The Wellness Trip Pt. 1: Milos, Greece

My husband and I love to adventure and when we found out he had two weeks off in the summer (which has never happened for him before!) we had to take advantage. What was supposed to be our babymoon turned into the wellness trip we so desperately needed! This trip was an extra special one because we got to split it up into two parts. The first part was part was complete island vibes - which is very on brand for us. Honestly, I would be perfectly content living the rest of my life on an island somewhere - preferably on the Aegean though :)

I had already been to a view other Greek islands (Santorini, Rhodes, Chalki, and some smaller ones I can’t remember) and I knew Forrest would love Greece but I wanted to go to one we both had never been to before. I had also heard about Milos through a Greek friend who had always said it’s the best Greek island and now I see why! To be honest, I couldn’t agree more. It’s not the island for nightlife or sitting at a resort. It’s the island you go to for breathtaking views, unlimited adventure, and delicious cuisine. We were there for seven days and went to a new beach every single day. There were still so many beaches we didn’t have a chance to see so we will definitely be back one day. There is just something so unique about Milos that I feel like nothing else can compare. I’ve never seen cliffs and views like the ones in Milos. They say Zeus created Milos for Aphrodite to be as beautiful as she. Every day and every new adventure I would catch myself smiling so wide and thinking “wow I can’t believe the Earth can be this beautiful” Every. Single. Day. Honestly I could go on and on about how stunning Milos is but I’ll get the pictures do the talking for me.

Logistics:

We flew into Athens then took the train from the airport to the port city of Perius which was about half an hour. From Perius, we took a ferry to Milos which was about three and a half hours. Note: due to Covid, many ferries have gone our of business so there is currently one operating company and they tend to have delays/longer trip times than anticipated. The port city in Milos that you arrive to is called Adamas and this is where you can find the most shops, restaurants, and any other needs. Our Airbnb was about 5 min from Adamas so we came here every morning for breakfast and to hit the grocery store before heading to the beach.

The island is fairly big compared to other Greek islands so you definitely need some form of transportation. There are several car/ATV rentals in Adamas but I would recommend reserving one before you arrive or they will up-charge you. We rented a car for a few days and an ATV for the other days. I would 100% recommend renting a bigger ATV over a car. We got our car stuck twice and had to get towed both times… Milos has a lot of roads that are not paved, rocky, and on cliffs. ATVs were made for Milos roads and they are more fun anyway!

The locals told us to always check the winds before heading to the beach so our beach days were determined by which direction the wind was blowing that day. For most of our stay the wind was blowing from the north so we stayed on the south side of the island. We attempted to go to Alogomandra beach one day - which was stunning - but the wind was so strong we were getting hit with so much sand and decided to head back south - so listen to the locals and check the winds!

We went to seven beaches and here is my breakdown of them:

Sarikiniko Beach:

This is probably what you think of if you’ve seen pictures of Milos before. It’s the really long cliff side beach that is perfectly picture worthy. It’s on the north part of the island but because these are cliffs there’s coves that don’t get as much wind so it’s perfect for any day! There is no sand really so you have to do a little hiking to find your perfect location. This is the stunner or all stunners - the Instagram worthy shot of the island. It’s absolutely breath taking views. I can truly say I’ve never seen anything like it! It’s a must see.

Firopotamos Beach:

The views here were absolutely gorgeous. It’s in between two cliffs. There was a huge rock in the middle of the water that we swam to (farther than we thought lol), climbed, and jumped off. We also discovered two caves which were very cool. There is also a beach bar and chair rental here. The beach is on the smaller side and pretty rocky which was the only downside.

Agia Kyriaki Beach:

This was actually a recommendation from a local (an angel of a woman and owner of this beautiful swim boutique in Adamas called Angel - highly recommend shopping there) This was one of the longer beaches we saw (the other being Fyriplaka) and had soft light sand. There were a few spots to rent chairs and beach umbrellas. We walked all the way to the left by the cliffs and loved climbing/jumping off the rocks. You can also swim to another beach just pass the cliffs for some added adventure!

Tsigkrado Beach:

This was by far my favorite in terms of adventure! If you’re afraid of heights I wouldn’t recommend … you park on top of a cliff with the most incredible views then to get to the beach you have to go down two wooden ladders in between massive cliffs. I’d recommend going barefoot or wearing tennis shoes because flip flops aren’t going to be safe. The only bad side here is that the actual beach is very small and pretty rocky. There are a few caves which makes the small beach worth it. We only stayed here a few hours and then went to Fyriplaka which was only 5 minutes away.

