Sunsets in Milos: Two Days
Located in the enchanting Cyclades Islands, Milos is a hidden wonder despite its recent popularity. With beaches and moon-like landscapes, Milos offers the perfect escape into tranquil Greek island life!
Logistics:
In Milos, there are a few different villages to stay at depending on your budget, preference, and whether or not you have a car! I used Santorini Dave’s helpful website to decide between a few factors as well as TripAdvisor for their recent reviews!
By Public Transportation
Compared to other islands like Paros, Mykonos, or Santorini, Milos does not have a great bus system. While we definitely saw the bus, the times are sparse. I would recommend a car!
By Private Taxi
Similar to other islands, Milos has plenty of taxis. While it is really nice, the cost quickly adds up as these are not cheap rides!
By Private Hire
As with every Greek island, there are a host of ATV, scooter, and car rental shops. Initially, I was looking at two places looked in PPPP because it would likely be an easy return option. However, our hotel offered their own rental service and it was much better and cheaper! At Travel Me to Milos, I received a rate of €45/day whereas at our hotel I received a €35/day price for an automatic.
Once we arrived at Milos, we were greeted at the port with our rental and didn’t have to pay for a taxi so it greatly cut down on costs! I would highly recommend our hotel’s car service!
Travel Tip: If you want to travel to the west side of Milos, you will want a 4WD for the bumpy roads.
Lodging
On Milos, there were plenty of options but I went with the highly recommended and rated Nelfeli Sunset Studios, located in the village of Pollonia. For a family room, we had our own kitchen, jazzuzi, big patio, and undisturbed sunset views! Inside our room, we had a very comfortable double bed with AC while Sara and Kelly had their own twin beds. The shower and bathroom was also really nice! Plus, the family’s concierge was fantastic!
Travel Tip: For the Greek islands, I relied on booking.com because Santorini Dave said most hotels are listed on this site.
Food & Drinks
Because we were staying in Pollonia, most of our recommendations are in this sleepy town although we did explore the other great restaurants on the island!
Kivotos ton Gefseon: If you’re a fan of homemade and family run cafes, look no further than Kivotos! On the outskirts of Pollonia, this cafe offers terrific breakfast and snacks as well as locally made honey, olive oil, and other treats! We bought honey and olive oil from this place because it looked so tasty!
Gialos: Located on Pollonia’s high street, this fantastic restaurant is packed every evening. On our first night in Milos, we ordered a great takeaway of Greek Salad, Dry Fruit Salad, and fried calamari and we all were really surprised at the quality! On the following evening, we returned for a sit-down meal because the first night was great! I again ordered a big portion of the Dry Fruit Salad and shared a fried calamari. For the price, portions, and quality, I highly recommend Gialos!
O! Hamos! Tavern: Situated on the beach with harbor views, O! Hamos! has a cult like following and is always busy! I highly recommend getting a reservation unless you don’t mind eating very late! Family run and operated, Hamos specializes in family recipes and all their food is sourced from their farm. I highly recommend the lamb or goat! Because we didn’t get a table until 10pm, MF and I split the eggplant special which was very tasty!
Medusa: In a quiet, remote fishing hamlet, Medusa is the only restaurant in “town” and specializes in fresh seafood! Because we were here during the day, we had a sunny seafood feast! I ordered a wonderful sea bass skewers while MF had freshly grilled shrimp. Each bite was very tender. If you’re a fan of octopus, they dry their freshly caught octopus outside!
Although we tried our hardest to eat everywhere, here are a few hotel recommended locations:
- Bakalikon Galanis
- Archontoula
- Barriello: Although we ate here on our last Milos trip, we did not make it back! I still recommend for great sunset views and dinner!
Activities
There are loads of activities in Milos despite the main activity is sunbathing or exploring the moon-like landscapes!
Northern Beaches:
On windy days, these northern beaches are more “picture only” beaches because the waves are rough and the winds are intense. However, these should not be missed - regardless of the weather!
- Parafragas Beach and Caves
- Sarakinikio Beach
- Firopotamos
Southern Beaches:
Compared to the northern brothers, these beaches have tranquil green-blue waters and your typical sandy beaches. Perfect for any type of weather!
- Fyriplaka Beach
- Agia Kiriaki Beach
- Paliochori Beach
Western Sights:
With the biggest attraction located in the southwest corner of Milos, Kleftiko and the other beaches and towns are terrific! While a beach may become “just another beach,” these beaches promise to shake things up a bit, especially swimming beneath the Kleftiko caves! More importantly, Plaka Town is the most scenic village on Milos. I recommend a pre-dinner stroll through the town after the sun begins to set so you don’t bake on the streets!
- Kleftiko
- Plathiena Beach
- Sykia Caves
- Plaka Town
Fixed Costs:
- Nelifoni Sunset Studios: €126 a night
- Car Rental: €35/day
- Sunbeds: €7.5/each
- Beaches: Priceless (and free!)
Sunset in Milos
After a long day in Santorini and a very rough ferry to Milos, we kissed the ground once we stepped onto Milos. Afterwards, we met our lovely hotel manager just outside the port and drove our very small and sporty Hyundai to Pollonia where we were staying in Milos. We were just thankful to be off the ferry and on land!
