Milos island is the boutique, quiet and often overlooked island of the famous Cyclades group. Milos is largely untouched, boasts one of the most spectacular coastlines of all the islands and is cheaper than the famous Santorini and Mykonos of the group.

We visited Milos for 4 days, and could’ve stayed longer! One full day, we simply just lounged around the pool at our hotel, Olea Bay Hotel.

You can still see a lot in 3 days, so here is a recommended itinerary.

DAY 1 – Sail around the island

If you’re only in Milos for one day, you must take a sailing tour around the island.  At only 160 km², you can circumnavigate the entire island via Yacht or Catamaran in just one day, making it a perfect way to see and enjoy the island with limited time. Some of the best attractions and spots such as Polyaigos, Gerakas and the famous Klefiko can only be reached by boat, which is another excuse to sail around the island.

Find out more information in my blog post, Sailing Milos Island.

DAY 2 – Road trip the North

The Island’s main attractions are typically split between the North side of the Island and the South side of the island. The good thing about sailing the island on the first day, is that you can make a mental note of where you wish to venture back to, to spend more time.

The second day, we chose to explore the North side of the island. Although there are many highlights, be careful not to do ‘everything’, otherwise you won’t see anything. We spent the morning at two beaches, lunch at a tiny fishing village before an afternoon swim at a third beach. And finished the evening with cocktails and sunset watching at another main town.

There is no public transport on Milos. People typically get around by hiring a car or scooter or quad bike. There are taxi’s too. Car hire is expensive because of the remoteness of the island. But self driving the island is totally worth it to see all the nooks and crannies of the island at your own pace. From Adamas, where we were staying, we hired a car from Milos Cars and headed straight for Papafragas as our first beach stop.

Papafragas is of the most impressive sites of Milos. From the top of the rock, it resembles a huge natural swimming pool, an enormous cave carved out of the cliff’s side. A tiny path leads to the tiny strip of sand that forms the beach. Out of all the beaches we visited, this was the only beach that we were the only ones visiting, so if you’re after seclusion, this is it. Not suitable for families due to the steep climb down.

The second beach of the morning, we drove to Sarakiniko, famous for it’s bone-white rock formations that are comparable to the moonscape. Due to it’s popularity, it was more crowded than Papafragas. Visit in the morning because in the afternoon, people’s sunscreen cloud the water!

For lunch, we headed to the quaint seaside fishing village of Mandrakia. It is very picturesque with the “syrmata” (boat garages) which you can see in any small port on the island. The number one (or the only one) restaurant in Mandrakia is Medusa. Delicious Greek, Seafood and Vegetarian options are served including fresh barbecued Octopus.

Lunch!

Our afternoon swim was at Fyropotamos. This place is both fishing port and beach. It is again tiny, with traditional Greek beachfront houses, you can rent on airbnb to have a truly authentic experience.

DAY 3 – Road trip the South

The third day, you explore the other side of the island by car – the south side.

Firiplaka is one of the most popular beaches on the island. It is a long beach with silver sand and huge colored rocks forming its coastline. The waters in Firiplaka are really exotic, crystalline and shallow green-blue.

Tsigrado is one of the most beautiful southern beaches of Milos. Located right next to Firiplaka, Tsigrado is a small sandy cove with crystal water. Not ideal for families, because of the difficult access. You need to climb down a very steep ladder to access this secluded cove. 

Paliochori is said to be the most ‘organised’ beach in Milos. This means there are many cafeterias, restaurants and a beach bar. There are sun beds and umbrellas which can be hired, and is a great beach for water sports.

Organised Paliochori Beach by Jonny Melon

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