Xlsior Mykonos celebrated its 10th anniversary this year (2019) meaning the festival was bigger than ever! We have wanted to go to Mykonos as a destination and Xlsior Mykonos for the festival for years and were incredibly excited to finally be there. [no_toc]
We already had our expectations about what Xlsior Mykonos would be like and are pleased to say it lived up to, and exceeded every one. The scale of the parties, the production value, the guys, the gay bars in Mykonos and the island itself are all out of this world.
We definitely want to return to Xlsior Mykonos again in the future, but in the meantime, if you are thinking about going here is what to expect and how to get prepared!
1. The Xlsior Mykonos parties are awesome!
If you have ever been to a huge circuit party then you know that each is an event in itself. Xlsior Mykonos is no different.
You can expect thousands of guys partying surrounded by the most elaborate sets, dancers, performers, DJ’s and fireworks. This is so far removed from a standard night out in a club, the parties are epic!
The event normally lasts for a whole week with daily parties to attend. Make sure you don’t miss the main party which is normally on a Sunday.
A lot of people just go for the main weekend so these parties are extra busy. If you are ok about being a little squashed up against hot guys, you will be fine!
The main party of 2019. (Photo Credit: taken with permission from Xlsior Festival Facebook page)
2. Do a day-time and night-time party
Typically, the day-time parties start in the afternoon through to 9pm and the night-time parties 12:30am through to 6-8am.
They both have very different vibes with the day-time being a little bit more chill if you want it to be (not for us though!). We made sure to go to the pool party in the daytime which we really enjoyed (before Sion got too drunk).
3. The guys of Xlsior Mykonos
We are always looking at promotional pictures for these events and thinking the guys can’t be real or be the majority. We were wrong.
There is a stereotype among circuit party boys that they are all muscled, attractive, bronzed guys and in all honesty, we found this to be true to an extent (which we quite liked!).
Putting the Atlantis gay cruise aside, never in our lives have we seen so many attractive guys (in our opinion). This also extends to Mykonos itself, guys, girls and everyone alike seems super attractive!
Don’t get us wrong, we still saw a mix of other guys too which we think is important, ourselves included as we aren’t 6 ft tall muscle men! I think for some people this can be intimidating but we only felt positive vibes and there didn’t appear to be a judgemental atmosphere.
It would be really interesting to hear other peoples experience as we can only speak from our own perspective.
The Sundia party of 2019. (Photo Credit: taken with permission from Xlsior Festival Facebook page)
4. Yes, Xlsior Mykonos (and the island itself) is expensive
There is no getting around this one. It is an expensive island and an expensive event.
You can buy passes for all 7 days’ worth of parties for c €400. This may increase year on year.
If you are just coming for the weekend then you can get individual Xlsior Mykonos party tickets instead. The costs vary but in 2019 we paid €50 for a daytime pool party per person and €70 for a night-time party including the main event suggesting €70 was the top end.
For those that do drink (a lot of people were not drinking) the cost for drinks was the same across all parties. For an alcoholic drink (vodka and coke etc) it was €15 and for everything else €10. This is at the higher end but the measures were generous to get your money’s worth.
5. Daytime session at JackieO’ Mykonos
JackieO’ beach club is extremely popular and during Xlsior Mykonos turns into its own pool party each day.
It’s an iconic and well known place so during the day go and check out JackieO’ beach club as an alternative option to party.
You can find JackieO’ beach club at Super Paradise beach. There is also a JackieO’ bar in Mykonos town which can be fun on an evening.
6. Get yourself to the gay beach
The main gay beach in Mykonos is called Elia beach and you should come here during the day to recover.
Once you arrive at the beach, the crowd starts a bit mixed but as you walk further to the right (facing the sea) you will see the crowd change and become more and more gay.
Go a little further and climb over the cliffs and you will also easily spot a smaller cove which is the nude gay area. This was very busy during Xlsior Mykonos. We met Jeff Perla from The Travelin Bum here so had to have a cheeky photo shoot.
7. Explore Mykonos
An all too common mistake! Everyone parties and forgets to explore the destination that they have travelled to!
Mykonos is now one of our top destinations. It is exactly as we expected with beautiful streets, whitewashed building, blue doors and an incredible culinary scene. We could quite happily just walk the streets for hours admiring how idyllic everything looked.
Walk along the coast, see the iconic windmills and even hire a quad/scooter/car to explore the island. Please don’t miss it!
8. Book accommodation in advance
Xlsior Mykonos is a very popular event and people will already be booking accommodation for the following year.
Mykonos town is relatively small so accommodation can be limited, already expensive because its Mykonos, and then even more expensive because Xlsior Mykonos is on in August.
If you are planning on going and want to get the best deal, get yourself booked in advance.
Note: we always use AirBnB but we got stung in Mykonos for the first time. We found a studio for a reasonable price and the host cancelled a few weeks before the event – we seriously struggled to find new accommodation so it is probably safer to go with booking.com in the first place.
9. Give yourself a break
Partying until 8am in the morning and watching the sunrise is amazing! It is also exhausting.
If you are planning on going for the full week give yourself a break halfway through so you don’t run out of steam for the finale!
10.Enjoy it!
Most of all enjoy it!
We wanted to go for years and are really glad to have been. You can have these parties anywhere in the world but having them in such a beautiful destination made it something special.
We will be back! Tell us about your experience in the comments below and maybe we will see you there next time!
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Note 2: we requested and received permission from Xlsior Festivals Facebook page to use their images.