April 3, 2020

Your Guide to MILOS

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Milos is our favourite Greek Island.

It has all of the musts for a dreamy Greek island getaway – beautiful blue waters, authentic culture, delicious local cuisine, cute villages and stunning vistas. But it’s the variety of crazy landscapes that, for me, make Milos a standout destination to visit. It’s small enough to explore easily by quad bike, but there’s so many authentic, cool & just downright #bucketlist experiences to be had. We visited Europe for 6 months during this trip, mainly hugging the ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and this island was a favourite for both Chesh and I.

These are our must visits…

Sarakiniko

Sarakiniko is like another planet! Some of my FAV European summer memories were made right here, exploring its stunning moonscape & plunging into the ocean from the whitest & most pristine rocks I have ever seen. All times of the day are beautiful, but early morning (before sunrise) is truly special ~ you’ll experience it alone & watch the place come to life with colour & crowds. There’s a jump spot for the adventurous and show-offs, as well as a shallow channel for the casual waders. Give it a hug for me!!

Sarakiniko Milos

Sarakiniko Milos

Sarakiniko Milos

Sarakiniko Milos

Kleftiko and Sikia

On the other side of the island (the South West coastline) you will find another few spots with unique and magical scenery. This stretch of coastline cannot (easily) be reached by land and so the best advice is to take to the sea! The highlights of this area include Kleftiko and Sikia, although every other part of this rugged, rocky coastline is worth exploring, if you’re feeling super adventurous.

Kleftiko is full of crazy rock features jutting out from the sea as well as sea caves that you can enter by swimming or by boat.

Kleftiko and Sikia Milos

Just around the corner you’ll find Sikia, which is an especially incredible cave with its huge roof open to the sky. You can enter with a small boat (or swim in, just be very careful!).

For us, one day wasn’t enough time to explore this area of coastline, so we went twice! Our first trip was with Polco Sailing and this was such a cruisy (& VERY enjoyable) way to explore. Pol himself and the crew were absolute legends. The whole day felt more like a day out with good friends seeing so much amazing scenery and swimming, all at a relaxed pace. Not like some other sail trips we’ve done before that feel very rushed and follow a forced itinerary. Good laughs and such an experience here!

Kleftiko and Sikia Milos

Kleftiko and Sikia Milos

Our second day out we decided to explore by ourselves, so we took a small boat out from our friends at Rent Boat Milos. We picked up the boat from Provatas Beach and launched straight off the sandy beach. The freedom to follow your own agenda was amazing, especially when there is so much to see. We took our lunch and a juicy watermelon, swam wherever looked uncrowded and even had a nap on anchor floating in a beautiful cove with sheer rock walls all around. 

Kleftiko and Sikia Milos

Tsigrado Beach

There’s some other great beaches to check out down on the South of the island, including Firiplaka beach and Tsigrado Beach. Tsigrado is such a cool little spot & it’s definitely a must visit with the adventure factor of traversing through a cave & down a (pretty sketchy) ladder to get onto the beach. The sheltered bay, pristine emerald water & lack of crowds found here make this one a must do. To note, there is no food available so take snacks!

Tsigrado Beach Milos

Tsigrado Beach Milos

Tsigrado Beach Milos

 Firiplaka

The beach is AH-MA-ZING when the Northerly winds are blowing (which happens often). We were on the island when it was hit by 80kph+ winds & this beach (although a bit further to get to) was the most sheltered of all. There is food available here, so you can spend the full day!

Also don’t miss:

  • Mandrakia: the most gorgeous seaside village on the island in our opinion, pair it with dinner at Medusa Taverna for the ultimate evening
  • Trypiti: A town high up in the hills & a beautiful spot for a late afternoon wine or long lazy lunch. Its a really lovely town to walk around too!
  • Plaka: My fav village on the island, both for its unparalleled sunset views, being the highest point of the island AND its gorgeous alley way restaurants, cool little bars & gelato shops. This is a must do!
  • Quad around at sunset, this is just such a cool experience! Get lost & have fun!
  • Papafragas Canyon: A stunning canyon that you can swim all the way through. It’s truly a sight to behold.

