Delos DIY or ship's tour?

[cheffip]

I'll be visiting Mykonos in October and want to go to Delos. There is of course a ship's tour but I wondered about DIY. Is it an easy place to "re-imagine" with a guidebook or does the guide really help bring it to life. Anyone know if there are any podcasts or audio-tours available for download?

[Shooraq]

DIY is cheaper. The booth for the ferry is right on the dock. Think it was 12 euro per person, definitely cheaper than a cruise ship tour. Rick Steves has a guided map in his Mediterranean Cruise tourbook that describes the route to take when on Delos and descriptions. I actually liked DIY. When you have dealt with hours of history regarding Athens and Epheseus tours, having Delos as a DIY tour thru Mykonos was really nice. It is really easy to do! Hopefully I'll have photos of it soon... took so many photos of my trip!

[goldiemom]

DIY is very easy. My hubby and I did it two years ago. I copied pages out of a tour book with a map of Delos. Took a morning ferry over (just go to the ferry booth to buy tickets) and spent about three hours on the island. Be sure to visit the museum on Delos. Arrived back on Mykonos with enough time to see all the sights in town and do a little shopping. It was a wonderful day.

[cheffip]

Thank you both for the suggestions...looks like DIY is the way to go.

[Petoonya]

Shooraq,

Would love to see your pics of Delos!

[wurmine]

It is very easy to do on your own (we did a trip during a longer stay on Mykonos). If you get to Delos, there a some guides- so you can hire a private guide for an hour or so. We enjoyed that.

Bring water- it is very hot in summer and a hat.

[marazul]

Some of the booths on the dock offer a combined ferry/guided tour ticket. Or you can hire a guide on the island. I thought the guide was very good. It doesn't take any longer than going around reading a guide book or listening to a tape.

There is no need to worry about coming back on time. All boats have to leave by 3 pm

[Infi]

For those who have done Delos DIY, a few questions:

 

1. What time does the ferry start running in the morning?

2. What is the cost for the ferry/guide combo ticket? Or, what's the cost of the guides on site?

3. Did you feel the guide was necessary? I have the Rick Steves Med cruise ports book with his guided tour, but am trying to decide if it is sufficient for DIY.

4. Can anyone recommend any self guided tour resources or podcasts for Delos?

[Shooraq]

Shooraq,

Would love to see your pics of Delos!

 

Not a problem... it will probably take me a week or two to get them up, but when I do, I will post the link here! :D

[Shooraq]

For those who have done Delos DIY, a few questions:

 

1. What time does the ferry start running in the morning?

2. What is the cost for the ferry/guide combo ticket? Or, what's the cost of the guides on site?

3. Did you feel the guide was necessary? I have the Rick Steves Med cruise ports book with his guided tour, but am trying to decide if it is sufficient for DIY.

4. Can anyone recommend any self guided tour resources or podcasts for Delos?

 

The first ferry leaves at 9am. That's what we did.

 

I did just fine with the Rick Steve's ports book. It was nice not having a tour guide after having multiple tours guides thru the whole trip. Quiet and peaceful, at your leisure.

[Infi]

The first ferry leaves at 9am. That's what we did.

 

I did just fine with the Rick Steve's ports book. It was nice not having a tour guide after having multiple tours guides thru the whole trip. Quiet and peaceful, at your leisure.

 

Thanks, Shooraq, that helps. Looking forward to seeing your photos.

[wassup4565]

Our ship is anchoring off Delos, and tendering to it. Then, re-tendering, moving to Mykonos and tendering again there. We would like to tender to Delos, take our time there, then take the ferry to Mykonos. DIY in Mykonos, then tender back to ship from there.

 

Is it possible to pay for the ferry at Delos for for what is essentially a one-way trip, or can you only buy tickets on Mykonos?

[giraffelt]

We were on Delos 2 weeks ago and did it ourselves rather than taking the ship's tour. We were tendered to the island. The ruins on Delos aren't particularly well signed so if you are going to do it yourself I would recommend some research/reading ahead of time. Otherwise it would be pretty boring.

