Delos Archaeological Site Guided Evening Tour from Mykonos

Why visit Delos in the afternoon

Most visitors arrive on Delos in the morning, and the island has almost no shade, so the middle of the day can be very hot. Starting at 15:00 means you cross when the sun is lower, walk the site as the temperature drops and see the white marble turn golden. The light is ideal for photographs of the lions and the columns.

How to get to Delos for an afternoon visit? Boats leave from the old port of Mykonos Town for a crossing of about 30 minutes, and nobody is allowed to stay on the island overnight. Delos opening hours are longest from April to October, and this tour is timed to make full use of the late summer afternoons before the last boat back.

The Sanctuary of Apollo and the Terrace of the Lions

Delos was, according to Greek mythology, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and for centuries it was one of the most sacred places in the Greek world. Your guide follows the Sacred Way into the sanctuary, where the foundations of the temples of Apollo, the monumental gateway and the huge base of an offering from Naxos still stand among the wildflowers and lizards.

A few steps away, the Terrace of the Lions faces the dry bed of the Sacred Lake. These slender marble lions, dedicated by the Naxians in the seventh century BC, are the symbol of Delos; the ones on the terrace are copies, and the originals are sheltered in the museum. Is Delos worth visiting? For lovers of ancient history, this sanctuary alone answers the question.

The theatre quarter and the mosaic houses

From 166 BC Delos became a free port and grew into a crowded international trading town. Its residential district has survived with streets, shops, courtyard houses and cisterns, giving a rare picture of daily life two thousand years ago. Your guide shows you the House of Dionysus, whose mosaic shows the god riding a panther, and other houses with painted walls and marble floors.

Above the quarter rises the marble theatre of the third century BC, once seating several thousand people, with a great arched cistern beside it. A wireless headset lets you hear your guide clearly even in the wind. The guided part of this Delos tour from Mykonos lasts about an hour and a half.

Free time: the museum and Mount Kynthos

After the guided walk you have about an hour of free time. The site museum holds the original Naxian lions, statues from the sanctuary, wall paintings and objects from the houses, and is the best place to see the finest finds up close. Entrance is included in your ticket.

If you prefer a view, the path up Mount Kynthos, about 112 metres high, leads to the summit in roughly 20 minutes, with a panorama over the ruins, Rhenia and Mykonos in the late light. The best time to visit Delos is spring and autumn; in high summer this afternoon tour is the most comfortable choice. The boat then brings you back to Mykonos Town in the early evening.