Day 1-Athens/Milos
We took an early evening flight out of Athens. We decided to fly because it was much quicker. I don’t think the flight was even 45 minutes from take off to landing. HOWEVER…………………We flew Olympic Air. The boarding of the plane took a while so we landed late. We managed to get our rental car and checked into our AirBnB before dark but it was a late dinner and night after all. Our Airbnb host suggested a a few restaurants, including O! Hamos! but we couldn’t find it (I know it sounds silly but I guess it wasn’t lit up?) so we ended up having dinner at mikros Apoplous. It was so late we weren’t able to get a table by the water but that’s okay, our kitten company was across the main road. We had an amazing array of appetizers including Bruschetta with Stingray and Baked Feta sticks with Jam.
We had a solid two days to play in Milos. If I could do it again in a short period of time, I would have added one more day. to visit Kleftiko, which has to be accessed by boat. We thought about taking a charter boat tour out but it would have been a full day affair. However, if I could come back longer or often, I would come back annually with the family and stay in Pollonia. It just seems like a great place to make memories.
Sarakiniko Beach
As you can tell by now, I liked Milos. There is some sightseeing to be done but this was the island part of the trip, and I am going to call DAY 1- Rocky Beach Day. We visited 3 beaches. The first one, the most popular beach, was Sarakiniko Beach. This is the moon beach and it was has something for everyone. There is a sandy beach where little ones could ease it it. On the other side the rock cliff jumping for the adventurous. For solid swimmers you can go out and swim around the rocks in the cool, clear, deep blue. I didn’t see a lot of fish but I also didn’t see sharks. This may sound ridiculous but I live in Florida where there are plenty of sharks and the water is warm. If you generally don’t swim out in the deep, the water is mostly calm when you go out but stay clear of the rocks where you can get banged up. I think this was my favorite beach in Milos but not my favorite chill beach. It was beautiful.
Mandrakia
I read that Papafragas was badly littered so I opted for this Mandrakia. When we came in we stopped to our left to check out Tourkothalassa beach which from afar looked gorgeous but turns out was littered. Mandrakia, Μανδράκια is the town on your right. Cute little fishing town. Medusa, the restaurant here, is supposed to be really good, but we didn’t stop here long enough to eat. We did take a quick dip in the water below where I could of swore there was some warm spring spots and checked out the small church before heading off. I didn’t really see a place where people were swimming so we made our own.
Firopotamos
Our final beach for the day was Firopotamos Φυροπόταμος. This is a great spot to walk in and swim. The water is calm. Not as clear near the shore but beautiful out in the deep. We took the opportunity to swim far out to the left near a hole in the rock. It was a shrine/cave of sorts. The sand was rocky but not unbearable with some towels. There are a few trees but it does feel up quickly so take an umbrella if you want to stay out of the sun. In the small fishing “town” a lot of people were taking the opportunity to get their professional photos in. There’s a jumping spot off a high dock. The Church of Agios Nikolaos is here. It’s a beautiful church from the outside. It was closed when we were there though. And of course a neat treat here is a temple door but I apologize, I don’t remember its name. Finally, make sure your vehicle has decent power and tires to get up the parking lot hill. All of the cars I witnessed, including our own, had to start back to gain momentum to get up the hill when leaving.
After a clean up we took a drive up to Polonia/Pollonia and had dinner by the water at Enalion. My favorite main dish on Milos and maybe my favorite main in Greece was here. It was the Octopus. It was my one Octopus try in Greece and it did not disappoint. But it wasn’t the only good thing there. The fried goats cheese and the variety of local goats cheese were also fantastic. The squid was good too but everyone agreed my dish was the best 🙂
Day 2- Milos continued….
On day 2 we were eager to find a sandy spot to just swim and soak in the sun. Our first stop was just that- Agia Kiriaki Beach. It was blazing hot and the sun was burning our feet. There is not much shade which is fine because I needed an excuse to rent a sandbag under a umbrella! Best 12Euro of the trip spent. To the left of the chairs and sand chairs is a bar. But have plenty of cash because both are cash only. We could stayed here all day. Most relaxing beach by far. Great for the young and older. And when you are ready to eat head over to Thalassopetra restaurant and tavern. Their signature salad with anchovies is amazing, especially that homemade dressing.
Paleo Hori
Paleo Hori is your volcanic beach. The rocks on this beach are amazing. Such a variety of volcanic rock with a stunning sulfuric backdrop. Grab your boogie boards and closed water shoes. The water is more choppy and those pebbles can be painful. If you go down a little further you can find some beautiful spots without having to pay for a chair but if you want to be served yummy drinks under an umbrella, this is the place to do it. Just not cheap.
Final meal we went back to mikros Apoplous because O! Hamos! was too crowded and we just wanted to eat. This time we got a nice spot by the water. Two of us had the seafood linguini and Mousaka respectively. Ours was very good but I think their appetizers/starters are better than their mains. I only tasted the mousaka but I think it was the best of the mains. My son wanted to try the sea urchin linguini. He was okay with it. It’s an acquired taste, I think.
The next morning we were up early to catch a ferry to Naxos. At the time, we were hearing reports of massive COVID-19 outbreaks in Mykonos. I didn’t think to check whether our ferry stopped at Mykonos on our way to Naxos but it did. Thankfully, I don’t know who this guy was, but one of the ferry employees walked around the whole ferry ride and ensured people were wearing their masks. And he would stand by them and wait until they put their mask on. Barely anyone was on the ferry when we left but it was packed by the time we got off. The ferry itself was a lot more comfortable than the plane. I will say though that when we arrived in Naxos, the line of people waiting to board in the blazing sun was crazy. It looked miserable.
Check back soon to read more about Naxos, Greece’s largest island in the Cyclades, and a great one!
TigerlillyMama 