Mykonos: Saturday 26th May for two nights

Deb: Arrived at Mykonos to frenetic scenes of frantic hotel and owners with rooms to let, in a scrum trying to persuade those getting off the boat that they should stay in their accommodation. Mayhem! Luckily we had booked rooms online and the woman who owns the rooms was there to pick us up. It was really busy and a shock after three quiet islands, that's for sure. The room is our most basic yet – no balcony and quite small and basic. But we had to book it at the last moment as our ferry to Tinos was cancelled so we had to get here so that we could get a ferry back to Andros. We had previously completely discarded the idea of stopping here as it didn’t appeal at all. I must say, our instincts were correct as I just don’t like it. It’s busy, with pushy shopkeepers and restaurant owners, stroppy/arrogant waiters and most of the tourists are posy. It’s also incredibly expensive and they rip you off; if you order an ouzo it is a tiny measure (NO WAY!) and they put the ice in before you get it, so you can’t work out the size of it. And at least as dear as the other islands, where they gave you twice as much for your money! We ordered what we thought was a reasonably priced meal (having seen the prices) but by the time you have added in things like pita bread (2.50euros!) etc, it soon adds up. And no free desserts or liqueurs like the other islands. They wouldn’t give you a thing here. So can’t wait to leave! Had good day on the town beach though –it was walking distance and quiet – we went to avoid the crowds but there was also not much opportunity to rip us off either as only a small taverna to try and take your money! Bring on Andros tomorrow!

Alan: Well the ferry was a bit futuristic and our unplanned visit to Mykonos was a bit like landing on a different planet. Its reputation goes back a long way, known for partying and general tolerance on all things associated with that activity. Even on my first visit to Greece in 1980 Mykonos only featured as somewhere I wasn’t going to! Anyway, thanks to the vagaries of the Tinos ferry here we are. Mykonos town is fascinating, the layout of the streets was apparently intended to confuse pirates and it still does a good job on tourists. You can often do little more than head downhill to find the port and returning to our accommodation saw us popping up in all parts! The town is incredibly upmarket for a Greek island, there are fashion shops that would not look out of place in any of the UK’s major cities with prices to match. Many of the restaurants are not just expensive, they are genuinely posh. We presume that the major partying goes on at the various beaches (buses run all night in the season) leaving the town for the well heeled (cruise boat?) visitors. It was interesting to see it given its "fame" amongst Greek islands, but we won’t be rushing back to stay there again although we do return next Saturday to change ferries so we have fingers crossed that our Naxos connection from there (Superjet, who kept letting us down on Paros) isn’t cancelled.