to Platis Gialos was very memorable as we were the only passengers on the boat: it was like a private voyage! In this picture you can see a plane descending above Platis Gialos as the airport is really close.

If you go to Platis Gialos by plane, you should sit on the left to take a good aerial photo of the place. The planes descend from the south and pass above Paranga, so the other beaches can be seen well from the right side of the plane.

We could spend two more days on the beach of Platis Gialos and enjoyed every minute of it! The sea was really pleasant now, Dora spent most of her time in the water. We played with her new doggy ball which she chose to suit her doggy air-belt.

She also liked playing with the wet sand right beside the water but after a time she got fed up with the sea always washing away her "castle" so she decided to go a little farther from the sea.

But here the sand was not wet enough for her, so she needed her can to bring enough water. She worked hard to get the result she wanted.

She didn't like when other children went up to her, especially if they were younger than her. She considers herself as a little adult who can always do what she wants and hates when somebody tries to tell her what to do. But she looks up to her seniors, just like the boy in the picture who built a really big castle.

When the boy left Dora went to see the castle from closer too and she was amazed by the big pool around it. She respected the big work so much that she didn't hurt it, just played with the water in its pool. But the sea didn't like the castles so much as it had always washed them away by the next day.

Dora was fond of walking along the beach, close to or in the water. She took her father with her to help her collect small pebbles always saying: "This will be the most beautiful pebble in my collection!"

Here you can see the other side of Hotel Kosmoplaz with 28 rooms with pool view. There are only 8 rooms with sea view, they are a little more expensive but the view is really amazing to the Aegean! If you want to have a sea-view room, book your room well in advance.

We could stay in our room until 5.30 pm on our last day as our catamaran left for Rafina only at 18.30. We spent the day on the beach but it was a very windy day and the air seemed cooler too.

Dora wanted to try the pool too on our last day and enjoyed swimming all around it as fast as she could. We felt really proud seeing her confidence in the water as she is only three years old.

Mr Dimitris and Mr Kalamaras were both very nice to take us to Mykonos port where there was a very strong north wind blowing. We were afraid that our catamaran would be cancelled but fortunately it wasn't. Furthermore, it kept its exact schedule minute by minute.

Seajet 2 only needed two hours to get to Rafina, even though the sea was very rough in the first hour or so. Sometimes we couldn't even look out of the window as water splashed all over the catamaran. But by sunset time the sea got much calmer to bring us a last joy at the sea.

Here you can see Seajet 2 in the background, after our arrival to Rafina. Dora looks very sleepy as she fell asleep during the voyage.

Then we headed to Hotel Corali where we had a reserved room for the night. Now we were in a small Greek town with real Greek people the way they live their everyday lives. People stay up late sitting and talking in taverns around the main square where children play until late at night.

We had a very nice view from our room on the top floor, right under the word "Corali". To our right there was the port, at a walking distance of about 5 minutes.

To the left we could see the central part of Rafina, with a nice orthodox church by the main road with palm trees.

Our plane from Athens to Budapest only left in the afternoon so we had enough time to look around in Rafina. But it was very very hot so we preferred staying in the shades.

We had a last adventure as the private jet of President Bush was to take off exactly when our plane was to land. Our plane had to go round and round in the clouds for almost half an hour so we could enjoy quite a rough final flight. But it was all worth it!

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