Mykonos and Ibiza
Two islands that share a month and not a temperament. July and August ask you to choose before you choose a house.
Mykonos is small, windy, and bright to the point of hardness at midday. The harbour does not sleep in July. A stay works when the house is out of town — a pool, a cook, a beach below — and the town is a visit rather than an address. It fails when the party sleeps above the noise and then wonders why the morning is unkind.
Ibiza is larger and more various. The north and the west can be quiet in the morning. The south is not trying to be. A house there suits a longer week and a party that wants coves, a long lunch, and the option of a night out rather than the obligation of one.
The water
On both islands a day on a boat is the right luxury, and a week aboard is a separate decision that the small ports may not allow in August. Name the day. A crew that knows the local water matters more than the length of the hull. Return before the afternoon wind becomes the subject of the day.
Transfers are part of the pleasure or the ruin. Mykonos airport in July is a lesson in patience; a car that is already there is not a detail. Ferries are romantic on a timetable and poor on a Saturday. Say how the party actually arrives.
Heat, honestly
Nothing that matters should be asked of anyone between one and five. The house, the pool, a shaded table. One dinner that is worth dressing for. Children, if they are there, will remember the swim and not the restaurant. Plan for the swim.
