Milos, a splendid Venus

Island of Milos in the Cyclades

Milos lies in the western Cyclades; you'll certainly have heard the name before because of the famous statue of Venus found here. It's a volcanic island

island of Milos

HOW TO GET THERE

You can reach Milos in 2 ways: by plane or by ferry. The only plane that reaches the island is the Olympic Aviation one, and it gets there in 40 minutes from Athens using a 20-seat plane!!!! For the ferry you have to go to Piraeus by bus from the airport (1h 15min.); then take one of the many slow Hellas ferries that follow the route: Piraeus-Kythnos-Serifos-Sifnos-Milos-Piraeus; taking about 6 hours from Piraeus to Milos. Or there are hydrofoils and obviously they're faster. I had to take one on the way back because they had cancelled the flight that was supposed to come and fetch us from Athens (storms and a whirlwind), it took us about 4 hours.

HOW TO GET AROUND

To tour the island get yourself a map and look for a vehicle straight away; at Adamas, the port and main town, there's everything from a scooter to a car... for those who hire a scooter, watch the roads, because in Greece the asphalt is very, very slippery (they use glass powder)... even for the most expert... I really mean it.

SERVICES

Milos is still a good compromise between tourist island (and therefore all the services) and not (and therefore not too crowded). All the night spots are in Adamantas, but don't expect spectacular or huge clubs. In Adamas there are also some markets and a bakery. I advise you to have a look round it in the morning, since many beaches have neither bar nor restaurant, so you'll have to take a "packed lunch" with you and above all water, given that the temperatures reached at midday are worthy of an oven!!! In Adamas there are also some jewellers and a few souvenir shops.

As for restaurants there's nothing but an embarrassment of choice!!!!! The seafront of Adamas is full of taverna-bars; if you like gyros, the ones at the port are excellent! Excellent tavernas (restaurants) are also Barko in Adamas and also the first one you come to on the way up to Plaka — unfortunately I don't know its name, I think it's called Antonios. In Tripiti there's one too, called Herghina.

SLEEPING

As for accommodation there are no particular problems (except in August) and if you want a bit more information you can consult the site The site, also in Italian, tells you (and shows you) where the best hotels are and where the best beaches are. I found on the site itself a studio with kitchenette (for the morning coffee, otherwise who'd wake up!!!)(Pension Joanna) truly good value.

WHAT TO SEE

Well, what's most worth it in Milos are the beaches, yet there's plenty more to see. For those who love the "historic" side, above all there are the catacombs dug by the Christians to escape persecution, dating from the 3rd or 4th century AD. There's also an ancient theatre, discovered in 1840. The lovely thing about this amphitheatre is that you could find yourself alone inside this open-air museum, no guides, no crowds of tourists. In Plaka (the chora) there's the Venetian castle, where everyone gathers to watch the sunset, very beautiful and atmospheric.

Just below the castle there's the Mesa Panagia church, which shares the sunset-watchers with the castle!!!!!!!! Or you can go to one of the places in Tripiti, a little village with a single one-way road linking Klima with Plaka; with lots of places that have their entrance on the road and their terrace facing the island's inner gulf, where the sun sets. Klima is a beautiful, colourful little fishing village, with houses on the sea and mini boat sheds; the inhabitants are still simple people, and although it's one of the must-see places, and therefore busy, sometimes the locals still seem surprised to see tourists. Pollonia is a little village with small restaurants by the sea (perhaps a bit too touristy), from which the ferries leave for the islet of Kimolos. Kleftiko deserves a section of its own: it's the two hexagonal rocks that rise out of the sea.

Kleftiko can't be reached by land; the only way to get there is to take one of the two or three boats that do the tour of the island (departure 9:00, return 18). Not to be missed!!!!!

THE BEACHES

Dulcis in fundo the beaches, which I believe are nowhere in the world as varied as these... Before describing them, I'll point out that in Milos all the beaches start to get crowded at 11; before that you can enjoy these masterpieces of nature totally alone, or at worst with another 2 or 3 people!!!! Tsigrado= you get there via a dirt track onto a clearing... you park and look out over a steep descent of white perlite that ends in a little bay... the beach. The colour of the water is nothing short of stunning (just think of the Aegean over perlite!!!), you'll feel like running down the perlite slope or... rolling down it as many young people do!!!!!! At midday it fills up, perhaps excessively, but then again it's so beautiful and so small!!!!!!! If you want to alternate sun and shade, try to position yourself near the rocks on your left, where the shade begins at midday.

The beach's orientation means that by about 16:00 it's all in shade; if you still want sun we recommend moving to Firiplaka (there are still 3 hours of sun!!!!!!) five minutes away by scooter. Firiplaka= the road is the one for Tsigrado; it's a very large, equipped beach, with a bar, the sea very beautiful and clear, facing the sunset, it lets you stay on the beach until the last ray of sun!!!! Paliochori= another beautiful, equipped beach, with bars and tavernas by the sea (good food), there's one that does good fish; Agia Kyriaki= close to Paliochori. The beach is very beautiful, with trees near the shore, letting you have both shade and sun. At the water's edge there are pebbles for about 5 metres, but they're not at all annoying. Gerontas= a lava beach of very fine black sand.

To get there you have to do a long stretch of unassisted road, and then a 20-minute walk; personally I went and I feel I can say it's worth the risk (but be careful). Very clear sea and you'll almost certainly be the only ones on the beach!!!!!! Platena= a beautiful bay, the only beach reached from the road to Plaka; the road takes you right to the beach, an enchanting bay, a few local fishermen going after octopus and a very spartan Greek caravan-bar complete the scene. A narrow beach, with a few trees for shade. In the sea, towards the end of the inlet and to the left looking out to sea, you can see a rock particularly similar to a seated dog. Near Platena (continue along the road that brought you to Platena) you can go and see Fourkovouni, a modest little fishing village, still far from tourism.

Now let's move to the beaches on the north side of the island. These beaches offer a less clear sea than those in the south, because of the wind and the current. However the sea is clean, and some are truly scenic. Travelling the north of the island from west to east you'll find, in order:

Firopotamos= a small, rarely visited beach, read deserted, of coarse white sand, with trees. On one side there's a little harbour and a small church, built on a small promontory.