You’ve seen Milos all over your Instagram feeds over the past few summers and after spending a week on this Greek Island I can comfirm it is 100% worth the hype. Milos is a gorgeous Greek Island located in the Cyclades group of islands and really ticks all the boxes you need for the perfect Greek holiday: gorgeous beaches, blue water, bougainvillea covered buildings, cute towns and tavernas. Its natural beauty absolutely matches its character and charm and I would recommend it in a heartbeat! Here is my Ultimate Guide to Milos, Greece
Alright, now that I’ve convinced you, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. This is the Ultimate Guide to Milos, Greece and will tell you everything you need to know about getting to the island, accommodation options, how to get around and how to plan your time here with a full itinerary.
Milos is part of the Cyclades island group which is easily accesible via ferry from Athens. Luke and I took the Aegean Sea Lines ferry from Pireaus which took 8-9 hours and only cost 45€ . You can browse your various ferry options on Ferry Scanner. You can also easily access it from the surrounding Cyclades islands Naxos, Paros, Santorini and Mykonos if you are doing a bigger island-hopping trip. Milos also has an airport which you can fly into from Athens. You can book your flight to Milos here.
While Milos has become quite popular on social media in recent years I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not crowded at all while we were there in mid-June. I think part of the reason for this is because accommodation is fairly limited on the island which helps with keeping numbers down. This also means you will need to book ahead of time to avoid disappointment.
We stayed in a gorgeous apartment in Trypiti called Zanart Maisonette. It was absolutely perfect for the 5 of us with a lovely big kitchen and gorgeous terrace with the best views. We loved staying in a place that allowed us to self-cater. The hosts were also absolutely divine and collected us from the port, told us everything we needed to know about Milos and left us some wonderful surprises in the fridge for our first night and morning. So precious!
We loved our spot in Trypiti but it was a little tricky getting in and out each time with the narrow one-way roads. A more centrally located spot to stay would probably be Adamantas which is where the port is. To get to most places we drove through Adamantas and Adamantas also had lots of lovely restaurant options. Adamantas also has more budget-friendly options particularly for couples. Here are a few lovely accommodation options in Adamantas:
Hotel Eleni
Milos Bay Suites
Semiramis Guesthouse
Hotel Ippocampos Studios
Milos is a relatively large island and you will need either a scooter or a car to get around. There are public buses which allow you to visit Triovasalos, Plaka, Trypiti, Pollonia, Paliochori, Achivadolimni, Sarakiniko and Provatas which covers a number of the recommended places to visit on the island but you will be limited by the bus schedule and may not be able to visit as many places in a day.
We organised our car rental through DiscoverCars.com which allows you to compare prices across multiple car rental companies, allowing you to pick the one that best suits your needs. Our car hire was valued at 260 EUR for 6 days including full coverage.
Browse DiscoverCars.com for your Milos dates here:
The roads in Milos are very narrow in places and Google Maps doesn’t always have the most solid definition of a road. So you may have some slightly hair-raising moments but it is all a part of the adventure.
For our trip to Milos we spent 6 nights on the island which allowed us to really explore the island so well. I would say you need a minimum of at least 3 full days to see the main sites but 4-5 days would be ideal.
We visited in June and it was the perfect temperature: hot but not too hot. There were also not too many people yet. July and August are the hottest months to visit and will be the busiest. You can also expect prices to be higher during these months. Milos can get windy during the summer months though (during our trip we had 2 very windy days), so you may want to consider September for your trip which will be cheaper and still warm enough to enjoy the beaches with fewer crowds.
The order of these days can easily be shifted around depending on the weather and wind. If there is a north wind you can easily visit the south beaches and still have a lovely time. The day 4 itinerary also lends itself to a more windy day. Your Kleftiko boat trip day and North beaches day should definitely not be done on a north wind day. So check out your weather forecast and plan your days around accordingly.
Klima is a quaint fishing village which has been made famous by its colourful fishing garages. These garages which are characteristic to the cycladic islands and are called syrma. They make for a very picturesque scene with their bright colours against the blue Aegean. You can spend a bit of time walking around taking some pics and maybe have a dip in the water before heading up the road to Plaka.
Plaka is located upon a hilltop and is a charming town. You will need to park your car at the parking at the base of the town’s hill and walk up into Plaka as no cars are allowed. Take your time strolling through the bougainvillea-lined streets and admire the characteristic cycladic white buildings. There is a lovely church on the hill with gorgeous views out to sea and plenty of restaurants for you to choose from for your lunch.
Trypiti is another lovely little village to explore in this area of the island. I would recommend coming here for evening time and exploring the Ancient Theater of Milos and the site of the Venus de Milo or Aphrodite statue’s discovery. The statue now resides in the Louvre in Paris but was first discovered here. For sunset head over to the little white chapel on the hill which offers stunning views of the ocean and island. For dinner I’d recommend eating at Glaronisia in Trypiti which has the most amazing lamb shank and grills. For a cheaper dinner grab some takeaway gyros from Glaronisia’s take-away spot across the road and take them to the little chapel for a picnic dinner while watching the sunset.
