Holidays to Ornos are first and foremost about a great beach scene. But there's also Mykonos Town on the doorstep when you want dressy restaurants and party-hard clubs.
The full package
Ornos is only a shoulder width away from the island capital, Mykonos Town, but it has developed in to a large, self-contained family resort in its own right. Its coarse sandy beach loops around a wide bay, which is sheltered from the island’s strong northern summer winds. Looking back, the view takes in a big range of shops, restaurants, and smart hotels. And behind them, the sugar lump-like houses on the surrounding low hills are watched over by 16th-century windmills – all part and parcel of the Mykonos landscape.
Family credentials
A wide arc of sand, pricked with palapos and wooden loungers, and a gentle shelf in to the sea, makes Ornos Beach a great find for young families. For more grown-up tastes, there’s no shortage of things to do, either, whether it’s water-skiing or windsurfing, or taking it easy with a cold drink at a beach bar.
Out and about
To one end of the bay there’s a small fishing harbour where visiting yachts drop anchor and water-taxis ply their trade, shuttling passengers back and forth between the south coast beaches. Caiques also stop here en route to the UNESCO-listed islet of Delos, which is swamped with ruined temples and statues dating back to the days of Apollo and Artemis.