Milos

Why Milos:

My wife Maisie and I were in Greece for the wedding of her best friend, Athena. While the wedding itself was near Athens, about half of the attendees (including the couple) continued the celebration on the island of Milos. There were no official activities planned, but a rowdy group chat meant that this was going to be a spur of the moment trip. 

While Greece has numerous different island groupings, the Cyclades is far and away the most popular and includes perennial global hotspots Mykonos and Santorini. Milos traditionally had a reputation for being popular with Greek tourists (who did not have the spending power of the foreigners). However, shifting global tourism trends and the 2021 Dior fashion shoot helped propel Milos to worldwide fame. It is by no means an overcrowded tourist trap but at the same time is most definitely “on the radar”. 

October 4, 2024: The Greek Ferry Experience

The day after the wedding, Athena and her husband Chris organized a beach recovery day south of Athens in the town of Glyfada. From there, Maisie and I hailed an Uber to take up to Piraeus, the port of Athens. 

Piraeus is one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean and is the primary gateway to the Greek islands. As a result, it is crazy. The ferry gates are stationed around a large inlet and are generally organized by your destination i.e. the Santorini boats all leave from the same gate. Our Milos-bound boat was just stopping in Milos en-route to Crete, so we had to go to the Crete gate. 

Once there, we discovered that our “ferry” was in fact a retired cruise ship. We pushed through the crowds to board the nine-level boat! There are smaller, faster catamaran ferries but they are double the price and do not fare as well in rough seas. 

The boat departed on time at 21:00. Our journey to Milos was scheduled to take four hours. The boat would then stop in Milos for an hour before completing the overnight journey to Crete. Every seat was taken and there were even people sprawled out on the floor. Perhaps this was because our ferry was after work on Friday. Luckily, we found a hidden old discotheque on the ninth floor with room for everybody in our group. 

With the space secured, I decided to wander the ship. The first five levels were all cargo and car storage. The sixth level contained the main seating area and some shops. The seventh level contained private cabins that you could rent. The eighth floor contained an outdoor pool which sadly was drained. 

Eventually, I discovered a full-service white tablecloth restaurant on the sixth level. The prices were very reasonable about 60% what I had been paying for in restaurants in Vouliagmeni. I ordered a Cretan pasta called Skioufihta and some wine for €14 all in. The experience felt very civilized. 

At 01:00, the boat arrived at Milos on time. The ride overall was very smooth. After disembarking, I found the office for the rental car company. For some reason, they did not have my reservation. It took 90 minutes, but the staff was able to find a car for me and they honored the price in the email correspondence. I then drove the 10 minutes to the Airbnb rental on the south side of the island. By the time we went to bed, it was 03:00. 

October 5, 2024: Beach Day

After waking up, Maisie and I befriended the six cats who were living outside our Airbnb. Greece has semi-wild cats all over the country and they are all so cute!

Maisie and I then drove to Tsigrado Beach. The beach is accessed by a short hiking trail down a steep and dusty canyon followed by descending a wooden ladder. 

At the bottom of the ladder is a pint-sized beach surrounded by cliffs. While the TikToks call the water crystal clear, the water was in fact an ugly gray due to the algae. After 10 minutes of hanging out here, we left.  

Then we headed with the big group to Sarakiniko Beach on the north side of the island. Sarakiniko is Milos’s top attraction. Here, the lunar white rocks hit the water in an otherworldly scene. Since there is no sand, I am not sure whether it can technically be called a beach, but I liked this setup more because there was no sand to get stuck in places. 

Sarakiniko has cliff jumping and sea caves. We had a blast playing in the warm Aegean waters. Everybody was having a great time here. Interestingly, Athena, Chris and Maisie visited this beach a couple years ago during the summer and said that the water was warmer in October! 

After heading back to our Airbnb to freshen up, and pregaming at Chris and Athena’s Airbnb (located a few minutes away), we headed back to the north coast for dinner at Medusa. This restaurant is apparently so good that Justin Bieber posted about it on his Instagram – yes a hard post. Maisie made the reservation yesterday for 30 people. The restaurant was able to accommodate us because it is the shoulder season. That said, the restaurant was full. 

Given its seaside location, the specialty was seafood – specifically the octopus sun dried on cloth lines hanging below the tables. The other standout dishes were the fried calamari (best of my life), the baked eel, and the fried cheese. This will be remembered as one of the most delicious meals of my life and at only €25/person, it was a great bargain. The Biebs was right. 

