Milos Greece: 12 Beautiful Destinations Accessible by Land

Milos is the “Greatest Hits” of the Greek Islands when it comes to natural beauty and diversity of landscapes. It is a volcanic island and lies within the same volcanic arc as the island of Santorini. Whilst some of its beautiful locations, including Kleftiko, are only accessible by sea, there are enough stunning sites accessible by land to keep you occupied for at least 2 days. 

We spent 2 days exploring Milos with an ATV. The first day was spent exploring the north and northeast areas of the island, and the second day the southeast and southern parts. It’s worth noting that most of the west side of the island is not accessible by road due to poor infrastructure. Whilst you can also hire a car on Milos, many of the roads to the less accessibly places are actually made of dirt/rock and rental car companies won’t allow you to drive on these unsealed roads. If you do damage a car on these roads you will not be covered by insurance. 

1. Voudia Beach

Voudia Beach is not mentioned on any travel websites. In fact, we just stumbled across it and it happened to be our favourite beach of all! When we visited there were no other people on this long stretch of white pebble and pink-sand beach. The backdrop of the beach is actually a perlite processing plant, which we thought was extremely cool. Heading north to south, the entrance to the beach is an unmarked side road off the main road.

2. Paliochori Beach

Paliochori Beach was our favourite beach for swimming on Milos due to its beautiful long stretch of beach, calm crystal-clear water and colourful rocks. After reaching the shore, head left and find a spot in front of the amazing colourful rock wall to spend a lazy afternoon. If you want to avoid the crowds, you swim past or walk over the rocks at the far left of the beach to reach a second, less populated stretch of sand. Some restaurants at Paliochori offer “volcanic food” cooked in sand, which we did not try because we lived solely off pita wraps for several days. 

3. Papafragas Caves & Beach

Papafragas was our favourite non-classic sandy beach location in Milos, and we definitely preferred it over Sarakiniko. Heading from east to west on the main ring road of the island, there are two parts of this area to explore. First there is an easily accessible area with amazing rock formations and a beautiful cove to swim in. If you walk (or drive) about 100m further east, you will find a second beach that can be reached if you chose to ignore the signs that read: “Warning! Dangerous cliffs keep away” and walk down the cliffside. Alternatively you can swim into this second beach from a cave entrance. 

4. Thiorichio Beach

Thiorichio Beach is dream for explorers and photographers. As if Milos didn’t have enough unique sites, here you will find an old sulphur mine on a hillside overlooking yet another stunning beach. The road leading to Thiorichio Beach is rocky, steep and narrow in some locations so this is another situation where we would definitely recommend an ATV or motorbike over a car. 

5. Tsigrado Beach

This little beach is located close to Fyriplakia beach on the south of the island.  To reach it you need to ditch your transport on the top of the hill and scramble down a rope and ladder. After parking our ATV at the top of the hill, we followed our instincts and walked down the rocks on the opposite side of Tsigrado beach, where we were met with some amazing views of the ocean and the bluest water we’ve ever seen. Shade comes over Tsigrado in the late afternoon, but the nearby Fyriplakia Beach is full of sunshine until the evening. 

6. Fyriplaka Beach

Located at the south of the island, Fyriplaka is a very long stretch of beach with beautiful, shallow water extending for metres out into the ocean. Here you can also rent stand up paddle boards, kayaks and pedal boats. The best part of this beach is that it has sunshine right until the end of the day. 

7. Pollonia 

Pollonia is Milos’ sleepy town on the northeast of the island. We absolutely loved the charm of this small town, which had a beautiful bay with calm crystal-clear water for swimming. There are also several restaurants abutting the water where you can enjoy a rather pricey seafood lunch, or in our case a cheap and tasty souvlaki pita. Pollonia is a great place for families to stay. 

8. Sarakiniko Beach

Sarakiniko is one of Milos’ iconic beaches and is easily recognisable due to the grey-white rock that makes it look like the moon. Not much explanation is needed here: it’s a must visit location in Milos. If you keep heading west and up the rocks you can reach some excellent lookout points, as well as less populated areas where you can swim in sea caves, dive into the ocean or sit precariously on the edge of a cliff. 

• 

• 

• 

9. Firopotamos Beach

This small cove is mostly about the cute fishing houses that encircle it, making for excellent photographs. Once you reach the beach you must also head right and walk up the hill to reach the old ruins.

10. Plaka 

Plaka is a must visit destination for sunset. Sunsets in Greece are generally amazing, and Milos is no exception. The town of Plaka is perched up on a mountain, making it a great place to view the sunset. The old town of Kastro, surrounded by castle walls, can be reached by walking further uphill and has an amazing view over Plaka and the gulf of Milos. We recommend arriving at least 30 minutes before sunset if you plan on taking photographs, so that you have enough time to find a park, walk up to the castle and set up your photography equipment. Plaka is a very cute town with many restaurants and we spent about half an hour walking through the streets and taking photos after the sun dipped below the horizon.

11. Kastanas Beach

Kastanas Beach is a nudist beach located at the northeast of the island. The road to Kastanas is mostly rock and dirt, with a fair few hills, and whilst you can reach it by car it is much easier with an ATV or motorbike. After turning left at the rusty car, be sure to continue straight all the way to the beach. There are many possible left and right turns that you can take along the road….don’t take them!

When we visited there were only four other people at Kastanas Beach; perhaps because it is less accessible than the other beaches. Shade comes over the beach in the late afternoon (4pm in early June to be precise), so it’s best to avoid visiting at that time. 

12. Quarry 

If you’re looking for something a little bit different on Milos, this quarry is close to Papagragas Beach and worth the short detour, in our opinion. Visiting the quarry is at your own risk, you will need to ignore the “Do Not Enter” warning signs. The coordinates are (36.738992,24.494863) and can be entered into Google Maps. 

Milos by Boat

We spent one day exploring the west side of Milos by yacht, which we absolutely recommend. 

A Note About Hiring ATVs

We hired a 180cc quad bike for 25 EUR per day and it was powerful enough to reach all of the above-mentioned places. If you are going to hire an ATV in Milos, ensure you are aware of the risks. Most travel insurance policies will not cover your medical expenses or the cost of repairing the ATV if you have an accident. Even though third-party liability insurance is included in the cost of the ATV hire, there is no option to purchase insurance that covers the cost of damages to your ATV. Drive responsibly and be aware of other drivers on the road. Try to get a helmet with a visor as well; when we were on Paros we were given helmets without visors. One late afternoon I was hit in the face by a giant moth at what felt like 100km/hr and ended up swerving on the other side of the road!