Delos is a historic archeological island close to Mykonos and you can reach it by boat from Mykonos Town. The journey takes about 25 minutes and you can book a return ticket from the ticket booth next to Mykonos Sea Bus at the Old Port. The return ticket price was 22 euros each and we purchased them about two hours before the boat departed. The departure times in early October were 10:30, 11:30 and 15:30 each day. We had decided the 15:30 time would offer us good lighting i.e. soft late afternoon conditions to enable us to take some decent photographs!
You can also pre-book an all inclusive package which includes the return boat ticket, entrance to the site and a guided tour but this is 60 euros each. If you just pay for the boat trip, you have to pay the entrance fee to the site before you are allowed on the island. This was 8 euros per person and we paid by card.
There are extensive ruins on the island and with its ongoing excavations, this is one of the largest archeological sites in the Mediterranean. As we were not part of a tour we had the freedom to wander around in our own time (although we didn’t get the information those on the tour would have). The return boat was leaving at 18:30 so we have 2.5 hours to explore.
Many of the artefacts found on Delos are on display in the National Archeological Museum in Athens. According to Greek mythology, Delos is the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, the twin son and daughter of Leto and Zeus!
Some of the ruins on the island date back to the third millennium BC.
Above in the background is the fairly large boat which had taken us across to Delos. In the foreground is a marble wall which is of similar construction to those built by the Inca’s in Peru.
The highest peak of the island is called Mt Kynthos and you can take these steps to climb to the top.
With an elevation of 112 m, Mt Kynthos isn’t high by mountain standards! However we did see spectacular views across to Mykonos and the surrounding small islets.
But I have a rather painful memory of this place… As mentioned in the Mykonos island post, these islands are extremely windy and particularly when you are at the top of a peak. Unfortunately in these conditions I tripped over and landed face first onto a rock, cutting and bruising my cheek bone! And knee and both shins… and I broke my sunglasses. And one week later I still have an aching cheek and a black eye. But hey ho, it could have been worse!
And it didn’t deter me from continuing on with our exploration of the island…
We made our way back down the hill and came across the Temple of Isis which dates back to the second century BC.
The Terrace of the Lions is one of the most famous images of Delos. There would have originally been 9 to 12 marble lions which faced towards the Sacred Lake of Delos as if to guard it. Today there are only 5 lions.
Agora of the Competaliasts would originally have been a market place back in 125 BC.
You can comfortably see most of the main archeological sites in a couple of hours and after which time we made our way back to the boat (above). The boat was fairly full and we had to sit inside as (unlike on the way across to Delos) the outside deck at the top was closed.
We soon found out why… the sea was really choppy all the way back and we both felt somewhat queazy and glad it only took 25 minutes to reach Mykonos!
We arrived back in Mykonos just before 7 pm and just as the sun was setting.
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