Milos
Milos is an unspoilt, extraordinary island in the Greek Cyclades with so much to see and do. We were completely blown away by the amount of sights to see which were completely breathtaking. The island’s landscape is made from volcanic formations and different colourful rock formations. You’ll be in awe of the picturesque fishing villages and stunning, unusual beaches. Each beach has its own individual characteristics, make exploring this island a dream.
How long to stay
Most people visit Milos with the idea of island hopping to other Greek islands. Sometimes this can leave you with 3-4 days at each place. With so much to explore in Milos, we certainly think you need a little longer. In truth, it could be a full week to truly appreciate the island, see everything and have a bit of time to relax. You could probably see most of the island in around 4-5 days but you will be very rushed. We chose 6 nights to give us time to relax and see most things, we still felt our days whizz by with the amount of things to see.
How to get there
Milos does have its own airport, however this just allows flights to and from Athens. An option this presents, is flying to Athens and then to Milos but flights can be costly. A cheaper way we found, was to make your way to Athens and then take a ferry to Milos. This saved us a lot of money and the ferry only took a few hours.
If you’re planning to island hop then you’ll be well aware that choosing the ferry is the easiest way to travel around the islands. We used Ferry Hopper to organise all our travel around the islands and were not let down once. Just be aware that ferries will usually arrive 1-2 hours later than schedule as they have a lot of stoppages at different islands. When planning travel, make sure you account for this.
Where to stay
There are three main areas to stay in at Milos all with their own perks. You have the popular Adamas. This is the main port of Milos and where you’ll arrive by Ferry. You’ll see white houses shimmering on the blue waters as you arrive to the island. Adamas is the most built up village on the island and offers lots of accommodation and restaurants. Any trips that you book that involve boats will take place here.
The next main area is Plaka, which is the capital of the island. It is set upon a hill and ranges to the highest point of the island. As expected, you’ll see the beautiful, traditional Cycladic style architecture with whitewashed houses, coloured windows and doors, balconies full of flowers and greenery and narrow white streets. Here you can enjoy magnificent views of the island, with some spectacular sunsets. You will have further to go for a beach but it is only a short scooter/ATV ride away to some of the best on the island.
Finally, a charming fishing village called Pollonia is the next spot which is on the eastern side of the island. This is where we chose to stay, life is more relaxed on this side of the island but you still have an amazing choice of restaurants to visit in the evenings. You’ll feel like you have areas of this island to yourself and the sunsets in the evening here are special with little crowds. It is further out the way to other parts of the island but it has its own beach and other beaches nearby.
Our hotel was lovely and in the heart of Pollonia, we stayed at Ostria Vento. Elpida Divani, our host, gave us extra insight on where to go and we highly recommend staying here. It was very affordable and we plan on staying here again in the future. We used this as our base and used an ATV to explore the rest of the island.
How to get about
As we previously mentioned, there is so much to see and explore and you’ll be spoilt for choice. Firstly, to be able to explore the island properly, you’ll need to arrange transport. We used tripavisor to find a suitable rental company and found Apollonas Sunshine. They’re based in Adamas and will drop off the ATV when and where you want and will also pick it back up off you at very affordable prices.
Places to visit
In Milos you are never far from something amazing to see. You’ll have a range of places to visit such as fishing villages, towns and beaches and some boat trips. There’s ancient ruins and catacombs which are also available to visit. Your hardest choice will be narrowing down what to see when you’re here. One thing that we wish we had time for was to get the ferry to the neighbouring island of Kimolos. It looks a beautiful place, and ferries leave daily from Pollonia. You can take your ATV and explore this island too. It’s a great excuse for us to visit Milos and Kimolos again soon.
Mandrakia village
This is a small, picturesque village in a close distance to Plaka. We loved the colours of the boat houses and it really added to the traditional Greek atmosphere of the village. There was a cafe nearby and we loved the fact you could have a swim in the tranquil waters which surrounded.
Klima
Kilima is the most famous fishing village on the island and one you’ll have seen plenty of photos of. The fisherman’s houses are carved into rocks with brightly coloured wooden doors. We loved our visit here and if you come during sunset you’ll see some fabulous colours.
Plaka
As said before, Plaka is the capital of Milos. It has the whitewashed houses and restaurants which makes it a beautiful place to visit. As well as this, it has a church at the top of the mountain and a kastro which allows for wonderful scenery and a chance to take some great pictures. A visit during the day provided a relaxing atmosphere as we walked down narrow streets and had a break at a cafe. We recommend a visit during sunset, you will not be disappointed. Just make sure you allow time for trekking to the top and get there a little earlier to find a good spot.
