This island has really stolen my heart. I absolutely fell in love with it the very moment I set foot on it. The island of Milos is a green island with many different colours in both its rocks and in its nature. There are vulcanic rocks with shades of white, red, pink, orange and green that look different at different times of the day and there are fields filled with flowers in white, red, yellow and purple. Special butterflies fly over the fields.

The coastline of Milos is unmatched beautiful (only nearby Polyaigos island can compete), with white chalky rocks, strangely shaped rocks towering from the sea and at some places the water is so intensely blue it almost hurts your eyes, so pretty. Like Santorini the island of Milos is originally a volcano, with the main harbor Adamas situated in the crater of it. The name Adamas comes from the Greek word for "diamond" because from above the bay looks just like a ring and the white village of Adamas looks just like a diamond in that ring.

Personally I thought that Milos was a surprisingly nice island. There are beautiful sandy beaches and the people are very hospitable. You can make walks through the nature for hours, enjoy the peace and quiet and not see anybody. You can find a pristine, clean sandy beach for yourself (there are about a 100 beaches on the island). Milos is also still relatively cheap compared to other islands in the Cyclades, both in terms of prices of the accommodations and of food in the taverns: recommended. We really liked it more than we thought we would. Large pieces of Milos are still pristine and quiet, there are beautiful views of the sea and other islands and islets and the nature is actually quite pretty (not barren). Both the villages of Adamas and Pollonia (the two main villages with most tourist facilities) are nice and relaxed in their own way. There is something to do here but still it is quiet.

Milos owes its reputation mainly to the discovery of the statue "The Aphrodite of Milos" which dates from the Hellenistic period, of which a copy can be seen in the local Archaeological Museum. The statue of Milos was discovered in a field in 1820 by a farmer and the French ambassador in Constantinople acquired the statue from the Turks and shipped it to Paris. According to rumors, the statue originally also had two arms. What happened with them has been a mystery but there are many islanders that say that they have an arm or a hand of the statue of the Venus de Milos.

Thanks to its large protected port Milos was an important centre in the ancient time, and in the pre-Hellenistic time there was an important Minoan settlement in Filiakopi on the north coast. On the island also Mycenean and Archaic settlements have been found. In front of the bay where Adamas is situated there are two islands, Akrathi and Arkadi. Both of these islands are quite barren and on Akrathi there is a lighthouse.

Milos is 161 km2 in size and has a population of about 4500 people. Most inhabitants of the island live in the north of Milos, and the south is very sparsely populated. Most tourists wills stay in the triangle Adamas - Plaka - Pollonia during their visit, so for the ones that love peace and quiet it pays to rent a car or take the public transport to go exploring. The main port of the three villages nowadays is Adamas, and from here the view seems as if you are overlooking a big lake, because you can not see the exit. On the north side of Adamas there are 4 other villages, Tripiti, Triovasalos, Pera, and the most beautiful and also the capital of the island: Plaka.

The village of Adamas itself does not have a really great beach (although just outside the center, there is a broader piece of sandy beach, called Papikinou Beach, with some sunbeds, umbrellas and a taverna, and at the other side of the promenade there is another small sandy beach called Lagada Beach), but right oposite the town is the nice and big sandy beach of Achivadolimni that overlooks Adamas. Along the promenade of Adamas you find several good restaurants, some shops and an ATM to withdraw money. Also you can find various travel agencies here and in the area where you can book an excursion, buy a ticket for the ferry or rent a car. I must say that I found the people on this island really very kind and hospitable, and also that the quality of the food was actually surprisingly good compared to what is offered on other islands. In Adamas there are some good taverns, in Pollonia a couple of really good ones and in Plaka there is even a great one.

