Milos is a small volcanic island located in the Cyclades group of islands in Greece. It is famous for its chalky white rock formations, beautiful fishing villages and, just like the other Greek islands, its crystal-clear water.
I went to Milos in August and coupled my visit with one of Paros. We only had 48 hours in Milos because of a delayed flight, so we had to make the most of it and built our itinerary around the essentials: the best things to see and do in Milos.
In this little guide I will take you along and share everything you need to know before booking your holiday to Milos and planning your itinerary!
How to get to Milos?
By plane:
Milos has a domestic airport receiving national flights, mainly from Athens International Airport, but also from some other Greek islands like Santorini. It is the fastest solution, though not the most cost-effective.
By ferry:
Ferry is the best option if you are island-hopping in Greece and want to visit some lesser-known islands, or if you want to take your car to the island. You can book in advance or last minute, but if you are going in summer, I highly suggest booking everything in advance, otherwise you’ll be stuck with the more expensive and less convenient ferries. The website Ferry Hopper is great for this!
From Athens Piraeus port, you can reach Milos in 3 to 5 hours, depending on the type of ferry you choose. It is the longer option, but it is cheaper and you’ll pass by some islands and get beautiful views! After this, you’ll land in Adamas (or Adamantas), the main town.
Where to stay in Milos?
There are many possibilities of places to stay in Milos, that will all offer a different travel experience:
- the main town, Adamas, has many restaurants and amenities and is more convenient if you don’t have a car, as many buses and taxis depart from there, not to mention the ferries. This is the town where we stayed and I honestly recommend it for its convenience!
- smaller towns like Pollonia, Tripiti or Plaka are beautiful but might be harder to reach and may not have as many amenities as Adamas.
- fishermen’s villages, like Klima or Areti, are the most quaint and traditional, though you will definitely need your own means of transport and you will have to take the road to find a supermarket or restaurant.
During our Greek holiday, we stayed at the conveniently-named Milos Hotel in Adamas, and we loved it! It is located in the centre of Adamas, in a quiet street but close to everything we would need. The staff was kind and helpful, and quick to answer emails and respond to our needs.
The rooms were very clean and decorated in a Cycladic style, creating a very peaceful atmosphere, perfect to wind down at the end of the day. I was surprised to see that the towels were marked with the Oeko-Tex label, meaning they are environmentally-friendly! Also, the breakfast was absolutely fantastic, with so many things to chose from, local and fresh products, lots of fruits and also many options that would fit a vegan diet.
Even though I usually book via Booking, this time they didn’t have any more rooms available on there so I directly booked on the hotel website, and it worked perfectly!
How to get around Milos?
If you didn’t come by ferry with your car, you’ll want to look into means of transport in Milos, as you can’t easily visit it by foot alone. For shorter stays, I honestly don’t really recommend renting a car, as it can be quite expensive and in my opinion it is much easier to rent a scooter or ATV.
You can also rely on public transport, with regular buses taking you to the most famous spots, towns and beaches. And the taxi system is also pretty efficient.
For our two days in Milos, we only rented an ATV for one day, to explore the island a bit more freely, and the rest we did by bus or taxi. We found that this was for us the perfect balance, as it allowed us to save some money but still have a lot of flexibility.
Milos two-day itinerary
While I’d say that longer stays are always better, I do feel like we managed to see and do a lot in just 48 hours in Milos. This itinerary is very fast-paced and can feel a bit rushed if you want to spend more time at the beach or relaxing for instance, but it worked perfectly for us and it allowed us to really get a sense of how unique the beautiful Milos is. This two-day itinerary is not for the faint of heart but it will take you to the top sights in Milos: from beautiful beaches to cute fishermen’s villages.
We spent a whole afternoon + one full day + one morning in Milos, but for the simplicity of this itinerary I have grouped everything into two whole days, not including the time needed to reach the island. The main “base” for this itinerary is Adamas but you can adjust it if you are staying elsewhere.
Milos Itinerary – Day 1
This is more of a chilled day, with a focus on Milos’ most famous beaches. Here’s the Google Maps itinerary for this day and the detail below!
In the morning: Discover Adamas
Adamas, or Adamantas, is where most people choose to stay in while visiting Milos, as it is the most convenient place, with the ferry port, lots of hotels, shops, restaurants and supermarkets. It is also where a lot of taxis, local buses and sailing trips depart from. It is quite a small town but has a nice waterfront, some cute shops and museums too. You can also go to the nearby beach, Papikinou. If you are there in the evening, the seaside restaurants have such a nice setting!