Kleftiko Caves
Kleftiko is a stunning set of rock formation which has produced white caves around the coast. The caves were once a famous pirate hideaway where the pirates could steal from other larger ships.
Crystal clear water surrounds the entire area and it really is a sight to behold. They can only be reached by boat, so you will need to book a boat trip or hire one yourself. We have to recommend a boat trip, it was magnificent. Boat Oneireo has to be the best boat trip we’ve ever been on (or it strongly rivals our trip in Kefalonia). They provide unlimited wine and drinks, serve beautiful food and the captain is so knowledgeable about the area. You can sense how proud they are of their island and you will not want to miss this trip if you are visiting. If you don’t believe us, check out the reviews here.
Beaches
I’ve never known a place with such a wide and completely different range of beaches. Many of these beaches are formed from past volcanic activity which has produced extraordinary scenery. We’re going to list our favourites with some photos for each. Pollonia does have its own nice beach with lots of cafes and restaurants nearby, but we’re going to explore the others below.
Papafragas
Papagragas is a very unusual beach and surrounded by its own cave formations. The water is beautiful and you’ll find a small area to bathe on the sand. To get to it, you’ll need to climb down which can be tricky but once you’re there you’ll love the secluded spot and also love exploring the areas around it.
Kapros beach
Next to Papagragas is Kapros beach. This was quieter when we went and we’re not sure why as we preferred it. It has the similar cave-like surroundings and some great scenery including a cave you could jump through. Careful when jumping though, as the rocks aren’t very stable around it.
Alogomandra
Alogomandra beach follows the similar surroundings of Papafragas and Kapros but has a bigger area of sound. Due to the surrounding popular beaches, this can sometimes offer a more peaceful time with less people here. The beach has fine thin, white sand with crystal clear, turquoise waters. The rocks on the right side are forming small marine caves that are waiting to be explored.
Sarakiniko
Sarakiniko is the most famous and photographed beach on Milos. It’s considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece and you can see why. It’s often referred to as the moon beach due to the rocks being completely white from volcanic formation. This gives the impression of standing on the moon. When visiting during sunset, you’ll be awe-struck at the colours mixing with the sunset.
Firopotamos
Firopotamos beach is another stunning beach belonging to Milos. This beach is next to an idyllic fishing village and some ancient ruins. Surrounded by this beauty, you won’t want to leave and you’ll have lots of amazing photos to take.
Plathiena
Plathiena is north of Plaka and is secluded and quite the trek away from the nearby villages. You’ll need an ATV/scooter to get here but its a lovely beach to visit and it has parasols for hire unlike many of the others. There’s also a cafe next to the beach which serves lovely food.
Paleochori
Paleochori is on the complete opposite side of the island to the other tourist hotspots which makes it a nice change and a chance to see different parts of the island on the way. Its crystal-clear waters are a perpetual temptation for swimming and the variety of colours and materials there is really amazing. You’ll find the sand especially hot around here thanks to the geothermal ground. The local tavernas’ actually cook food on the sand it can be that hot!
Tsigrado
This is a very unique and fun beach. Don’t take too much for your visit and make sure you’re comfortable with climbing up and down ladders carefully. This remote beach is only accessible by sea and by climbing down on a rope and ladder. If you’re not as confident, you can just admire the view from above and head straight to Firiplaka which is right next to it.
Firiplaka
Firiplaka is a lovely stretch of beach just next to Tsigrado, you can rent a kayak and travel to the inaccessible nearby beach. There are parasols and a snack bar which plays music. It is a long beach with silver sand and huge coloured redish rocks forming its coastline.
Where to eat and drink
We mainly ate in Pollonia, if you’re there then look no further than Jordan’s Meating steakhouse. It was without doubt the best gyros we ate on all the Greek islands that we visited this summer and Jordan and his family were so nice. An alternative, is Rakomelo which offers beautiful sunset views at the rocky coastline of Pollonia. We stayed local to Pollonia in the evenings and enjoyed drinks by the sea at Opsidianos Art Cafe Bar.
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Beautiful, thank you! I feel prepared to explore Milos now
Author
You’ll have such an amazing time 🙂
Greece is my dream destination and someday I hope to strike it off my wish list. Milos looks enchantingly refreshing. Thank you for sharing this comprehensive post. You have given me one more destination to add to my Greek vacation.
Author
Glad to help 🙂 There are so many beautiful islands to see and Milos in particular has so many beautiful sights to see.