Sarakiniko beach is the beach you’ve seen all over Instagram. It’s the gorgeous white moonscape rocky beach which contrasts so starkly with the turquoise blue ocean. It was one of my favourite places we visited on Milos and HAS to be on your Milos itinerary. This was definitely the most busy beach we visited on the island but it’s also big so there’s lots of space for everyone meaning it doesn’t feel crowded. Find a spot to sit, try some cliff-jumping, go for a swim or explore the underwater caves while snorkelling. There is a little food truck selling ice cream, cool drinks and some takeaway food.
For lunch I would recommend trying your luck for a spot at Medusa restaurant in Mandrakia. I say try your luck as it is a VERY popular restaurant and almost always has a queue. We arrived at around 12pm and only needed to wait 5 minutes for a table but I think we were lucky. In high season it will probably be too busy and in my opinion not worth the queue. For us it was easy enough to get a table and we enjoyed the food. However, I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute MUST. Head to Mandrakia around lunch time and try for a table, if the queue is too long then leave it and have a walk around Mandrakia which is very pretty and worth a visit anyway, then go somewhere else for lunch.
This was another absolute favourite in Milos and my only regret was that we didn’t spend more time here! Firopotamus is a picture-perfect Greek beach. The water is so so so blue and lovely for swimming and the beach is nice to sit on. There are a few accommodation options here which look really lovely. If you’re wanting to base yourself in the North for a couple of days check out Salty Kisses and Sandy Toes in Firopotamus – the view looks absolutely incredible and it’s not completely unreasonably priced.
The Kleftiko Caves are one of the most iconic spots on Milos and need to be on your Milos itinerary. The Kleftiko Caves can only be accessed by boat so you will need to either join a boat trip or hire your own little boat for the day. If you are a solo traveller I would recommend joining a group trip like this Kleftiko Sailing Day Trip with Snorkeling and Lunch. You’ll pay around €125-€145 per person for a trip like this.
However, if you are a bigger group I’d recommend hiring your own little speedboat for the day and self-driving yourself to Kleftiko. This option works out cheaper per person and also allows you to arrive before the tour boats and enjoy the space in your own time. We rented our boat for around 188€ and paid around 48€ for fuel. We collected the boat from Provotas and drove the boat for 30 minutes to Kleftiko.
Kleftiko is the most stunning place in Milos and the crystal clear water and stark white caves are so beautiful. Bring along your masks & snorkels and enjoy exploring the caves. An absolute must-see recommendation for this ultimate guide to Milos Greece
After your wonderful morning out on the boat and a well-deserved afternoon rest, head out to Adamantas for the evening. There are lots of lovely shops to browse and plenty of waterside restaurants to choose from. We ate at Zorbas and had a delicious meal.
We did this day on a windy day and found it to be a great day of activity even with the wind blowing. If you are doing a shorter stay and are needing to cut back on something I would cut this day.
This beach has a stunning sea cave and is a sandy beach. If it’s windy you can just stop for a look, if not this is a great beach for a morning swim.
These caves are super unique and a nice-enough stop if you have the time.
Pollonia is a super cute seaside town in the North. I’d recommend wandering around to see the cute church and pretty fishing boats in the bay. This is a great spot for lunch. We went to Akotiri which had delicious food. Another fun thing to do is to join the Konstantakis Winery Wine Tasting Experience. We didn’t have enough time but popped in and the winery looked beautiful and the tasting room was located in a gorgeous cave/terrace area.
Tsigardo beach is a gorgeous little bay which is a little tricky to access. You need to scrabble a bit to get down on a slippery, rocky hill and then down a ladder. We just admired the view from the parkign lot (which was pretty spectacular!) but if you’re feeling braver you can go down to the bay.
Fyriplaka is right next door to Tsigrado and MUCH more accessible. This is a lovely sandy beach with beautiful blue water, perfect for swimming. Definitely worth a stop! If you are short on time and needing to cut back on days you can easily do Fyriplaka after your boat trip to Kleftiko as it is close to Provotas where you’ll pick up the boat hire.
I have visited 6 Greek islands and Milos was definitely my favourite! I really think it ticks all the boxes for the perfect Greek island holiday. I hope this ultimate guide to Milos Greece helps you in planning your trip to, in my opinion, the best Greek island.
If you’re wanting to do a longer Greek Island-Hopping trip I’d recommend spending a few days in Athens to start, then taking a ferry down to the Cyclades and splitting your time between Milos, Naxos and Paros. I also have Greece travel guides for Santorini and Crete.
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