Other nearby destinations include southwest peninsula resorts, with undistinguished beaches tucked into pretty bays. The nearest to town, 1km away, is MegA?li A?mmos , a good beach backed by flat rocks and pricey rooms, but nearby KA?rfos bay is disgusting, thanks to the town dump and machine noise. Buses serve OrnA?s , an average beach, and A?yios IoA?nnis , a dramatic bay with a tiny, stony beach, which achieved its moment of fame as a location for the film Shirley Valentine . The taverna To Iliovasilema has an excellent selection of fish and is highly recommended, if a little pricey.

The south coast is the busiest part of the island. KaA?kia ply from town to all of its beaches, which are among the straightest on the island, and still regarded to some extent as family strands by the Greeks. You might begin with Platys YialA?s , 4km south of town, though you won't be alone: one of the longest-established resorts on the island, it's not remotely Greek any more, the sand is monopolized by hotels, and you won't get a room to save your life between June and September. PsaroA? , next door to the west, is very pretty - 150m of white sand backed by foliage and calamus reeds, crowded with sunbathers. Facilities here include a diving club (tel 02890/23 579), waterskiing and windsurfer rental, but again you'll need to reserve well in advance to secure a room between mid-June and mid-September.

Just over the headland to the east of Platys YialA?s is ParA?nga beach , which is actually two beaches separated by a smaller headland. The highly recommended Nicolas taverna and rooms (tel 02890/23 566; a?¬43-58) on the first beach is worlds apart from its noisy neighbour which is home to a loud beach bar and Mykonos Camping . A dusty footpath beyond Platys YialA?s crosses the fields and caves of the headland across the clifftops past Paranga, and drops down to Paradise Beach , a crescent of golden sand that is packed in season. Behind are the shops, self-service restaurants and noisy 24-hour beach bars of Paradise Camping . The next bay east contains Super Paradise (officially "PlindhrA­") beach, accessible by footpath or by kaA?ki. One of the most fun beaches on the island, it has a decent taverna and two bars at opposite ends of the beach pumping out cheesy summer hits. One half of the beach is very mixed, getting progressively more gay as you walk away from where the kaA?kia dock towards the beach bar perched in the hills, below which the beach is almost exclusively gay and nudist.

Probably the best beach on Mykonos is EliA? , the last port of call for the kaA?kia. A broad, sandy stretch with a verdant backdrop, it's the longest beach on the island, though split in two by a rocky area. It's gay-friendly, but also increasingly popular with families because of the proximity of Watermania (10am-midnight; adults a?¬12, under 12s a?¬6, under 5s free; there's a free daily bus from Mykonos Town; 02890/71 685) the island's biggest waterslide park , and several restaurants, including the excellent Matheos . If the crowds have followed you this far, one last escape route is to follow the bare rock footpath over the spur (look for the white house) at the end of EliA? beach. This cuts upwards for grand views east and west and then winds down to KalA? LivA?dhi (seasonal bus service), a stunning beach adjoining an agricultural valley scattered with little farmhouses; even here there's a restaurant (a good one at that) at the far end of the beach. LiA? , further on, is smaller but delightful, with bamboo windbreaks and clear water, plus another taverna.

East of EliA?, roughly 12km by road from the town, AyA­a A?nna boasts a shingle beach and taverna, with the cliffs above granting some fine vistas. TarsanA? , on the other side of the isthmus, has a long, coarse-sand beach, with watersports, a taverna and smart bungalows on offer. KalafA?ti , almost adjacent, is more of a tourist community, its white-sand beach supporting a few hotels, restaurants and a disco. There's a local bus service from here to A?no MA©ra, or you can jump on an excursion boat to TragonA­ssi , the islet just offshore, for spectacular coastal scenery, seals and wild birds. The rest of the east coast is difficult - often impossible - to reach: there are some small beaches, really only worth the effort if you crave solitude, and the region is dominated by the peak of ProfA­tis IlA­as, sadly spoiled by a huge radar dome and military establishment. The north coast suffers persistent battering from the meltA©mi , plus tar and litter pollution, and for the most part is bare, brown and exposed. PA?normos Bay is the exception to this - a lovely, relatively sheltered beach. Despite a good restaurant, a relaxed beach bar and the rather conspicuous Albatros Club Hotel (tel 02890/25 130; a?¬59-72), PA?normos remains one of the least crowded beaches on the island.