Milos is a volcanic Cycladic island in the Aegean Sea. Ιt got its name from a local word meaning sheep. Τhe island is a tourist hub and the 5th largest in the Aegean. Ιdeal for couples m enchanting scenery that combines quietness and nightlife. Milos is particularly famous for the Ve de Milo statue, which was discovered in 1820, which is now displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The numerous caves, mysterious catacombs, and emerald beaches squeeze enough charm to bewitch any Apart from Sarakiniko and Kleftiko, Milos has over 40 beautiful exotic beaches worth visiting. Visite the villages of Klima and Firopotamos and pretend for a while that you have traveled back in time. Milos is particularly popular with couples, which find in the serene natural landscape of the island the perfect setting for their romantic holidays. The numerous caves, mysterious catacombs, and emerald beaches squeeze enough charm to bewitch any visitor. Yoy can buy traditional deserts as “rozeles” with honey and nuts also give a try to “mpoygioyrdi” which is cheece with vegetables.

The island of Milos has some of the most spectacular beaches in Greece. It also has some amazing places to swim that are not actually beaches. The flow of lava has created a shoreline that is multi-faceted and in many places quite dramatic with strange rock formations that look like you are on another planet. Many of these rock formations are great places to swim. At Sarakiniko beautiful smooth white rocks form a long narrow inlet with a tiny beach on the end offering a safe place for children to swim and great snorkeling, while the rocks let you sunbathe without getting sand all over you. A hundred yards or so to the west is the remains of a freighter that has been smashed on the rocks and is half out of the water, another great place to snorkel. For those who were seduced by photos of shipwreck beach in Zakynthos this is way cooler and a lot easier to get to and nowhere near as crowded. Nearby are sheltered coves and tiny beaches made by the lava flow.

As you go down the coast on the road to Pallonia you come to several beaches and small settlements like Agios Konstantinos with its boat houses on a tiny inlet and the beautiful Alogomantra and Agios Konstantinos beaches. Further on is the town of Pahaina and its long sandy beach. The small beach at Papafrakas is like no beach you have ever seen. One of the most bizarre places to swim it is a long channel cuth through the rock going inland about 75 yards and ending in a small beach. Part of it is covered so in order to get to the sea you swim through a cave. (To be honest with you I found the place a little scary.) In the town of Polonia there are several beaches, notably the main town beach in the bay which has white sand a shade trees and another on the back side. But the most interesting place to swim is the area to the west of the town on the flat rocks that jut out into the straits between Milos and Kimilos. In Pollonia there are a number of seafood restaurants and cafes and the church of Agia Paraskevis which was blown up by the Germans during World War Two because they wanted to put a gun on that spot to cover the straits. You can also catch the ferry to Kimilos at the pier just below the church.

If you go west from Sarakiniko the swimming gets even better. In the small harbor of Mandrakia there is a white beach in the bay and you can swim off the rocks beyond the excellent Medusa Restaurant-Ouzerie. Very nice for snorkling along the coast. Mandrakia is one of those boat-house villages that are common in this part of Milos with the buildings actually built around caves in the rock. Further on is the small town of Firopotamos, similar to Mandrakia with a tree shaded beach and a canteen that seems to be a hang out for young people. Beautiful blue water, the kind you see in postcards and think they are fake. On the south side of the island there is a long beach at Paleohori, again with postcard blue water and colorful patterns on the stones from sulphur. There are a couple tavernas and a cafe that overlook the beach which looked pretty good (you can’t eat everywhere). If you walk east along the beach and climb over some rocks you come to another beach that is accessable only by foot and by excursion boat. They say there are hot springs at Paleohori and I am guessing that is where they are since a steady stream of people were coming over the rocks from there. It is probably an unofficial nudist beach. To the west is the Big Blue Cafe Bar built into the cliff overlooking the sea, a popular hangout day or night. The beach at Provatas is home to the Golden Beach Hotel as well as the famous Tarantula restaurant.

The excursion boats go to a number of beaches on their trips around the island including Paliorema (where there is an abandoned mine), Tsigrado, and some of the other beaches mentioned above. The highlight of the trip though is dropping anchor at Kleftiko and jumping off the boats to swim around the giant rock formations in sea so blue you will spend as much time taking pictures as you will swimming. Not all the boats get close to the rocks so ask when you go to book. The Delfini which goes from Kypos and the catamaran owned by Captain Nikos will get you right up to the rocks. Within the bay there is the town beach of Adamas, called Papikinou which is a long sandy beach shaded by trees, right next to the road that circles the bay. There is a beach in front of the power plant where you can see old people swimming in the thermal springs. Whether these are actually thermal springs or normal springs that are heated by the power plant I don’t know. But I suppose it does not matter if it makes them feel good. Further along the bay is a long sandy beach called Mavra Gremna and beyond that the beach called Hivadolimni with its salt water lake. Among the beaches I did not make it to but looked incredible in the local guidebook: Gerakas, Triades, Agios Ioannis, Firiplaka and Agia Kyriaki. You would need a month to see all the beaches on Milos and an off-road vehicle and a zodiac would help. But if you are coming for Greece to swim and would not mind spending your time between popular sandy beaches and isolated coves and rocks where you can be alone and swim in the clothes you were born in, you can’t beat Milos.