Review: Shore Excursions Group (Exclusive Mykonos Old and New)

This is a review of an excursion I booked through Shore Excursions Group during my family’s Mediterranean cruise. You can read the entire report, starting HERE.

Website Description

Exclusive Mykonos Old and New

After meeting your guide at the pier, you will join your transportation for a drive to see some of the island. A brief photo stop will be made at northern beach, which is located on one of the largest bays of the island. It can get rather windy, attracting windsurfers and daredevils. Further along is Agia Anna beach which is sheltered from the wind creating a relaxing sandy beach. Enjoy a non-alcoholic beverage and local Greek pastry in a local coffee shop and some free time to explore before making your way towards the yet unspoilt village of Ano Mera.

This is one of the very few places in Mykonos where traditional Greek village life continues regardless of all the night life, jet setting of the island’s capital. Ano Mera is the most populated village on the island and its peaceful environment and great location offer easy access to sandy beaches such as Elia, Kalo Livadi, and Kalafatis. The main square of the village is adorned with local coffee shops Kafeneio and traditional tavernas.

The village’s claim to fame is the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani which houses a collection of Cretan icons and a magnificent handmade “Templo” which dates back to 1767 and came from Florence. After your visit to the Monastery, you will return to the main town of the island.

After leaving your transportation, you begin a walking tour of the twisting pedestrian streets of Mykonos Town, which is also known as Chora locally. Your guide will point out the Old Harbor area and fish market where you may see its most famous celebrity, Petros, the official mascot of Mykonos for over 50 years.

In the Kastros area, You will see the Church of Panagia Paraportiani, one of the most photographed structures on Mykonos. The church was begun in 1425 and not finished until almost 300 years later. Today it consists of five small churches connected together.

Continuing your walking tour, you will also pass through the area known as Little Venice, whitewashed buildings with multicolored shutters constructed right on the sea’s edge with their balconies overhanging the water. On a hill overlooking the town, you will see perhaps the island’s most famous landmark, the Mykonos Windmills which date back to the Venetians in the 16th century. From here, you will return to your transportation back to the cruise pier. If your ship is at anchor and is tendering into the old harbor area, your guide will lead you back to the tender pier.

Process/Booking

I found several of our excursions through Shore Excursions Group. It’s an easy website to navigate, as you put in your exact itinerary and it pulls up all of your options. The checkout process is super simple, as well. I received a separate voucher for each excursion purchased, with details/instructions.

A few planning notes:

The website has you pay in USD, so there’s no exchange rate.
I did plan a few Euros for tip when I ordered them from my bank.
WhatsApp is majorly used in Europe, so I had that downloaded. As soon as we got into port, I checked it for messages from the tour operators. This was the form of communication for all of our transfers/excursions/tours.
Mykonos was a tender port for us and seems to be for most ships. Plan ahead for time to get to the port and then back to the ship.

Excursion Recap

Note: Most of this portion is the same as my trip report. If you’ve already read that, you can skip along to my overall thoughts below!

We caught a tender and easily found our tour bus. From there, we were driven around to various parts of the island. We learned that Mykonos is not the best for vegetation. Between the winds and type of sand/soil, it doesn’t lend itself to tons of growth.

Our first stop was a beach on the northern part of the island. We had a few minutes to put our feet in the water and take photos. The sand was interesting, as it didn’t stick like the beach sand we’re used to in Florida.

We then drove to another part of the island and got out to see a village that houses the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani. It was honestly beautiful and had so much history.

In the same village was our snack stop, a little cafe that had delicious pastries and coffee. The shop is built around this pretty tree. We sat for a bit and snacked. There were also several vendors in the village square, but we didn’t have enough time to really shop. Well, we didn’t have any time, at all. Our guide was somewhat rushing us.

From there, we were back to the port area of the island. Our guide advised us that it would be about two hours of walking, so Mom and Jeff decided to go back to the ship. The walking tour took us along the shore, a teeny-tiny public beach, through the town, through the fort, by the large church, Little Venice, and to the windmills. At that point, our tour guide let us know the tour was over and that we were free to explore on our own. The “two hours” was only about 40 minutes, lol. It was fun and very pretty, though!

Overall Thoughts

I did enjoy this tour, but I don’t think it’s necessary to go on any tours to experience Mykonos. You do get to see a few things on the island that you wouldn’t otherwise. That was enjoyable! We paid $99 in 2023 for the excursion. As of June 2025, they’re charging $103. If you’re more comfortable with the idea of being guided, it’s worth it. Our guide did give us a lot of information as we were walking through town.

All of that said, if I get to go back, I want to just get off the ship and explore the port town more. It’s easy to navigate. There are so many restaurants and cute shops…. I would do a progressive meal of sorts, in between shopping.

Italy/Greece 2023 Trip Report (September 1 – 15, 2023)
– The Beginning (Vivi Alla Giornata!)
– The Planning Process (Rome)
– The Planning Process (Greece Ports)
– The Planning Process (Italy Ports)
– Flight Confusion
– Day 0: Leave for Rome (September 1, 2023)
– Day 1: Rome Arrival and City Tour (September 2, 2023)
– Day 2: Board the Breakaway (September 3, 2023)
– Day 3: Sea Day (September 4, 2023)
– Day 4: Santorini, Greece (September 5, 2023)
– Day 5: Athens (Piraeus), Greece (September 6, 2023)
– Day 6: Mykonos, Greece (September 7, 2023)
– Day 7: Olympia (Katakolon), Greece (September 8, 2023)
– Day 8: Valletta, Malta (September 9, 2023)
– Day 9: Messina (Sicily), Italy (September 10, 2023)
– Day 10: Naples, Italy (September 11, 2023)
– Day 11: Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy (September 12, 2023)
– Day 12: Disembark and Vatican City (September 13, 2023)
– Day 13: Rome (September 14, 2023)
– Day 14: Leaving Rome (September 15, 2023) and Some Final Thoughts