Tsigrado Beach, Milos: The Ladder, the Boat Way In and What to Expect

Tsigrado is the beach everyone has seen on a reel: a slot of turquoise water between white cliffs, reached by squeezing down a crack in the rock on two wooden ladders and a rope. It is tiny, it is beautiful, and the descent stops a lot of people at the top. What the videos rarely mention is that Tsigrado sits on the south coast of Milos, five to ten minutes by boat from our base at Agia Kiriaki, and from the water you simply drop anchor and swim in. This guide covers both ways in, honestly.

Where Tsigrado is and why it looks like that

Tsigrado lies on the southern coast of Milos, roughly 11 km from Adamas by road, tucked into the cliffs immediately east of Firiplaka beach. Milos is a volcanic island, and this stretch of coast is made of soft white and cream tuff that the sea has carved into overhangs, small caves and one very narrow gully. The gully is Tsigrado’s front door. At the bottom of it the cliffs open into a small pocket of fine sand with water that shades from pale green at the shore to deep blue beyond the rocks. Because the cove is enclosed on three sides, the sea inside is usually flat even when the north coast is white with meltemi.

Getting there by land: parking, path and ladder

From Adamas, follow the road south towards Provatas and Firiplaka; the turn for Tsigrado is signposted just past Firiplaka and ends at a dirt parking area on top of the cliff. From the car park it is about a five-minute walk to the edge.

The descent is the famous part. A crack in the cliff, barely a shoulder wide in places, drops to the beach in three stages: a short wooden ladder, a steeper second ladder, and a rope for the last few metres of sloping rock. It takes most people two to four minutes going down and a little longer coming up. In practice:

• Wear shoes with grip, not flip-flops, and keep both hands free. A small backpack is fine, a cool box is not.
• It is one way at a time. In July and August a queue builds at the top by late morning and the wait can be longer than the climb.
• Skip it with small children, with anyone unsteady on ladders, or after rain when the rock is slick.
• There is nothing at the bottom: no bar, no sunbeds, no shade until the sun is high. Carry down everything you need and carry it back up.

The drive from Adamas takes about 20 minutes; the last stretch is a rough track that an ATV or small 4×4 handles better than a city car.

Getting there by boat: the easy way

From the water, Tsigrado is just a pretty cove. Our boats leave from the floating platform at Agia Kiriaki on the south coast, and Tsigrado is the second or third stop east: five to ten minutes at a relaxed speed, past Provatas and the coloured cliffs of Firiplaka. You anchor a few boat lengths off the sand in clear water, swim or wade in, and have the beach without touching a ladder.

Any of our three boats does it:

• Compass 150cc, 30 hp, up to 5 people, no licence needed: 180 € for a half day, 250 € for a full day. The natural choice for the south coast coves. Read more in renting a boat in Milos without a licence.
• Compass 165cc, 115 hp, up to 6 people, boat licence or one of our skippers: 250 € and 450 €. Adds Kleftiko in 20 to 30 minutes for the same day.
• Compass 7s, 250 hp, up to 7 passengers, always with our captain, all inclusive: 550 € and 950 €.

Fuel is extra on the self-drive boats. We brief every crew on the coast before departure, including where to anchor at Tsigrado so the boat sits clear of the swimmers. For the full comparison see which boat to rent in Milos.

The boat also solves the two things the land route cannot: you are not limited to what you can carry down a ladder, and when the cove fills up at midday you move on to Gerontas or Kleftiko instead of queuing to leave.

What the beach is like

Tsigrado is small. On a quiet morning it feels like a private pool; by 13:00 in August it can hold more towels than sand. The bottom is fine sand near the shore with rocks and small overhangs on both sides, which is where the snorkelling is: sea bream and wrasse in the shallows, and light shafts under the ledges. Bring a mask, it is one of the better spots on the south coast and appears in our guide to snorkelling in Milos. The water stays calm in almost any wind except a direct southerly.

There are no facilities of any kind. The nearest tavernas and parking with shade are at Firiplaka and Provatas, a few minutes west.

Best time of day and wind

The cliffs are high, so the sand is in shade until mid-morning and again from late afternoon. For photographs and the clearest water, arrive early. By boat that means leaving Agia Kiriaki at 09:00 and having Tsigrado to yourselves before the first ladder groups appear.

Wind matters more than the calendar. When the meltemi blows from the north, which is most July and August afternoons, the north coast beaches close down and the south coast, Tsigrado included, stays flat and swimmable. On the rarer days of a southerly, swell enters the cove and the beach loses its charm; that is the day to go north instead. Our best time to visit Milos guide covers the months and the wind pattern in detail.

Firiplaka, Provatas and the rest of the south coast

Tsigrado is one beach on a coast full of them, all within 15 minutes of Agia Kiriaki by boat:

• Firiplaka, next door to the west: a long strip of pale sand under red, ochre and white cliffs, with a beach bar and sunbeds. Busier than Tsigrado but with far more room.
• Provatas: sandy, shallow and family-friendly, with tavernas, just east of our base.
• Gerontas, ten minutes west: a wild cove with a natural rock arch and the best snorkelling on this coast, reached far more easily by boat than by the rough track.
• Paleochori, 10 to 15 minutes east: a long beach with hot springs bubbling through the sand and tavernas on the shore.

For the whole coastline in one place, see Milos beaches by boat, and for the west end, the white arches and caves of Kleftiko and the sea caves of Milos.

A half day built around Tsigrado

A typical morning slot, 09:00 to 14:00, in the no-licence Compass 150cc:

In the Compass 165cc or the skippered 7s, the same morning stretches to Kleftiko and Sykia after Gerontas. Half-day versus full-day timings for every route are in Milos boat trips: half day vs full day, and the three ways to see the coast are compared in our guide to Milos boat tours.

What to bring

• Water and snacks: there is nothing to buy at Tsigrado.
• Hat and reef-safe sunscreen; shade only exists under the cliffs early and late.
• Mask and snorkel, or use the gear on board the Compass 7s.
• Swim shoes for the rocks at the edges of the cove.
• By land: shoes with grip and a small backpack only. By boat: whatever fits, including the cool box.

Ready to see Tsigrado from the water? Tell us your date and group size and we will match you to a boat. See our Milos boat tours and prices, or contact us.

FAQs