The ferries to the island of Milos all stop at the port of Adamas. Milos has good connections with nearby islands like Folegandros, Sifnos and Santorini and is easily accessible. Yet here unlike on other islands it is still fairly quiet since the island is pretty big. For people that fly to Santorini it is easy to visit Milos. With a fast ferry it takes about two hours and you pass along various other islands (Sikinos, Folegandros, Kimolos and Polyaigos) before arriving at your destination. Milos naturally also has a connection by ferry to Piraeus on the mainland. From Adamas you can make a day trip to the nearby island of Sikinos and from the village Pollonia there are ferries to the opposite island of Kimolos (in May 2011 three times a day). It is possibly to go there in the morning and return in the afternoon. It's also nice to stay overnight in Kimolos and get a taste of the relaxed atmosphere.

Plaka is a beautiful, unspoiled and photogenic Chora (capital) with white houses and a nice tangle of narrow streets and alleys where you easily can lose your way. There are amazing views. In Plaka there are also a couple of museums worth visiting. The village is dominated by a volcanic mountain on which are a number of churches. On the top once stood a Venetian fortress / village. The other villages are also nice for a visit, such as Tripiti which is situated on a hill with windmills, and Klima and the port with the old fishermans houses on the water, where once the old (antique) capital stood.

Another important village is located on the northeast coast of the island and it is called Pollonia (well, everybody calls it Apollonia, also on the internet, but actually the village is called "Pollonia" without the A). It is an attractive village in a sheltered bay. The village is emerging as a tourist destination. Here there are kaiks (Greek wooden boats) to the nearby island of Kimolos. Three times a day there is also a small ferry going up and down in between Pollonia and the island of Kimolos, which is situated at 10 kilometer distance. It is possible to take your car with you on this small ferry. There is no car rental on Kimolos and it is one of the least developped islands in the Cyclades. There are also not that many accommodations to be found for tourists.

In Pollonia there are some good waterfront tavernas and small hotels. One of them is a very good and popular fish taverna and another one is an excellent restaurant called Gialos, where it is always busy (for obvious reasons!). The houses in Pollonia are white with blue wooden shutters and doors and there are a couple of pretty and small white churches. Pink and purple bougainville flowers and geranium flowers brighten up the streets. You can also find a mini market and a bakery in the village. Besides bread and pastries the bakery also sells other kinds of food and bottles of water, sodas and alcoholic drinks.

In the bay of Pollonia there is a good town beach which is backed with some tamarisk trees. It is a sandy beach with shallow water lying in a protected bay and so it is perfectly safe for children. The sandy town beach seems to "divide" Pollonia and it feels more like two small villages on either side of the main beach. Each little "village" has its own small and pretty waterfront church. On the east side of the village there is another small sandy beach and in the west there are several coves with small pebble beaches. Here you can enjoy some of Milos its prettiest sunsets.

Even more beaches are not far from Pollonia and scattered across the whole island, and these beaches are generally very quiet. The beaches in the west, the part where most of the monasteries of the island are, is only accessible by private transport. The best beach that is reachable by public transport is the sand / pebble beach of Paliochori. Milos is blessed with many beautiful but remote beaches, which are also ideal for discrete naturism. From Adamas you can also hop on a boat to the beach of Empourios that is situated on the other side of the bay.

Milos is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, one of the Cyclades, and is located southwest of the island of Kimolos. Milos is 161 square kilometres in size and has about 4500 residents. Like Santorini, it is of volcanic origin. Hot springs and sulphur testify to the volcanic activity. This is of economic importance for the extraction of minerals: the soil provides for Sulphur, perlite, puzzolaan and kaolin. From the port Adamas, which is located in the large bay ferries depart to a number of islands and the mainland. A few kilometers away from Adamas is also the airport of the island.

When excavations were made here in 1820 the famous Venus of Milo was found (actually Aphrodite of Milos, now in the Musee du Louvre in Paris). Archaeological excavations show that the island was already inhabited in the neolithicum. In the Minoan period Milos provided volcanic glass (obsidian) for the manufacture of ornaments to Crete. After the arrival of the Dorians in Greece (ca. 1100 BC) the island Was colonized from Laconia.

