Headed to the colorful and beautiful island of Milos soon?
Well, I couldn’t be more excited for you because you are in for a really special treat! I absolutely fell in love with Milos Island and I’m so excited to start off my Greece series with all the tips, adventures, recommendations, and my POV on this unique and charming island. For this Greece series I will begin with all things Milos, then move on to Crete, and finally Athens. I will have a few posts for each location. This first one may not be necessarily the most fascinating post in terms of visuals and adventures but I assure you I will have plenty of stories, tips, and pictures to share of our time in Greece that I believe will be very helpful to many of you! I feel this first little introduction post is necessary and it is informative so I hope it helps you out if you are trying to plan a trip to Greece soon!
Before I begin, let me just preface a little background history on this Greece dream trip of mine. I have many destinations on my bucket list but Greece has been in my top 5 since I was in middle school. I’m sure it’s on most people’s destination wish list with images of Santorini and Mykonos so popular in mainstream media. For me personally I didn’t think I would be able to make the trip happen for a very long time, especially flying from Seattle where tickets were much more expensive then say somewhere like LA, NY, or Boston. Joe surprised me in August of 2017 for my 25th birthday saying he was going to book the tickets for this trip (I bought our accommodations). I was ecstatic and also very worried but with research, saving, dedication, courage to just bite the bullet, and yes I’ll admit a little bit of charging on the credit card (that we made payments on each month and were well paid off before the trip, you know your financial habits and I am regularly able to make payments on my card every month) we were able to make this dream trip happen! The big thing is choosing your destinations in Greece wisely and making sure you know when the best time to go is and will be cheapest to book tickets/rooms but still be able to enjoy pretty good weather and beach time.
We went in mid-May (May 14-May 31) which ended up being absolutely perfect and a time of year I personally highly recommend. It was not crowded at all when we went and it was so quiet and relaxing! I even enjoyed Athens and it was bearable crowd-wise. I’m sure it is insane in July and August! We had a couple overcast days (that were still very hot!) but no rain and the overcast days were great for exploring historical sites that are often times very exposed, it made it tolerable walking around in the hot weather. The temperature was always in the mid to high 80’s (Fahrenheit) and occasionally dropping down to low eighties or mid to high seventies. We had plenty of hot sunny days to swim at all the beaches and go snorkeling and since tourist season is just starting the locals are not burnt out by it all and I felt we were able to really connect with some of them. Rooms were also a lot cheaper and prices overall seemed to be a little cheaper versus going at the heart of tourist season (June-early Sept.). Plane tickets were definitely cheaper and just going a few days into June shot the price up a few hundred dollars for us. We flew with Condor Airlines which has a horrible reputation and although not our favorite airline by any means, overall it was fine enough with not too many hiccups and was worth saving the money. Again this will depend on your own personal preferences when booking. In Germany we connected with Aegean Airlines to Athens which was light years better in comfort and customer service. If you are island hopping you also have to take into account ferry and/or plane tickets. We opted for flying because each island we went to had an airport, so why not save the time and get there quickly (25 minutes to Milos and 40 minutes to Crete from Athens) and also if I remember right when I did my research the ferry tickets were still pretty costly and comparable to plane tickets so we went with flying. Again, the earlier you book the better! We flew with Olympic Air to Milos and RyanAir to Crete. Olympic Air was great and just like with Condor I had heard horror stories about RyanAir but our experience was just fine. I think it had a lot to do with it being a domestic flight versus international and just the more casual atmosphere in the Athens Airport and its staff in general. Booking priority boarding was also worth the extra few bucks.
