6 Tourist Scams in Mykonos

You're walking along Platis Gialos beach looking for somewhere to sit when a friendly man approaches and offers you free sunbeds — all you need to do is buy one drink each. Sounds perfect. You sit down, order a couple of drinks, and enjoy the Aegean view. Then you ask for a small plate of seafood. The bill arrives: €690 for two cocktails, some oysters, and a bit of squid. You've stumbled into DK Oyster, one of the most notoriously scammy beachfront restaurants in all of Europe. DK Oyster has been covered by The Independent, Business Insider, Daily Mail, and dozens of viral social media posts for years. Reviewers describe being handed a seafood platter that was never ordered, with no prices discussed. An American couple reported being charged $776 for 'a cocktail, 3 glasses of OJ, and some squid and shrimp.' Another New Jersey couple was billed $560 for similar. The establishment has over 700 one-star TripAdvisor reviews calling it a 'scam' and 'thieves.' The Greek local government has taken note, and authorities have repeatedly inspected the establishment. Yet it remains open, profiting from a steady stream of tourists who don't know to avoid it — and from the social media infamy that drives curious visitors who think it won't happen to them.

A Greek local on Reddit put it plainly: 'Mykonos will charge you 50 or 100 or even 200 euros for an item when the average price anywhere else is 6-9 euros. Fake receipts all the time and since the average tourist can't identify one they get away with it.' This isn't limited to the infamous DK Oyster — it's a systemic practice across much of Mykonos's tourist restaurant scene. The mechanics vary: some restaurants present no menu at all and just start bringing dishes. Others show a photo menu without prices. Some hand tourists a specific tourist menu with inflated prices while locals order from a different one. When the bill arrives, disputed items are resolved through sheer pressure — large staff presence, aggressive insistence, and the implicit threat of making a scene in front of other tourists. A Reddit user recounting their Mykonos experience described being charged €150 for a simple lunch for two — a meal that would have cost €25 on any other Greek island. The key advice from a local: 'Always, ALWAYS ask for a menu. If the services provided aren't clear then just leave. If something seems sketchy then call the police, they take these matters very seriously.'

Getting around Mykonos on your own terms is nearly impossible without either paying the exorbitant taxi rates or renting a scooter or ATV. Taxis operate at official rates — but there's a catch: there are only about 30 licensed taxis on the entire island, and during peak season the wait can be two hours. This manufactured shortage allows unofficial drivers and hotel transfer vehicles to charge whatever they like. A Redditor who visited Mykonos noted: 'If you decided to pay for Mykonos, the overcharge of the taxi driver will be nothing for you' — a dark joke about the island's general pricing, but the taxi situation is genuinely bad. The official taxi stand in Mykonos Town has a board with fixed fares, but off-stand vehicles ignore this entirely. ATV and scooter rentals carry their own version: some operators charge a damage deposit and then claim scratches that were pre-existing when you return the vehicle. Always photograph every centimeter of a rental before taking it.

You booked what looked like a charming boutique hotel on Booking.com — beautiful photos, great reviews, seemingly reasonable rate. You arrive to find a room that doesn't match the photographs at all: peeling paint, a balcony overlooking a noisy alley rather than the sea, facilities that don't work. When you complain, the staff are indifferent or hostile. Welcome to the Eclipse Hotel situation, which went viral on Reddit in June 2023. A Reddit post on r/GreeceTravel specifically titled 'Eclipse Hotel (Mykonos) - SCAM ALERT' documented a systematic pattern: photos online bore no resemblance to the actual rooms, the hotel charged for amenities that weren't provided, and management responded to complaints with aggression. Commenters noted the hotel should be reported to Greek consumer protection authorities because what was described amounted to fraud and tax evasion. Mykonos has a particularly bad reputation for accommodation scams given how outrageously expensive it is — when tourists are paying €400-800 per night, the expectation gap between what's advertised and what's delivered can be enormous. Some operators have found they can charge premium prices for sub-premium rooms simply by controlling their online photos.

You've found your spot on one of Mykonos's famous party beaches when a vendor approaches selling sunglasses, bracelets, or 'authentic Greek' crafts. The items are low quality, the prices are outrageous (€40 for sunglasses worth €3), and the vendor is persistent to the point of harassment. When you try to say no, they become aggressive, invoking guilt and then transitioning to demands. Many of these vendors operate illegally on Greek beaches — Greek law now requires 70% of beach space to be sunbed-free, and unauthorized vendor operations have been specifically targeted by authorities. But enforcement is inconsistent, and during peak season the beaches are chaotic enough that vendors can operate with relative impunity. The actual financial risk is low unless you engage — the main danger is agreeing to look, then feeling pressured into a purchase you don't want, or accidentally agreeing to a price you thought was in cents not euros.

Mykonos's labyrinthine whitewashed streets of Chora hide a parallel economy of counterfeit luxury goods — fake Gucci bags, counterfeit Ray-Bans, 'designer' jewelry that turns your wrist green after a day. The sellers position themselves just off the main shopping street, in narrow passages where tourist police are less likely to patrol, offering 'genuine' goods at impossible prices. The risks here go beyond losing money on low-quality goods. In Greece, purchasing counterfeit goods can result in significant fines for the buyer. Customs confiscation at the airport upon departure is another real possibility — officers regularly check bags of Mykonos visitors for obvious counterfeits. And of course, the item itself will fall apart within days. Mykonos is specifically full of legitimate high-end boutiques — the island is genuinely a luxury shopping destination. The counterfeit trade exploits this reputation to blend in with the real thing.