EXPLORE MILOS – A Guide To The Best Beaches, Sail Trips and Restaurants

Perhaps the most fascinating gem of the Cyclades Islands, Milos has one of the most varied and dramatic landscapes in Greece whilst retaining a quiet and traditional feel, unspoilt by tourism. Whilst it is hard to pick a favourite island during this whirlwind tour, Milos ticked all the boxes for me and I’ll show you why!

Above: the incredible lagoon at Poliegos

Beaches:

Sarakiniko

Known for its lunar landscape, Sarakiniko is Greece’s most unique beach, made up of sprawling white rock, perfect for cliff jumping, hiking and sunbathing without the pesky sand. With white cliffs, caves, a sheltered beach and endless ocean, we easily spent 4 mornings/afternoons there climbing rocks, swimming, relaxing and taking pictures. It is well worth exploring the caves next to the small stretch of sandy beach, even if it is to take a break from the sun as there is no shelter!

Getting there:

Public busses depart 2 hourly during the peak summer season from Adamas town for 1.80 euro, starting at 11am (the last bus leaves Sarakiniko at 7.10pm). On cruise ship days, expect the beach to be very busy from 9.30am onwards. Alternatively, you can get there by car/quad/scooter and park at the top. The road is good and it takes 5-10 minutes to walk down to the beach.

Note: On busy days there is a food truck parked at the entrance selling fresh fruit juices, ice cream, simple sandwiches and Greek salad. On the very windy and rough sea days, the food truck will not be there.

Papafragkas

Another gem on the northeast side of the island is Papafragkas, two narrow sandy beaches surrounded by rocky cliffs with incredible views. One has a slightly sketchy climb down and on calm days, you can swim through a cave opening to a blue grotto on your left, about halfway out towards the sea. The other beach is on ground level and has plenty of rocky areas to lay out on. You can take the bus heading out to Pollonia to reach Papafragkas.

Tsigrado and Firaplaka 

The two south side beaches lie side by side (served by the same bus stop), separated by cliffs and separate parking areas. Tsigrado has some amazing cliff and ocean views from the top, and to access the beach, there are a series of ropes and ladders to climb down. The water is crystal clear and these beaches are a popular area for kayakers/cave explorers.

Firaplaka on the other hand is a wide flat sandy beach, great for families and for throwing a ball around.

Firopotamos

Situated north of Plaka is the picturesque village of Firopotamos, home to a fishing port and beach. There are some ruins – a window to the sea, cliff views, a church, cute fishing boats and amazing turquoise waters. This village is not accessible by bus.

Access to most of these beaches requires a fair amount of walking/climbing down, but something I consider to be part of the fun and lends itself to great views 🙂

Milos Adventures – full day sail trip to Poliegos and around the Milos coastline

A must-do when visiting Milos is to spend a day on a sail boat and seeing it from the ocean. The coastline features multicoloured cliff faces of volcanic rock, traditional seaside towns (only accessible by boat) with white houses and multicoloured windows and doors, hole-in-the-wall caves and some of the clearest, most amazing waters to swim in.

Above: Can you spot the bride and groom?!

Milos Adventures offers a full day 11 hour sail trip covering the perimeter of the island and also a stop at Poliegos – my favourite swimming spot during this Greece trip!

We made several swim stops at the most amazing places, the guides were super informative regarding the geology and history of the island, and the feast they cooked for us during a long ‘lunch’ (almost dinner) break was delicious, featuring chicken, bacon and octopus salads, zucchini balls, salmon pasta, tomato and feta sandwiches and vegetable fritters.

Our last stop was beautiful Kelftiko, a boat-only accessible location, before heading back to Adamas port as the sun began setting. The only thing that made it even better were the ice-creams!