Milos

Stay

During our visit to Milos we stayed up the top of the island in and around the town of Pollonia, which is a pretty little fishing village with great restaurants! 

Aloni Cave House 

For most of our stay we were lucky enough to call Aloni Cave House our home. And that’s exactly how it feels – like your own home. It’s a beautifully decorated old farmhouse that’s carved into the rock on the side of a hill! For us it was an amazing place to relax after a day in the sun, feeling secluded with no buildings around (but still close to Pollonia village). Views of the ocean and the farm land below were amazing while eating the local produce and wine provided by our host Corallia.

Aloni Cave House

Corallia was so amazing during our stay, not only with her beautiful property but also giving an abundance of information on what to do whilst on the island. We were in Milos for 10 days and there’s still so much more to do, so we were glad to have our time so well planned thanks to Corallia!

Del Mar

We also spent a few nights in Del Mar Apartments & Suites, which boasts little boutique apartment suites in the village of Pollonia. Great location, luxury interior feel and amazing breakfast spreads delivered to your room before you head out for the day. A cute little hanging chair out front to read a book and a short stroll into town for dinner really sticks in my mind!

Del Mar Milos

Del Mar Milos

Eat

Wow – where to start? There’s so much good food in Greece. Think halloumi, fried calamari, Greek salad, dolmades… drool! But given we spent around a month in the Greek Islands living on the typical dishes, we were also really keen to try something different to what’s served at your usual restaurant, while still keeping to the local style and ingredients.

where to eat in Milos

One such place was Akrotiri Seafood Obsession, a cozy restaurant in Pollonia with the best seafood we had on Milos. The owner Zacharias is such a genuine food lover and his passion shows up on your plate. This place is one of only a handful that stays open for the locals during the winter months and it’s clear why it’s a favourite. The prawns and sardines will be in my dreams forever!

where to eat in Milos

Also in Pollonia is the sushi restaurant Hanabi, which is a relatively new place on the waterfront with an Asian kitchen and candlelit vibes. We were CRAVING sushi so bad and I’m fairly sure this is the only spot to get it on Milos. Despite the lack of competition, it was amazing food and such a romantic setting!

Sushi in Milos

But if you want to stick to more traditional food, I took Chesh to Psaravolada Restaurant as a surprise for his birthday and it was a hit. We quad biked through barren landscapes to the South side of the island and arrived here at sunset with a pink sky and drank wine on the cliff top overlooking the sea. Located away from the main towns (or any other houses really) this place is a hidden gem serving delicious food with an upmarket setting and relaxed vibe.

Other food favs:

Honourable mentions go to Kivotos ton Gefseon *bakery* (their watermelon tarts are LIFE & we had breakfast here multiple times!), Medusa Tavera which is honestly one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to (right on the seafront & the freshest seafood) & the gorgeous cliff top restaurant, Maistrali, which looks out to one of the calmest stretches of coastline on the island.

where to eat in Milos

Hope this inspires you to travel to Milos or helps with planning your next trip there – it’s definitely giving my serious vibes writing this!

Sez & Chesh xx

Milos Greece

Sarakiniko Milos Greece

Milos Greece

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The comments +

  1. Clare says:

    This looks amazing and we are booked for July from seeing your photos.
    Fingers crossed we can go !

  2. Danielle says:

    Did you rent a car or an ATV? Which do you suggest?
    Also, how did you get the beautiful underwater pictures? Thank you!

    • Sarah Royall says:

      We rented an ATV! It was just a place in the main town where the ferries arrive, sorry I can’t remember the name! And thank you so much, we use an Aquatech underwater housing for our Sony A7R3 camera and love it.

  3. Bianca says:

    Thank you for this blog post! Milos looks amazing, the photos are astonishing! I am planning to go in May. Do you know what exact tour you took with Polco Sailing?

    • Sarah Royall says:

      Hi Bianca! We sailed around the bottom of the island only as there was high winds on the top of the island. It just had Kleftiko and Sikia!

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