During the Peloponnesian War Milos refused to join the Delos-Attic Sea Treaty and Athens send a punitive expedition in 416 BC. Thucydides tells how the Athenian envoys first negotiated on supercilious and cynical tone, however, when the residents refused to bow to the head the Athenian imperialism, the men were all slain and the women and children were towed as slaves. In response to this humanitarian disaster Euripides wrote his tragedy Trojan women.

In Plaka and the villages around it you will find most of the attractions of Milos. Plaka there is a museum with a copy of the Venus de Milo. The old city of Tripiti is worth a visit. It is situated on a slope and it was capital of the island from around 1000 BC to the Byzantine period. The best preserved are the walls and a Roman theater. This place is also a memorial where the Venus de Milos was found. The lower section of the city stood behind the ancient port and has been dominated by a small hill with a temple on it (a small church built with stones of this temple is now in its place).

The most impressive remains of the old city are the catacombs, the earliest known Christian site in Greece, probably dating from the 1st century AD. It consists of three tunnels with rooms on the sides. The longest tunnel is 184 metres long. Only the central catacombe is now open to the public. Another attraction is the village Phylakopi that dates from the Bronze Age. Located in the northeast of the island between Adamas and Pollonia. Some of the houses in the city are located in the sea. It is one of the biggest cities outside Minoan Crete and Santorini. Also in the Mycenean period, this was still the capital of the island, to around 1100 BC when it went into decline. Some of the things that have been excavated can be seen in the Plaka Museum, but the best pieces are in the Archaeological Museum in Athens. A boat trip around the island is also a fun excursion: a trip along the coast of the volcanic island and the island inaccessible island of Antimilos. To read more about these and other sights of Milos and see more pictures - click here.

This accommodation is where we stayed in May 2011 after it had been tipped by someone who knows what he is talking about (I asked for the nicest accommodation on the island of Milos and this was what he came up with). Soultana Apartments, Rooms and Studios is situated in a nice and quiet village. It is run by Mrs Soultana Marinitsi. Altough the accommodation is not really large there are all kinds of rooms, studios and 2-bedroom apartments, so it is suitable for individual travellers, couples, friends or families with children. It is close to two beaches, the mini-market and several seaside-tavernes. After making my reservation they wrote me that I made the right decision because there place is fantastic!!

We stayed here for five days and had a wonderful time. The complex was on a quiet spot with almost no passing traffic and the village itself felt quite cozy. In the morning you woke up with the sparrows and the sound of the waves of the sea. It looked a bit like the village of Aliki on Paros island, another village where we like to come. In any case it is good for a repeat visit, because we definitely want to come back to Milos. It was absolutely not a disappointment! Beautiful nature, beautiful beaches, good food and very nice people. The people that worked at Soultana were no exception. Ms. Soultana is a sweetheart and everyone else was very nice. At the hotel across the street you can have breakfast, a tip: just cross the street and you can sit by the sea with your coffee and your sandwich. There is a breakfast buffet, very easy. Stravroula makes sure everything is ready, and sometimes she bakes the bread herself.

For more information and pictures of Soultana apartments - click here.

Telephone: +30 2287041347 - Mobile: +30 6985026630>
Send an e-mail to Soultana Apartments, Rooms and Studios in Pollonia on Milos.

The Apollon Rooms offer comfortable and pleasant holidays to everybody who choose us for their stay in Milos Island with the most fascinating view of the eternal blue of the Aegean Sea and the best sunset.

The Apollon Rooms are built according to the traditional architecture, in colors of white and light blue. You can enjoy swimming on our private beach, your drink in the bar or your dinner in our restaurant with view to the sea.

We have double rooms and twin rooms equipped with all the modern comforts in order to fulfill all your needs. Each space has been decorated with particular taste and maintains its unique "character".

For more information and pictures of the Apollon Hotel - click here.

We liked Milos so much that we wanted to go back soon. There is still so much that we want to see and we also we want to visit those beautiful quiet beaches again. The island of Milos was for us a real discovery. A friend of ours has opened this beautiful hotel, the Heliotropio Hotel (meaning: sunflower). Here we are going to stay for a week booked in May 2014. It lies directly on the sea in the village Pollonia (near some of the best restaurants of the island) and consists of two studios and two apartments.

