Best Beaches in Milos You Can Only Reach by Boat

Milos claims more than 70 beaches, the most of any Cycladic island. Volcanic minerals paint them white, red, ochre and grey, and the coastline hides arches, caves and coves that look designed by a set decorator. Here is the catch: the very best of them cannot be reached by car at all. The whole western third of the island is roadless, the south coast’s finest coves sit below cliffs, and two of the three islands in the group have no roads to their beaches whatsoever. This is our local guide to the beaches of Milos, Kimolos and Polyaigos that you will only ever see from the deck of a boat, ranked, with times from our base at Agia Kiriaki beach and the boat that gets you to each one.

Why the best beaches are boat-only

Milos is a horseshoe around a huge central gulf, with Adamas at the inner end and our base at Agia Kiriaki on the outer south coast. The eastern half has the airport, the villages, the roads and most of the drive-to beaches. The western half is mountain and mining land with a handful of dirt tracks that stop well short of the coast. Everything on that coast, from the Arkoudes sea stacks at the mouth of the gulf round to Kleftiko on the south-west tip, is reached from the water or not at all.

The south coast is different again: the road runs inland and the beaches sit below cliffs, reached by steep paths, ropes or ladders. From a boat you anchor in the bay and swim in. And then there is Polyaigos, 18 square kilometres of uninhabited island with no roads, no houses and some of the clearest water in the Aegean.

The boat-only beaches of Milos, ranked

1. Kleftiko

The postcard of Milos: white pinnacles, swim-through arches and pirate caves at the island’s south-west tip. No road, no trail to the water, boat only. There is barely a beach, a strip of pebbles, but nobody comes for the sand. Go in the morning for the best light and the calmest sea, and from our base at Agia Kiriaki it is only 20 to 30 minutes by fast boat. Our complete Kleftiko guide covers routes, costs and timing.

2. Sykia cave

Three nautical miles north of Kleftiko, a sea cave whose roof collapsed centuries ago, creating an open-air lagoon with a small pebble beach inside. Sunbeams hit the emerald water through the opening, and small boats can slip right in on a calm day. Always combined with Kleftiko. More in our guide to the sea caves of Milos.

3. Gerakas

On the wild south coast west of Agia Kiriaki: a secluded strip of grey sand beneath crumbling volcanic cliffs striped in ochre and white. Named after the falcons that nest in the cliffs. No path down; by boat you anchor in the bay and usually have it to yourself.

4. Kalogries and the west coast

From Arkoudes, the sea stacks that guard the entrance to Milos bay, the west coast runs south as a sequence of empty coves, red-and-white cliffs and caves. Kalogries is the largest of the coves, a pale beach below a stack of coloured rock. You pass it on the way to Kleftiko; on a calm day it is worth a stop on the way back.

5. Agathia and the inner west

Smaller coves between Kalogries and Arkoudes, 50 to 60 minutes from Agia Kiriaki round the south-west tip, with sand, shallow water and nobody there. A full-day extension of the Kleftiko run on a calm day.

Beaches that are far easier by sea

Tsigrado

Technically reachable on land, if you are happy descending a rope-and-ladder chute through a crack in the cliff, then queueing to climb back up. From the water you anchor in the tiny bay and swim 20 metres to the sand. Next door, Firiplaka, with its long beach and coloured cliffs, looks its dramatic best from the sea too.

Gerontas

A wide bay backed by white cliffs with a natural stone arch standing off its western end. There is a rough track and a steep path on land; from a boat it is the obvious first swim stop, 10 minutes west of Agia Kiriaki on the way to Kleftiko, with deep clear water and rocky walls full of fish. See our guide to snorkeling in Milos.

Papafragas

A narrow inlet on the north coast with a strip of sand at the end and caves on both sides. The path down is steep and the beach vanishes at high tide. From a boat you anchor outside the inlet and swim in.

Polyaigos and Kimolos: the other islands

Blue Bay and Mersini, Polyaigos

The largest uninhabited island of the Aegean sits just east of Kimolos: no houses, no roads, only goats, monk seals in the sea caves, and the clearest water many of our guests have ever swum in. The Blue Bay on the north side is a shallow sandy cove enclosed by pale cliffs; Mersini on the south is the largest beach with good anchoring. Boat only, 15 to 20 minutes from Pollonia or Kimolos, 60 to 75 minutes from Agia Kiriaki. A full day, or a half day with a Pollonia pick-up.

Monastiria, Kimolos

A wild chalk-white cove on the north side of Kimolos, facing the islet of Agios Andreas. On land it is a long walk on a rough track; by boat it is ten minutes from Prassa. Part of our favourite half-day circuit in the Kimolos island guide.

Prassa, Kimolos

Not boat-only, there is a road, but the best way to arrive is to drop anchor on the sand in two metres of electric-blue water over the chalk seabed. The finest white-sand beach in the group.

Map and times from Agia Kiriaki

Times are for the Compass 165cc or 7s in calm conditions; the 30 hp Compass 150cc takes roughly double and should stay on the south coast, with Kleftiko only on a calm morning. Pick-up at Pollonia or Psathi (Kimolos) can be arranged in advance for the north-east routes. Our comparison of half-day vs full-day boat trips turns this table into routes.

Which boat for which beaches

• Compass 150cc (30 hp, 5 people, no licence, 180 € half day): Gerontas, Firiplaka, Tsigrado, Provatas, Paleochori, all minutes from the base, and Kleftiko on a calm morning. Three or four coves in a half day, swim, move on, repeat. The boat most first-timers should rent; see renting a boat in Milos without a licence.
• Compass 165cc (115 hp, 6 people, licence or our skipper, 250 € half day, 450 € full day): Kleftiko and Sykia in a half day, the west coast, Kimolos, Prassa and Monastiria in a full day. The range boat.
• Compass 7s (250 hp, 7 guests, always with our captain, 950 € full day all-inclusive): every beach on this page, including Polyaigos, with someone else handling the anchoring while you swim.

The full comparison is in which boat to rent in Milos.

Drive-to beaches for your no-boat day

Not every day is a boat day, and Milos has superb beaches you can drive to:

• Sarakiniko (north): the white moonscape, with a sheltered inlet for swimming. Go at sunrise or after 6 pm.
• Firopotamos (north): a sheltered cove with syrmata boat garages and calm, clear water, good for children.
• Paleochori (south-east): long beach with coloured cliffs, hot springs bubbling through the sand in the shallows, and a taverna that cooks in the hot volcanic sand.
• Provatas (south): sandy, shallow, family-friendly, with tavernas.
• Plathiena (north-west): a sandy cove near Plaka, the local sunset swim.
• Agia Kiriaki (south): long, sandy, with a beach bar, and home to our floating platform, so you can swim here before or after your boat day.

Our 3, 5 and 7-day Milos itinerary slots these around the boat days.

Practical tips

• Leave early. The meltemi builds through the afternoon from June to September. Be on the sheltered side by 2 pm.
• Anchor on sand. Seagrass (posidonia) meadows are protected and the anchor drags on them anyway.
• No facilities. None of the boat-only beaches have shade, water or toilets. Bring everything; take everything back.
• Fuel. Not included in any rental. The 150cc carries 50 litres, enough for the south coast; a Kleftiko run in the 165cc is a full refuel.
• Season. May to October. June and September give warm sea, settled weather and fewer people.

String them into a day

Pick the Compass 150cc for the south coast coves, the Compass 165cc for Kleftiko or Kimolos, or the Compass 7s for the full run. Contact us with your dates and we will match the beaches to the forecast.

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