 

I had purchased and read Nigel McGilchrist's Greek Islands volume #4 Mykonos & Delos. His 20 volume series on Greece isn't your usual tour guide. He is an art historian and his books document the art, history and archaeology of each area.

 

The Delos volume is concise and divides the island into 5 areas with maps and detailed descriptions. The book is small in format and fits easily into a back pocket for quick reference.

 

Just one note: if you want to visit the gymnasium, stadium and/or synagogue which are well off the main area to the north east, pick up the path by the museum which then angles northward. Don't try and follow the arrow marking in the book; while its correct from a directional perspective the path is back by the museum. Its not marked and two guides told me it was closed but that wasn't the case. It was about a 15 minute walk to the far side of the island but watch your footing as you work your way down.

 

enjoy

[paul929207]

We were on Delos 2 weeks ago and did it ourselves rather than taking the ship's tour. We were tendered to the island. The ruins on Delos aren't particularly well signed so if you are going to do it yourself I would recommend some research/reading ahead of time. Otherwise it would be pretty boring.

 

I had purchased and read Nigel McGilchrist's Greek Islands volume #4 Mykonos & Delos. His 20 volume series on Greece isn't your usual tour guide. He is an art historian and his books document the art, history and archaeology of each area.

 

The Delos volume is concise and divides the island into 5 areas with maps and detailed descriptions. The book is small in format and fits easily into a back pocket for quick reference.

 

Just one note: if you want to visit the gymnasium, stadium and/or synagogue which are well off the main area to the north east, pick up the path by the museum which then angles northward. Don't try and follow the arrow marking in the book; while its correct from a directional perspective the path is back by the museum. Its not marked and two guides told me it was closed but that wasn't the case. It was about a 15 minute walk to the far side of the island but watch your footing as you work your way down.

 

enjoy

Thanks for the info.

[zqvol]

To get you started

 

 

 

 

More can be found here:

Edited June 8, 2012 by zqvol

[paul929207]

Thanks for the pictures. Can't wait till October

[Shooraq]

Slowly posting photos of Mykonos and Delos, but here is the link of what I have so far:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynalman/sets/72157630186845010/with/7405355372/

[cheffip]

Nice photos...thanks for posting!

Edited June 20, 2012 by cheffip

[GingerPride]

Question: We will be in port at Mykonos on a Monday. I would love to do Delos DIY, but, from everything I've read, it looks like Delos is CLOSED on Mondays. :( Celebrity has a shore excursion scheduled that day, though. Does anyone here know about Delos on Mondays? Thanks so much for answering!

[cruisemom42]

Question: We will be in port at Mykonos on a Monday. I would love to do Delos DIY, but, from everything I've read, it looks like Delos is CLOSED on Mondays. :( Celebrity has a shore excursion scheduled that day, though. Does anyone here know about Delos on Mondays? Thanks so much for answering!

 

 

Here is the official website for the ferry to Delos. It clearly runs on Mondays.

 

 

http://www.delostours.gr/en/

 

 

Even the museum appears to be open on Mondays, as long as you are planning to go during the normal tourist season: http://mygreecetravelblog.com/2016/03/12/visiting-delos-in-2016/2/

Edited April 16, 2016 by cruisemom42

[JaniceW]

We did Delos on our own last year. We made sure we got off the ship as early as possible in order to get the earliest tender that we could. We bought tickets for Delos at the pier for an English speaking tour. It left rather early and we were concerned that we might not be able to get off the ship on time but everything worked out. Delos is not as well preserved as Pompeii and having a guide really helped us understand what we were seeing and the history of Delos. After our return from Delos, we had plenty of time to wander around Mykonos, have lunch, etc.

[anthonyy7]

Delos was opened up on Mondays in 2014 and with longer hours allowing you to stay as late as 8pm! We've yet to make it to Delos .. be warned that high winds can ruin everything, trust me I know :)