We ended up going back to the island of Milos in 2013. What an enchanting and beautiful island this is. Especially the coastline, the cliffs and beautiful sandy beaches are breathtaking and unrivalled. Our stay at the Hotel Heliotropio was fantastic and worth a real "supertip". It is a beautiful and peaceful place, right on a private beach and you look out over the bay with the boats, the village and one of the two larger beaches of Pollonia. The decor is very tasteful and it is fully equipped. We had a big porch and when you walked down the stairs you were on your own little beach. The large village beach is about a two minute walk away. They were working hard and painting the roof terrace where this year (2014) there will be place for all guests to enjoy the stunning view over the village and the beautiful sunsets that Milos has.
For more information and pictures - click here.

Telephone: +30 2287041288 - Mobile: +30 6945754342 - Fax: +30 22870 41240
Send an e-mail to the Heliotropio Hotel in Pollonia on Milos. To see all hotels, apartments and studios on the island on Milos - click here.

Milos has a daily connection to the mainland (Piraeus) during the summer season. A direct connection takes about 5 hours, but if the ferry also calls on other islands (Kithnos, Serifos, Sifnos, Kimolos), it takes a bit longer than 7 hours. There are also special fast boats which take about 4 hours for the journey. During the summer season, there is also a boat line between Ios and Milos, Sikinos, Folegandros and Crete and the more easterly Cyclades like Paros and Syros (NEL Lines). It is also possible to fly to Crete (instead of Athens), and from there take the boat to Milos. The boat trip to Crete last very long, almost 8 and half hours, and this boat is less frequent - to include Heraklion, the capital of Crete (if you want to know you can check the internet at Lane Lines, because sometimes there is suddenly a boat to Sitia or Agios Nikolaos in between). Lane Lines ferries even go to Rhodes, Kasos and Karpathos. All this said, it is wise to check the initiaries of the ferries on the internet in advance because they often change, and also from year to year things and routes can change. Also check the websites of "Aegean Speedlines" (route picture on the left).

From 2011 there are also daily ferries going from Santorini (Thira) and Folegandros going to Milos. Six times a week a fast ferry and on a couple of other days a normal ferry. From Santorini the trip takes about two hours. For schedules and a possibility to book a ticket - click here.

In May 2011 we plan to go to the island of Milos for five days to have a look around. The island of Milos is actually relatively large compared to some other islands in the Cyclades so we wanted to rent a car for the time we are going to be there. The quieter beaches are usually at some distance from the civilized world, and there is not always a bus going there. For this reason and because we just want to see as much as possible and feel free to go where we want to go we already started to look for a car rental for the period of our stay. We ended up with Athena Travel Car Rental which is located in the town where the ferry arrives as well.

Athena Travel Car Rental is situated in the port of Adamas on the island of Milos and came recommended by the local people. Here is where we have booked our car for our visit to the island in May 2011. The owner is called Athena and she is quick and professional with e-mail replies. The car will be waiting for us in the parking area left of the port. It can be recognized by the orange ATHENA logo of the agency and secondly by finding your name noted on the windscreen. They also send us a map with the position of the agency. They speak English and Italian. Maybe it is a good tip for other people that want to rent a car on Milos. You can call the Athena Travel Car Rental or you can ask them for a quote. They have special offers for people that rent a car for a week through the internet (1/1 - 30/6 & 1/9 - 31/12)

Our car was indeed in the parking lot waiting for us with my name on the window. We arrived on a Sunday and that was the only day they were closed. The next day we just went past Athena Travel to do the paperwork. I really advise everybody to rent a car in Milos, because the island is pretty big and it is especially easy when you want to visit the more remote beaches like for instance Fyriplaka. For those people that really want to explore the entire island it is helpful to rent a jeep or something similar. Many of the roads on Milos (especially in the western part) are not paved.

Send an e-mail to Athena Travel Car Rental - tel. +30 22870 21627 fax +30 22870 21498