In the afternoon: Tsigrado and Fyriplaka beaches
You can take a delicious gyros to go in Adamas, then take a bus or a taxi to the South of the island to reach these two beautiful beaches. I talk about them in more details in this post. Reaching Tsigrado can be a bit dangerous and not everyone will want to go there, but going just above it is well worth it for the stunning views you get!
These two beaches are very close to one another so if you have time I’d highly recommend checking out both, even for a short period of time.
Sunset at Sarakiniko beach
Sarakiniko beach is the most famous beach in Milos, the one you’ll see everywhere on social media. For this reason, it can be quite packed during the day, and that’s why we chose to go there to see the sunset. This absolutely paid off as we were completely free to wander around the stunning chalk-white rock formations with no crowds at all while the sun was still high, then we simply waited for the sun to start its descent from a fantastic viewpoint. The last bus was gone but we called in a taxi to head back to Adamas and have dinner!
For this day of exploring the fishing villages, we decided to rent an ATV to freely wander around as we pleased. We were exhausted at the end of the day but we had so much fun and we managed to see soooo much! So, the first step after breakfast would be to go get your ATV/scooter/car, and then the adventure begins! Here’s the Google Maps link for the itinerary (I know it looks messy but I swear this is optimised!) and the details below.
Milos Itinerary – Day 2
In the morning: Ancient Theatre & Catacombs
To reach these two famous landmarks, you can stop by the town of Tripiti and briefly stop to explore its quiet streets. Then, you can park in the parking area of the Catacombs and start your visit. We skipped the Catacombs, but did the short hike to the stunning Ancient Theatre, passing by the spot where the Venus of Milo statue was discovered. From the theatre, you get incredible views of the sea and can see your next stop in the distance…
For lunch: Klima fishing village
Klima is the most famous fishing village of Milos, with its traditional and colourful syrmata. You can walk around there, take pictures of the beautiful houses and maybe go for a swim as well. There is also a nice restaurant to stop in for a light bite with beautiful views.
After lunch: Plathiena beach
At this stage, we went to see Areti but I don’t necessarily recommend it. From Kilma, if you are feeling like relaxing on the beach for a bit, Plathiena Beach is the place to go! It is a bit more secluded and the views are beautiful there. But you’ll also be able to swim a bit at the next stop!
In the afternoon: Firopotamos and Mandrakia fishing villages
These were two of my favourites and they are both located in the North of Milos, not too far from each other. Firopotamos is absolutely unique and also has its small beach resort and a beautiful Greek-style church overlooking a cliff. Mandrakia was probably my favourite, and also has a nice café/restaurant. Visiting these villages doesn’t take much time, so you can either have a quick walk around or stay longer to enjoy the views and the crystal-clear sea.
Sunset: Exploring Plaka and its Venetian Castle
Plaka is the capital of Milos, and it is located on top of a hill, overlooking the entire island. Its beautiful narrow streets, the whitewashed houses and blue shutters are perfect for an end-of-afternoon stroll. There are also cute shops here and there, and nice tiny restaurants.
One of the best things to do there is to see the sunset at the Venetian Castle, also called Kastro. There are signs in the centre of Plaka that show you the way, and while you go up to the Castle, you’ll see breath-taking views and stunning churches (see main picture of this post). It can be quite crowded during sunset, but we went a bit before, around the “golden hour”, and it was perfect and almost empty of crowds!
Dinner in Plaka or Adamas
For dinner, depending on your preference, the place your are saying at and your tiredness, you can head back to Adamas or stay in Plaka for dinner. We chose to go back to Adamas, have a sunset dip at the Papikinou beach, then head to dinner after a nice shower at the hotel.
Final tips
Before I conclude this (very) long itinerary and guide post, here are some of my final tips:
- Take your time. This pace fit us just fine, but the goal here is to enjoy your trip, so if you feel like you are rushing too much, slow down. It is better to enjoy fully what you see – at the expense of skipping a few things – than to skim over everything and feel like you haven’t enjoyed it enough.
- Do not forget your sunscreen and reapply it frequently during the day, especially if you are renting a scooter or ATV. The sun is no joke there!
- Don’t forget to bring a bottle of water, as you won’t always find a café or restaurant in some of these places.
