Super Paradise Beach

Super Paradise Beach is the gay beach — not just on Mykonos, but in the broader Mediterranean and perhaps in the world. The U-shaped cove, accessible by water taxi from Mykonos Town harbour (a 20-minute journey) or by road from the other side of the island, combines natural beauty of the first order — pale sand, vivid blue-green water of Cycladic clarity, dramatic rocky headlands — with a social atmosphere that has been building its character for fifty years. The beach has been a gay destination since the 1970s, and the combination of the Jackie O' and Babylon beach clubs operating along its length, the water taxis bringing visitors from across the island, and the accumulated weight of five decades of reputation gives Super Paradise a unique quality: it is a beach that knows exactly what it is, has always known what it is, and is entirely comfortable with it. The afternoon transformation from sunbathing to dancing — as the beach club DJs build their programme through the day and the cocktails facilitate a progressive loosening of the midday reserve — is one of the defining experiences of Mediterranean gay beach culture. Go midweek if possible in peak season; Super Paradise on a Saturday in August is magnificent and extremely crowded.