Lastly, we also skipped Santorini and Mykonos and opted for Milos and Crete instead, as well as a couple days in Athens. I’ll admit it is the images of Santorini that got me interested in Greece but just hearing about all the massive tourist crowds (I have heard some very bad stories of awful tourists) and also Mykonos and Santorini probably being the most expensive islands of them all we just decided to skip it for now and I don’t regret our decision one bit. I loved both islands we chose so much for very different reasons and am so excited to share our adventures with my readers! If you’re interested in Greek culture, the people, the history, the nature and environment, the beaches, and just going to Greece in general I urge you to branch out and check out some other islands, especially lesser known ones where you will get peace and solitude and really get to be close with the locals, customs, and culture. I promise you it’ll still be as beautiful as Santorini or Mykonos, maybe even moreso! And if you are adamant on trying to find those blue and white colors and villages you see in the pictures, pick any Cyclades island, you can’t go wrong! I would love to explore some Dodecanese, Ionian, and even more of the mainland next time! But of course I would love to go back to see a few more of the Cyclades (Sifnos and Naxos are high on my list)! The locals we talked to also really enjoyed that we didn’t go to the popular islands such as Santorini or Mykonos. They thought we made a great choice and many of them wished that more tourists would venture out to other destinations as well. I personally would love to check out Santorini and Mykonos one day soon. Both look like incredibly beautiful islands but for what I was looking for on this trip I wholeheartedly am happy with our decision. Anyways to summarize, don’t be afraid to go off the beaten path and I guarantee you that you’ll be rewarded for your decision greatly!
Proof you can find the blue and white colors on other Cyclades Islands!
You will need a car, quad, or a scooter/motorcycle to get around Milos quickly and cost efficiently. We arranged the rental through our lodging. We are used to riding a scooter but in Europe you need an A1 stamp on your license as well as the International Driver’s Permit (ADP) to rent one. I know some places will rent to you regardless but if you get pulled over you risk a huge fine which we didn’t want to get hit with. So we went with a quad since it has 4 wheels and you can have just a normal license with no stamp and your IDP to drive it. I think the quad was the right call anyways because of the terrain of the island. Our lodging set up the quad rental for us through a company called Apollonas Sunshine located in Adamantas. The quad was in great condition and came with helmets, 3rd party insurance, and road assistance within their service area. They picked us up at the airport and took us to the office for all the paperwork. We also arranged for them to meet us at the airport to pick up the quad before we departed. They were very nice, friendly, and seemed like a very honest and trustworthy business. They gave us a map of the island which was very helpful for us during our stay. It had all the beaches and villages marked on it and they gave us recommendations of where to go and also where their service area ends. Keep in mind that many rental companies will not cover you if you go to the west coast of Milos or east coast (Paliorema). You’re kind of on your own if you go out in that direction and if you get hurt or damage the rental you’re on the hook for all the damages. The company we rented through will come and help you if you get stuck in the “no service” area but for a fee. This wasn’t our first time riding around on rough crazy roads (and in worse weather) so we braved it very carefully but I wouldn’t recommend it if you are not comfortable with it and this is your first time driving a quad or scooter/motorcycle. There will be more information on these rough road destinations in later posts!
Just a small taste of the amazing views you’ll experience cruisin’ around the roads of Milos
It’s important to note I’m not a budget backpacker or someone able to travel all the time for months at a time and because of that might go cheaper with their rooms due to the length of their stays and travels. Obviously I’m not a popular blogger who gets sponsored luxury trips either haha, or someone with a great deal of money. Instead, at least at this point in my life, I normally take one or two big vacations a year and maybe a few smaller 3-day weekend style trips close to home or in the U.S. so I would consider myself an affordable to moderate budget traveler. I splurge more than a budget traveler but I’m definitely not high-end/high maintenance, I guess you can say I’m average in my spending? Lower middle class, haha? That being said I love the places we make our homebase at to be comfortable, clean, UNIQUE, feel somewhat private, and beautiful of course but also cost-efficient. I like getting a feel of local life as well. I don’t really like your typical run-of-the mill hotels unless I have to stay at one for a night or two out of convenience. So I’m moderate priced for my homebase and then we try to stay cheap(ish) with our everyday living (food, drinks, gas, activities, shopping, etc.) of course splurging every now and then because after all it is vacation for us! With all that being said, we stayed at Lithos Luxury Rooms on the island and I HIGHLY recommend this beautiful lodging! I will say in my research of places to stay at on Milos it’s