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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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Milos Beach Photos
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Firopotamos
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Firopotamos
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Paleohori
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Paleohori
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Papafragas
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Papikinou Beach (Adamas)
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Plathiena Beach
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Pollonia
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Pollonia
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Sarakiniko
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Sarakiniko
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Sarakiniko
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Sarakiniko
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Sarakiniko
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Provatas
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Sarakiniko
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