Whilst we were checking in, signing the car rental papers, and exploring our new hotel, the maginifcant Milos sunset appeared just outside our room. As the hotel name implies, we certainly saw an amazing first Milos sunset! The island just knew we needed it!
Sunset in Milos
Late Night Munchies
Because someone (cough cough, MF) wanted to workout, we had a very late takeaway dinner from a highly rated restaurant called Gialos in town. It was a fantastic meal that we were able to bring back and not have to be sweaty in our clothes! In town, this restaurant was the only one that was completely full so we realized we made a good call!
Beach Hopping
On our first day in Milos, we went beach hopping on the north side of the island! Although winds would prevent us from laying out, we had a terrific time seeing amazing natural beauty!
Parafragas Beach and Caves
Located within 5 minutes of Pollonia, Parafragas is inaccessible during windy or rough seas so this cave stop was pictures only. Once we arrived, we quickly agreed as the wind almost blew us over! Despite seeing pictures of people in the caves and very small beach, we wondered how people went inside the cave as there is no path. Thus, we left with a sense of respect for those who venture inside the cave and tiny beach! If the waters weren’t that rough, perhaps we would have attempted a hike down…
Sarakinikio Beach
Another short 10 minute drive from Pollonia lies famous Sarakinikio beach! Known for the stunningly smooth white volcanic rock, Sarakinikio has a moon-like surface that is perfect for exploring even in windy conditions! While we saw people laying out, today was not our day to be battered with sand and high winds.
Throughout the “beach” are simply incredible structures and formations. While Klefiko may be more famous because you can swim in the caves, we had fun walking on top of the white cliffs here. Pictures speak louder than words here!
Sarakinikio
Boom!!
Sarakinikio
Medusa
Situated in a tiny seaside hamlet, Medusa is one of the top restaurants in the whole island yet one of the more difficult towns to reach! After a brief stroll through the fishing boats, we went to the restaurant after passing fresh octopus! Again, our meal was terrific and cannot recommend enough!
Firopotamos Beach and Hamlet
Similar to our visit to Medusa, we went to another sleepy seaside villages for sunny R&R. With a cute little village that takes about 10 minutes to explore, we mostly spent our time on the beach. With MF taking naps, I mostly read!
Plaka
One of the non-beach highlights in Milos is the small mountain village of Plaka. During the Greek siesta, we had the entire village to ourselves! We mostly strolled through the village center and admired the beautiful buildings with pink flowers.
Plathiena Beach
As if we would tire of beaches, we went to the last beach of the day - Plathiena Beach! Located on the west side, Plathiena is perfect for sunsets, especially if it is the last beach of the day! Compared to our earlier beach, it is more built up and has its own sun beds and possibly its own restaurant. Nothing was open when we arrived so it is a guessing game! Either way, we chilled and all read on the beach while the sun began its descent.
One More Sunset
Tonight’s main event would be the glorious Milos sunset from our awesome hotel! With a glass of vino, we enjoyed the amazing sunset where pictures are definitely better than words!
For dinner, Kelly, Sara, and I went to Gialos again - mostly because I could not resist their dry fruit salad. It has smoked pancetta, dried apricots and plums with a lemon vinaigrette. I went on a health kick in Milos and benefited the rewards! While Kelly and Sara enjoyed their black pig neck and octopus, I felt really healthy yet happy I went with one of my favorite salads so far on the trip.
Southern Beaches
On our final day in Milos, we did more of the same! As I mentioned above, we failed to book a timely Klefiko tour so we missed out on one of the island’s more touristy attractions so we consoled ourselves on two amazing beaches.
Agia Kiriaki Beach & Paliochori Beach
On each beach, we lounged either on the sand or sun beds. Trading in shade for beautiful Greek sunshine whenever we felt like we were getting burned! While our plan A fell apart, these beaches are remote and offer the peaceful Greek tranquility we had been searching for on this trip!
One Last Milos Sunset
For our last sunset, we again went to our hotel for amazing views. When you have these views everyday, we began to take them for granted! Either way, our last Milos sunset was again great and enjoyed from the comforts of our hotel rather than crowded Oia stairs or on top of a castle, or hot and sweaty on an Oia hike.
For dinner, we visited the famous O! Hamos! Tavern and had one of the last seatings for the day. While we did have to wait, the meal was well worth it even though all of us were exhausted and probably preferred sleep to eating dinner. Regardless of our sleepy state, we enjoyed a fabulous home cooked meal!
Travel Tip: Book a reservation!!!
The UnChartered Summary
Milos is the destination for the adventurous, yet those who want to relax. The unique beaches and (normally) calm waters are fabulous for a typical Greek holiday!
- Book a Klefiko tour early in advance! If only we had researched a little bit more, we would have realized that the tour left at 10am rather than throughout the day as people say….
- Rent a car! By far, one of the wisest trip planning decisions was renting a car in Milos. Compared to our car-less experience in Santorini, we had complete freedom.
- I loved our stay at Nelfoni Sunset Studios. While we did not have breakfast due to COVID, it enabled us to test new breakfast places such as Kivotos!