Thanks to Milos Adventures for a wonderful day out at sea. We were lucky with the weather and lack of swells as the next few days were so rough and windy! It was also awesome making some new friends, Anne-Marie, Chris, Semi, Carissa and Mickey, best of luck to you all, may we meet again and I hope you enjoy the photos 🙂

Where to stay and eat

Adamas town is a great base being only a 10-15 minute drive to any beach/village on the island. We stayed at Hotel Ippocampos Studios and Panos was super helpful in restaurant and beach recommendations, as well as organising transport. On our last morning, we headed to the old town of Plaka to wander the pretty streets, shop at some local boutiques and eat at Palaios Coffee and Pastry which served tasty desserts. Other notable food mentions in Adamas include O! Hamos, Mikros Apopulos (we were given a free cheesecake dessert), and Navagio.

Getting around

We hired a quad for 45 euros/day (much steeper than Santorini) for the days we went beach hopping, and took public busses to Plaka and Sarakiniko on the others. The bus system is great in the peak season, with trips costing between 1.80 to 2.20 euros, but the frequency can vary between half hourly to 2 hourly (route dependent).

Note: if you’re looking for some pumping nightlife, this is not the island for you. More of a ‘late night drinks with a view’ kind of place, Milos has a slower paced, quiet town feel, perfect to recooperate between livelier islands. If you are planning a trip to Greece, particularly the Cyclades Islands, definitely give Milos a go, you won’t regret it!

15 Replies to “EXPLORE MILOS – A Guide To The Best Beaches, Sail Trips and Restaurants”

  1. Beautiful drone flight top shot. Beach rock must be marble n lime? Yes found the married couple waving

  2. Thanks John, some of the rocks/glass our sail guide talked about included rhyolite, obsidian, andesite and clay, and those from the result of volcanic activity!

  3. Hi there, your blog is amazing! I’ve just arrived in Milos today and I want to book a cruise with Milos Adventures – what was the name of the itinerary you did? Thanks!

    1. Hi Nicky, thanks so much! ☺️ The itinerary was the one that goes around the perimeter of Milos and to Poliegos as well, have a great time!

      1. Thank you! I’m booked in to go tomorrow. I was in a rush earlier, so failed to mention that my sister Christina (your old workmate from dentist in Wgtn) sent me this page recently, and that’s what cemented my decision to come to Milos 🙂

        1. That’s awesome! I loved Milos as you didn’t really get that over run with tourists vibe, have the best day out at sea! ??

  4. Hello Lilian!

    You are right, Milos is probably the most fascinating island in the Cyclades <3 I've been there once – stayed 7 days – and I loved it. The time was not enough to see it all though. If I can recall correctly, there are more than 70 beaches! I wish I can do this trip again someday… Kleftiko, Tsigrado and Firiplaka were my favourite! What kind of camera did you use? Is it all drone footage? I was astounded by the watercolour. Amazing place, truly 🙂

    1. Hey there, I used an Olympus EPL-7, Canon G7X, GoPro Hero 4 Silver and Phantom 4 on this trip. I miss it so much!

  5. this looks like heaven! you’re photos are incredible! can i ask how many days you stayed/how many you would recommend in milos to see all the above?

    thankyou!

    1. Hi Tina, we stayed for 3 nights to see and do everything in the blog post, but an extra night or two and we could have seen some more beaches! You could also op to head over to the sister island of Sifinos if you have extra days. Happy planning ☺️

  6. Hi Lilian,
    For Milos Adventures, did you pay via PayPal? Just trying to work out if their request for payment as they don’t have a shopping portal on their booking site is legit.
    Thank you!

    1. Hi Emma, I paid using credit card and it all went through smoothly!

  7. PATRICIA RIDDER says: Reply

    Hi Lilia,
    Your tips and photos are super helpful and nice! I am going to Milos next month and hope to see all what you wrote here.
    Which app to make videos and photos you use? I am not professional but would love to try.
    Many thanks

    1. Hi Patricia, I use FCPX for video editing and Adobe Lightroom for photos ☺️

  8. Jalal Soltani says: Reply

    Hi Lilian! I completely stumbled on this blog and immediately knew this is exactly the kind of trip we want to end our vacation with. We pulled up some of these locations and got promptly lost and confused! Any chance we could get more specifics on where to stay and what islands are included in these pictures and how to get to them? Sarakiniko for example on google maps is nowhere near Milos?

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