Μήλος · The volcanic island of coloured rocks, sea caves and painted boathouses
Swim between white rocks that look like the moon, sail into the sea caves of Kleftiko, sleep above a painted boathouse in Klima and watch the sun go down from the castle of Plaka, on the island where the Venus de Milo was found.
Greetings from Milos
Milos
We woke at Klima with the sea slapping against the boathouse doors below us. By ten we were on a small boat to Kleftiko, swimming through a cave in the white rock with nobody else in it. In the afternoon we walked up past the catacombs to the theatre where, two hundred years ago, a farmer dug up the Venus de Milo. Now we are on the castle hill above Plaka with what feels like half the island, waiting for the sun to drop into the bay.
Hour by hour
White rocks at sunrise, a boat to the sea caves, a fish lunch by the boathouses and sunset from the castle.
Start on the smooth white rocks of Sarakiniko while the light is soft and the stone is still cool, with a first swim in the inlet.
Sail from Adamas around the wild west of the island to the white rocks and sea caves of Kleftiko, and swim through the arches.
Back on land, drive to Klima for a late lunch of fish beside the painted syrmata.
Walk up the hill to the early-Christian catacombs and the Roman theatre above the bay, and see the field where the Venus was found.
Climb the steps above Plaka to Panagia Thalassitra and watch the sun go down over the bay.
Walk along the ridge to Tripiti for dinner on a terrace that faces the last of the light.
Where to stay
Plaka
Studios Betty · Village studios · €€
Skinopi
Skinopi Lodge · Stone villas · €€€€
Pollonia
Melian Boutique Hotel & Spa · Boutique hotel · €€€€
Only on Milos
What makes Milos different from every other Greek island.
Milos was built by volcanoes, and you see it everywhere: the white pumice of Sarakiniko, the red and ochre cliffs of Firiplaka, yellow sulphur at Paleochori and Thiorichia, and warm springs that rise at the water's edge. No two of its seventy-odd beaches look alike.
Much of the west coast has no road at all. The only way to see Kleftiko, the old pirate hideout of white rocks and arches, the sea cave of Sykia with its open roof, and the coves around them is by boat, on a day trip from Adamas or a small sailing boat.
In Klima, Mandrakia, Firopotamos and a few other bays, fishermen built their houses right on the water: a boathouse below, cut into the rock, where the boat was pulled up for winter, and a small room above. Their doors and shutters are painted in bright colours, each family its own.
People have taken stone from Milos since prehistory: obsidian, then sulphur, alum, kaolin, and today bentonite and perlite, which leave on ships from the bay. The Mining Museum in Adamas tells the story, and the abandoned sulphur mines at Thiorichia show how hard the work was.
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
Towns & villages
The white capital on its hill, crowned by a castle that watches the sun go down
Plaka is the capital of Milos, a white village on a hill above the north-west coast, with the old castle, the Kastro, on the rock behind it. Its lanes are narrow and paved, with the joints painted white, and they wind between small houses with coloured doors, chapels, little shops and cafes. The Archaeological Museum and the Folklore Museum are here, and the lanes lead out along the ridge to Tripiti, the catacombs and the ancient theatre. In the evening half the island climbs to the Kastro or to the church of Panagia Korfiatissa to watch the sun set over the Bay of Milos.
Windmills on a ridge above the ancient city
Tripiti runs along a ridge just south of Plaka, a quiet village of white houses and old windmills with a view over the whole Bay of Milos. Its name means 'full of holes', after the tombs cut into the soft rock of the hillside. Below the village are the early-Christian catacombs, the remains of the ancient city of Melos, the marble Roman theatre and the field where the Venus de Milo was found in 1820. A path drops on from there to the fishing village of Klima at the water's edge. In the evening the tables on the edge of the village look straight into the sunset.
Things to do
Beach
Take a day boat or a small sailing boat around the west coast to the white rocks and sea caves of Kleftiko, with swimming stops at Sykia and other caves on the way.
From Adamas or Pollonia
Nature
Walk on the smooth white rock and swim in the inlet before the crowds arrive. At sunrise the stone glows pink and gold.
The north coast
Culture
Climb the steps above Plaka to the church of Panagia Thalassitra and watch the sun go down over the Bay of Milos, a nightly gathering of the whole island.
Plaka
Good to know
Milos is a volcanic island in the south-west of the Cyclades, about 151 km², shaped like a horseshoe around one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. The volcano left it rich in stone: white cliffs, red and yellow rocks, warm springs on the beaches and about seventy beaches, more than any other island in the Cyclades. It also left obsidian, the black volcanic glass that people sailed here for more than ten thousand years ago, and minerals that islanders still mine today. Add a Bronze Age town, a famous siege in Thucydides, catacombs, a marble theatre and the place where the Venus de Milo was found, and the island has more history than its size suggests.
When to go
June and September are ideal: warm sea, longer quiet days and fewer people on the boats. July and August are busy, and the north wind can blow hard. Late May and early October are lovely too, though some boat trips do not run yet.
Getting around
Buses run from Adamas to Plaka, Pollonia and the main beaches in summer. A small car, scooter or quad is handier for the coves. Many beach roads are dirt tracks. The west coast and Kleftiko are only easy to reach by boat.
How long
Four to six days gives you Plaka and Klima, a boat trip, the history and time on the north and south coasts. Add a day for Kimolos, or pair Milos with Sifnos or Folegandros.
Getting there
Short flights from Athens to Milos airport (MLO), or the ferry from Piraeus to Adamas, about 3 hours by fast boat or 7 by the big ferry.
Flights & ferries
Black volcanic glass traded across the Aegean, a Bronze Age town, a city destroyed by Athens, catacombs, a marble theatre, Venetian lords, a famous statue, mines and a war.
Walk through the story