If the lure of one of the Mediterranean’s best known spots for nightlife and wild beach parties never seemed particularly appealing, you might still consider pausing anyway on your journey around the Aegean to discover some of the glittering island of Mykonos’ more natural and tranquil pleasures.

While much of its exterior surfaces are largely parched and rocky, Mykonos nonetheless has some amazing coastal hideaways and lower-key activities that can provide an enjoyable experience far from the glare of the nightclubs and crowded town streets.

Mykonos’s main town is a sugar-cube like confection of Cycladic architecture that tumbles gracefully toward the edge of the harbor front from nearby low-lying hills. It’s worth taking one morning or afternoon to literally lose yourself among the twisting back streets.

Points of interest to explore while on your way through the town—and where you can actually also find moments of calm—are the Archeological Museum which houses a wide assortment of relics ranging from pottery to jewelry and even a memorable statue of Hercules; or, if you are nautically inclined, take a look at the displays at the Aegean Maritime Museum with its models of ancient vessels that once plied these waters. After that, escaping the throngs of crowds for quieter exploration around other parts of the island becomes your next best move.

View of Ornos Bay from a resort. By Hal Peat.

While lacking the physical charm of other Greek islands, Mykonos can still claim some beach areas and bay inlets that are splendid natural formations. To find both unspoiled sands, calm waters and relative solitude, be willing to venture a little further than most. This means getting well beyond the coastal areas near Mykonos town and reaching some of the bays and inlets tucked around the southern coastline.

Ornos Bay, for example, has only an average beach but is a wonderful enclave for canoeing, kayaking or swimming in fairly calm waters; also on the southwestern coast is Áyios Ioánnis with a dramatically sweeping shoreline and small stone beach. Both locations also offer some choice eating spots for seafood lovers. Avoid the always overrun tourist magnets like Paradise and Super Paradise Beach located in this area; instead, head for nearby Eliá beach which is probably the longest and least crowded shorefront on this side of the island even in high summer.

For even more solitude, continue on the rock footpath at the end of Eliá to Kaló Livádhi, a beautiful swath of sand adjacent to a valley with small farmhouses around it. If you keep traveling eastward as far as Kalafáti beach, which is quite touristy, consider hopping an excursion boat from there to the neighboring islet of Tragoníssi; here you can savor the coastal scenery, seals and wild birds.

If you are wondering what lies on Mykonos’ northern shores, the answer is mostly polluted sands that face the incoming meltémi or winds. The outstanding exception to this is Pánormos Bay, which remains reasonably clean and is sheltered from the winds.

If getting active in the Aegean is on your local travel list, then certainly Mykonos has some of the best operators and locations. This includes diving—a water sport not usually allowed around the vast majority of Greek islands. One leading operator of such hereabout is Dive Adventures, which while based at busy Paradise Beach, offers some fascinating underwater expeditions off Tragoníssi island, along with other reef and wreck locations in the waters off southern Mykonos.

Tarsaná, on an isthmus about 12 kilometers east of Eliá beach, makes for another excellent day outing on the island’s south coast with its available jet ski and water-skiing, plus a pleasant taverna to snack at. Kalafáti is somewhat more commercial and busy, but still clean, fun and convenient for its wide array of watersport at the Windsurfing Center, where you have your choice of everything from beach volley-ball to water skiing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, tennis courts, a gymnasium, and a diving center. Just around four kilometers south from Mykonos town is pretty Psaroú beach which while crowded with sunbathers is also a worthwhile visit for its diving club, water-skiing and windsurfing rentals.

Magnificent archaeological ruins on nearby Delos.

For a truly amazing escape from the crowds on Mykonos, a boat ride to the tiny island of Delos takes just minutes but transports you back into an intriguing period of pre-Hellenic history. Delos then was so important that the surrounding islands gained their name of the Cyclades, since it was believed they lay in a circle round the island on which the god Apollo was born.

Prepare yourself with sufficient bottled drinking water for a day-long excursion, then prepare to be enchanted on arrival by Delos’s vast statuary and exquisite remains. You roam amongst the structures of an entire city still in the process of being unearthed and pieced back together; here are mosaics, statues, temples, pools and small homes which you can touch, feel and sit among that date back to around 1500 BC.

Of particular note to visit are the 7th century BC lions in Naxian marble overlooking the Sacred Lake; the Sanctuary of Serapis and Isis;, the House of the Dolphins; the larger House of the Masks; the mosaics of the House of the Trident and the House of Dionysos; and the House of Cleopatra, named after the statues of Cleopatra and her husband Dioskourides which were found here. A climb up Mt. Kinthios may be the physical highlight of your outing: from here you can see the islands of Tinos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and Rheneia. On the top of the hill are remains of a 3rd century temple dedicated to Zeus Kinthios and Athena Kinthia.