October 6, 2024: Five Star Review

Another day another beach. This time the group all headed to Fyriplaka, a large sandy crescent-shaped beach on the south shore of the island. Chris and I body surfed the waves while Maisie and most of the crew relaxed on the sand. 

For lunch, Maisie and I went to O! Hamos!, a traditional Greek taverna that specializes on local dishes. The highlight was a lamb baked in wax paper with cheese. It was so tender!

I then dropped Maisie off at another beach while I did some exploring on my own. 

My first stop was the ancient theater. While small, it is apparently the best preserved in all the Cyclades. The Venus de Milo statue, a centerpiece of the Louvre, was found here. 

I then drove down to the fishing village of Klima where my friends Nicole and Danny had rented out a tiny fishing hut on Airbnb. It was so cute!

I then met up with the big group in the town of Plaka, the island’s capital. Situated at the top of a huge hill, historic Plaka has exclusively white buildings and is a maze of narrow alleyways. We had congregated at Utopia, a cocktail bar, to watch the sunset. The drinks, company and scenery were epic. 

Utopia cleared out after sunset. Chris then texted the group that he had found a restaurant in town called Archontoula that would accept our party of 30. The Greeks really seem to make it happen! Apparently, the conversation went like this:

Restaurant Host: Table for 2?

Chris: No, 30. 

Restaurant Host: 13? No problem.

Chris: No, 30. 

Restaurant Host: 30? Yes. No problem. 

The food was fine, but I was impressed how a single server was able to control our rowdy table. 

While eating, Chris was able to hack the speakers to play dance music. This got the staff excited who brought us free shots of ouzo (an anise-flavored Greek liquor). The staff took shots with us. 

The staff then asked if we wanted to learn Greek dancing. After standing up, we all locked arms and – sort of – kicked in the air together. No matter, good enough. 

We were then led from our private dining room into the main restaurant which was cleared out for us. We formed a circle and started kicking in the air as traditional Greek music blasted through the restaurant’s surprisingly powerful sound system. As we rotated the circle, the staff threw confetti and torn up paper menus in the air. A waitress manually flickered the lights on and off.

The dancing got rowdier and rowdier as the music got more techno. The crowd lifted Athena up into a chair and the staff gave her a plate to smash. Then Chris was lifted into a chair. By the end of the song, tourists from the street had joined in too. Chaos!

The music then shifted to Mamma Mia by ABBA. We formed a conga line, and the staff poured shots of ouzo into everybody’s mouths. Could this be any more of a Greek fantasy?! 

The dancing went on for another 5 songs of ABBA and modern Greek pop before the staff shut it down. We had successfully started a spontaneous dance party and trashed the restaurant. The staff had apparently tried all summer to make this happen but every time the tourists would sit down after the first song.  

We gave the staff a large tip before dipping and leaving 5-star Google reviews (per their request). There was no way the night could get any better, so we all headed home. 

The next day, we had a lazy morning before heading to the airport to fly to Athens and start the road trip around the Greek mainland. 

Final Thoughts:

Traveling with a group of 30 and no plan was risky but ended up being a huge success. This worked because 1) nobody had any expectations and 2) we were there in October when the crowds were gone. The highlight of the weekend (and honestly my entire time in Greece) was the dance party at the restaurant in Plaka. 

While I had no expectations and did not look much up, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of attractions on Milos. The beaches – which are all so different – were the top sights, but there are plenty of historical sights too in and around Plaka. 

The food was also stellar and of high quality. Medusa was one of my top meals ever. O! Hamos! was one of the best and most interesting Greek taverna meals of the trip. Maisie and Athena tell me that there are many other quality restaurants on the island. 

Like everywhere in Greece, English is widely spoken. I had no trouble communicating or getting around. 

Milos is noticeably more expensive than mainland Greece but is still affordable by Western standards. The car was €35/day, our Airbnb was €40/person/day and the big group meals were €25-30/person including drinks. 

Finally, October was the ideal time to be on Milos. The island was considerably less crowded than the summer which meant there was space at restaurants and in parking lots for the beaches. Reservations were not needed anywhere. Additionally, the weather was perfect – around 30C/85F. 

If you are planning a Greek island vacation and want something a little less touristy, Milos is a perfect pick.