Fyriplaka Beach:

5 min away from Tsigkrado and one of the longer (bigger) beaches we went to and also with light soft sand. This one was one of my favorites in terms of relaxing beaches wit good sand (I can be picky about sand but cmon who wants to lay on rocks!) The views were stunning here as well. There was a beach bar and chairs to rent. I would recommend walking all the way down to the right for a more secluded area. This is where most people are enjoying themselves topless or nude as well so just a little warning :) We thought doing both Tsigkrado and Fyriplaka in one day made for the perfect beach day!

Paliochori Beach:

Golden but rocky. This was also another larger beach we saw. There is a restaurant and beach chair rental right when you walk into the beach but we decided to go all the way left towards the cliff where it was less crowded. Most people were nude at this beach. There was another beach you could swim to right past the cliffs on the left but that beach was even rockier.

Provatas Beach:

This was probably my favorite in terms of a good sanded beach. The views were absolutely stunning. The sand was a gorgeous golden soft. I love that it was more secluded - there were only a few people there when we went. It is at the bottom of a cliff. The top has a restaurant which is where you park then walk down several stairs to get to the beach.

As you can see, gorgeous views were part of every beach experience so you can’t go wrong with any of them! I wish we had two more weeks there to explore all the beaches Milos has to offer.

Now, let’s talk cuisine! Greek food is our favorites because it is so similar to Turkish food and Milos restaurants did not disappoint. Also, if you are not a seafood person - I get it. Neither was I when I lived in the states (especially in Ohio because it’s so difficult to get it fresh there). However, this is the place you try seafood! I remember I had my first grilled sea bass on a Greek island - at first I resisted but eventually gave it a try and WOW life changed. Trust me when I saw it is not fishy AT ALL and it is just so incredibly fresh and delicious. So do me a favor, if you go to Greece or Turkey - please try the grilled sea bass - okay?

Here is my breakdown of my favorite restaurants in Milos:

Best Overall:

O!Hamas by far was our fav restaurant- not only because it so the cutest venue with beautiful vines wrapping the ceiling but the food was incredible. It’s more traditional Greek so not a ton of seafood but everything was phenomenal. Forrest especially loved the married chickpeas and loooved the keftedes. Get there early though! Our first night there was a 2 hour wait so we decided to go back earlier on a different day and sat down right away (around 6:45 pm)

Best Seafood:

Astakas Cafe is the only restaurant in Klima it is so very romantic and absolutely stunning at sunset. Wayching the sunset here was one of the highlights of our trip. Klima isThe fishing village so you def need to order seafood bc it is insanely fresh and delicious.. You def want reserve a table along the edge of water and they get reserved quickly. The sea bass was some of the best we have ever eaten.

Medusa was a close second to the best seafood we had. The octopus and calamari were amazing. We actually saw the octopus being caught and dried right in front of us that’s how fresh it was! The restaurant is right on the cliff overlooking the sea with absolutely beautiful views. You can’t see the sunset as well as in Klima but it’s still very beautiful regardless!

Best Greek Food:

We actually accidentally stumbled upon this restaurant when we went to Plaka to catch the sunset. It reminded me of Oía in Santorini where everyone was gathered around sitting on ledges and buildings watching the sunset from the cliff side. Afterwards we walked down to Archontoula and saw how many people were eating there so we decided to sit down. The staff here were amazing they had the best energy and we became instant friends! The food was so delicious. The menu was more traditional Greek and we got all the recommended dishes. Dakos which is an appetizer with dried bread - like croutons - with fresh tomato and feta topped with capers and olive oil - it is apparently all the rage in Milo. It sounds a little weird but we were so surprised at how freaking delicious it was. This one was our favorite that we tried compared to other places. I got the cherry chicken which was chicken thighs wrapped with bacon and Forrest got the lamb. The meat was so tender it fell right off the bone. Our favorite part of this meal was definitely the keftedes. They were Greek meatballs with a mandarin glaze that was just absolutely insane in flavor. Such a great random find - I would highly recommend!

Other food recommendations:

I would highly recommend trying a freddo cappuccino - we had one every single day. It’s an iced cappuccino with cold froth and so good! You must go to a bakery and try the cheese pies or spanakopita. You must order tzatziki at every dinner 🙃 maybe that’s just for me… I would also highly recommend going to the grocery store and getting produce for the beach. The cucumbers, tomatoes, cherries are exceptionally tasty here - we got some for every beach day! Also ice cream everyday is a MUST. The ice cream in Greece is just incredible. We went to Aggeliki ice cream shop in Adamas every single night!

If you made it this far - first off I’m impressed because I had a lot to say about Milos but it’s simply because we absolutely loved our time there! Another reason it was one of my favorite islands is because it wasn’t overcrowded with tourists like Santorini or Mykonos. There was only one time where we had to wait for a table at dinner and it was at the most popular restaurant on the island (O!Hamas) and we still got to eat there. If you are someone who love breathtaking views, beaches, delicious Greek cuisine, Milos is the place for you! I know we will certainly be going back someday!