Where to stay in gay Mykonos: Mykonos Town or near Elia?
3 November 2026· Theo & Thanasis
The short answer
Stay in Mykonos Town if your nights matter most. Stay on the south coast if your days at Elia matter most. Mykonos is small, but after dark the distance between the two feels a lot bigger than the map says.
Mykonos Town: for the nights
The island's gay bars sit in and around Mykonos Town, known as Chora, near the Old Port. Stay here and every night out ends with a stroll home through the lanes, not a hunt for a ride.
The trade off is the beach. Elia is on the south coast, about 10 km from town, so every beach day means a bus, a taxi or a boat out and back.
It suits first timers, couples who want dinner by the water and a late drink after, and anyone here for XLSIOR week.
Near Elia: for the days
Elia is where most gay travellers spend their beach days: walk to the far end past the sunbeds, where the rainbow flag flies. Stay nearby and the beach is your back garden.
The trade off is the nights. Taxis on Mykonos are hard to find, especially after dark, and the last bus decides how late your evening runs.
It suits couples, return visitors, and anyone who rates a sunbed over a dance floor.
Side by side
| Mykonos Town | Near Elia | |
|---|---|---|
| Nights out | Walk home | Plan your ride back |
| Elia beach | Bus, taxi or water taxi | On your doorstep |
| Feel | Busy and social | Quieter |
| Best for | First visits, nightlife | Beach days, slower trips |
Getting between the two
Buses to Elia leave from the Old Port bus station on the north side of town. Buses to Platis Gialos, Paradise and Super Paradise leave from Fabrika on the south side. The two stations are about a 15 minute walk apart. By road, Elia is around 25 minutes from town, and a water taxi from Platis Gialos calls at the south coast beaches on its way there.
Our tip: decide how you are getting home before you go out, not at 3am.
Can't choose? Split it
Nothing says you need one base. A few nights in town for the bars, then a few by the beach to recover, and you end the trip rested instead of the other way round. For the full picture of the beaches, read Elia or Super Paradise, and for bars and timing, our gay Mykonos guide.
How we plan it
We hand pick accommodation at every stop, book the ferries and the private airport and inter island transfers, and stay on WhatsApp for the whole trip. Tell us how you like your nights and your days, and we will tell you where to sleep. Start with a bespoke gay Greece trip.
Gay Mykonos: the full guide
The beaches, the bars in Chora, XLSIOR dates and when to go, in one place. Written to be read before you book rather than after.
Read the gay Mykonos guideMore on this in the Gay Mykonos guide.