really hard to go wrong. There are several wonderful, beautiful, and affordable places to stay at but I do recommend booking EARLY! Milos is not super huge or as heavily trafficked as other islands so lodging can book up very quickly. We booked in September (8 months in advance) and I’m so glad we did. Even at that time a lot of other places were full for May and it’s not even popular tourist season yet! I had 3 choices I narrowed it down to and we ended up going with this wonderful place. First of all the location is great, it is located in Adamantas but above the port up a dirt road so you get peace, quiet, and a wonderful view of the Aegean sea and the white washed homes down below but you are still very centrally located on the island and the port is just 7 minutes away with a lot of restaurants, shops, and boating tours at your disposal. There is also a mid-sized supermarket right down the road which we stopped at often and it is very close to Sarakiniko, Plaka, and Tripiti. Pollonia is also easy to get to as well as many other little villages, historical sites, and beaches. We also loved how private the lodging felt as you can see from these little detached structures and everything feels brand new since it recently opened up in 2017. We rented a seaview suite right there on the corner by the pool which you will see in the pictures to follow. There was a room connected to it but we could really only hear them occasionally when we were both in the bathroom. I never had trouble sleeping and the bed and room were super comfortable and beautifully decorated. It had that minimalist, crisp, fresh, bright white modern look going on that you expect from Greece or the mediterranean. I also enjoyed the cool cave looking shower with its rainfall showerhead. You get cleaning service every single day which was great, especially when it comes to emptying the trash out since you can’t flush the toilet paper down the toilet! At our other 2 places we stayed at there was no cleaning service every day but every few days and so I realized quickly how much I took that everyday cleaning for granted when the bathroom trash filled up! There is also a safe in the room for your belongings, excellent A/C, and of course Wi-Fi.
The grounds were lovely with a beautiful sparkling pool and plenty of loungers and tables to relax at. We unfortunately didn’t really spend any time here because we were so on the go! That’s my biggest regret of the whole trip haha and also because of this we didn’t get many photos here. The view was incredible from the common area as well as our back patio. It was a real treat to drink wine on the patio at night and look at the twinkling lights of the villages below us as well as wake up to the view of the gorgeous Aegean sea from out of the window. The staff were also so incredibly friendly and welcoming! It is a family owned boutique lodging and they definitely take pride in their grounds and their hospitality. We felt so welcomed before we even arrived to the place as they were so great at communicating and keeping in touch through email giving us all the help we could need before even arriving on the island. You also get free traditional Greek breakfast every morning and it was so delicious with many unique treats to try! The older woman Eleni cooks the breakfast and the food is incredible and made with love. It was great fuel for our day and something we looked forward to every morning. We booked our stay through Booking.com and paid approximately 384 Euros ($463 USD according to my credit card charge at the time) total for 5 nights! Pretty good deal in my book for a nice place in Greece. I believe the rates are much more expensive from mid June-September. I did a test run on Booking.com and it was hard to even find available dates but the one night I found in July was about $257 USD, $223 USD in August, and $164 USD in September…for one night! Like I said before, if you want affordability in Greece try another time of year other than peak tourist season. Timing is everything! Anyways, Lithos Luxury Rooms, if you’re reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH for making our stay absolutely incredible! I wish you continued success in the years to come! Here are a few links and some photos of this gorgeous place and I wish I had taken more (and better) snaps! Check out their website for better pictures and just know that the pictures are a true representation!
https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/lithos-luxury-rooms.html
https://www.facebook.com/lithosluxuryroomsmilos/
Afternoon sunshine. Our sea view suite across the way.
Early morning
Where breakfast is normally set-up
When we checked in around 11 they still had a few things left for us to eat! Normally there is a lot more treats though!
Living my best life? lol
Well that’s all for now in this introduction to my Greece series! I know it wasn’t the most thrilling post and visually didn’t have much going for it either but hopefully it helped you at least a little and I promise they’ll only get better! I have so many stories and tips to share and a plethora of amazing pictures as well! I hope you enjoy reading this series and that it helps you with your future Greece travels! Next up I’ll be writing about all the wonderful beaches and swimming spots we visited on Milos island and which ones I highly recommend. I’ll link it on this post once it’s published as well for your convenience! Before I part, I want to know, have you been to Milos? What’s your favorite destination in Greece? Let me know in the comments!
Until next time,
Kelsie