This is post fourteen of sixteen of our summer trip to Greece. Check out our other posts in the series here:

• Greece Lightning: Heading to Greece
• Acropolis for Breakfast: Staying at the Hilton Athens
• Starting at the Top: The Acropolis
• Oompa! Eating Athens
• Taking it Indoors: Athen’s Museums
• Athen’s Other Sites
• Room with a View: Staying in Santorini
• Santorini’s Spectacular Sights: Part 1
• Santorini’s Spectacular Sights: Part 2
• Looking for Santorini’s Best Eats
• It’s All Greek to Me: Heading to Naxos
• There’s a Meat Town in Naxos!
• Shots! Shots! ShotsShotsShots! Heading to Mykonos
• A Delightful Day Trip to Delos
• The Trashy Side of the Greek Islands
• Bling Bling y’all! Upgraded at the Hyatt Regency Montreal

Mr. Selfish and I weren’t too overly impressed with Mykonos. We felt that the crowd was too young and drunk for our liking. Nevertheless, if we hadn’t spent two nights in Mykonos, we wouldn’t have taken a day trip to Delos, which was awesome.

Delos is known as one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. According to mythology, it is the birthplace of the gods of Apollo and Artemis. Although Delos is still being excavated, a great deal of excavation has already occurred. Mr. Selfish loves ruins and was in heaven.

Delos is about a 30 minute boat ride away from Mykonos. You can take a boat every day from the port in Mykonos. The ticket costs 18 euros per person while we were there. The boats generally leave in the morning and return in the early afternoon. Since Mr. Selfish and I were in Greece during the summer, we opted for one of the earlier boats since the sun can get pretty brutal on Delos.

Admission into the sight costs 5 euros per person and is totally worth it!

You can take a guided tour or run ahead of the crowds and explore on your own. Mr. Selfish and I obviously booked it ahead of the crowds and wandered around on our own. We went in the opposite direction of the tour group and mostly enjoyed Delos in serenity. Of course, there is an information downside to this tactic. Luckily, Mr. Selfish and I had downloaded a Greece guide on our Kindle and referred to it for information concerning Delos.

First, we went to the Terrace of the Lions to enjoy their majesty. The Terrace was a gift from the people of Naxos, who had the Terrace dedicated to Apollo. Originally, there were nine to twelve lions but only seven remain today.

The ruins on the island are truly spectacular. It was so nice to be on Delos early in the day when the temperature was still moderate and the crowds weren’t yet too bad.

The Altar of Dionysos was also fun since it is a huge phallic monument.

After some more wandering around, Mr. Selfish and I decided to walk up the hill. It is a little steep but at least there was a clear path.

On the way up, you can admire a variety of other ruins. Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed the good weather and took plenty of photos on our way up.

The top of the hill afforded great views of Delos and the other islands nearby.

Once again, avoiding the crowds is the key to a successful trip to Delos. The guided tour group didn’t even bother climbing the hill, so we had it all to ourselves.

We then took the next boat back to Mykonos, just as it was getting hot and more crowded on Delos.

Tomorrow, Mr. Selfish will go over the less picturesque side of the Greek islands, to which I’ve already alluded.