Greek Islands – Milos, Kimolos, Serifos

I’m clearly on an island roll. First I was out in the Indian Ocean from Australia at Christmas Island and then the Cocos Keeling Islands. That was followed by a short visit to Hong Kong and a walk on Sharp Island. Next I travelled by train and ferry to the Orkney Islands and had a very interesting visit, first to Mainland and then to several outer islands.

Next stop, a Greek islands circuit with travel companion Nick Varian, we went to Hydra – Leonard Cohen, So Long Marianne, Charmian Clift – last year so why not some more Greek Islands in 2026? That idea went wrong immediately, the ferry we’d planned to take to Folegandros was not running due to bad weather so we ended up with an extra day at the Athens port of Piraeus. Which was much more interesting than we expected – next blog.

▲ Finally we set out on Seajet’s Champion Jet 3. I was pleased to see Seajet’s high-speed catamarans – cruising speed 39knots – were made by Australia’s high-speed catamaran manufacturer Incat in Tasmania.

▲ I was also pleased to see that Greek islands travel is just like it was when Maureen and I spent a month visiting assorted islands with our teenagers – at the time – back in 1996. As you got off the ferry a crowd of islanders lined up to greet you. In 1996 they would be holding up cards showing what fine accommodation they had to offer. Today it’s more likely to be your name since you have prebooked online.

▲ But arriving and departing it’s the same story – you rush to disembark as passengers are crowding up to embark. There’s no time to waste whether you’re on foot or with a car or motorcycle. This was the arriving and departing scene from Adamas on Milos Island, our first Greek island.

▲ Mining Museum – Adamas

We stayed at Hotel Dionysis in the port of Adamas on Milos Island, where the Mining Museum tells the story of the island’s long mining history, starting with obsidian in antiquity.

▲ From our sea-level hotel we took the bus up to Plaka and climbed up past the Panagia Thalassitra church to the castle ruins which overlook the town and most of the island.

◄ In Plaka we encountered the island’s most famous resident, better known as the Paris Louvre’s Venus de Milo. More correctly she’s the Aphrodite of Milos since this is where she was found. Naturally there’s a campaign to bring her home. Nick is standing beside a reproduction of the original statue at the Archaeological Museum of Milos. There’s another reproduction of the island’s best known beauty close to where she was found, beside the road …

▲ … which runs down to the island’s ancient theatre.

▲ From the theatre you can continue downhill to the ancient burial catacombs.

▲ And then down to Klima on the coast.

▲ Klima is known for its colour sirma, downstairs you swing the door open to park your fishing boat, upstairs are the living quarters. Today many of them are being repurposed for tourist accommodation.

We spent a day on a catamaran circuit of Milos, departing Adamas around 10am and returning at 8pm. The island is dotted with beaches and bays, many of which are difficult or even near impossible to reach by land.

▲ We pulled in to Kalogries and then the Kleftiko Arches, south coast of Milos. At each location we dropped anchor and went swimming.

▲ Along the south coast we paused at Panagiota Kyrimlidou …

▲ and Gerakas Beach towards the south-east corner of the island.

▲ And then crossed the strait to the deep blue waters of Galazia Nera (that’s how the name translates) on the neighbouring island of Poliegos which is either uninhabited or has just one resident.

▲ Finally we squeezed between Milos and Kimolos and approached Adamas, passing the Adamas lighhouse just as the sun was setting. The previous evening we’d walked out of the town, along Lagada Beach and up to the lighthouse.

▲ Church of St John Chrysostom, Chorio, Kimolos

It’s only a short ferry trip from Pollonia, on the north-east corner of Milos, to the neighbouring island of Kimolos. We landed at Psathi, the Kimolos harbour, and walked up the hill to Chorio, the island’s main town. There we walked by churches, the archaeological museum, the maritime & folk museum and they were all closed, which seemed to be the ongoing story for our slightly-out-of-season visit to these islands. The Chapel of Agia Methodia is the big one, the tiny Church of the Birth of Christ within the castle ruins is the oldest in the town, dating from 1592. There’s also the interesting looking, but of course it’s locked up too, Church of St John Chrysostom.

From Milos the speedy Champion Jet 3 whisked us back towards Piraeus, stopping en route at Sifnos and then Serifos where we stayed at the hilltop Cliff House in Pano Chora, looking down on the port of Livadi. From the bus stop, car park and square it was 65 steep steps uphill to our accommodation. The steps seemed to get steeper and harder work every time we climbed them.

▲ we dined at Marathoriza

◄ But did not breakfast in this establishment, beside the Agios Athenasios church on the Ano Chora square and just a few steps from the Cliff House. Well they say death and taxes are the two things certain in life although I’m intrigued why the tax-connected-closure should be proclaimed in English? From the square you can climb up to the small chapel of Agios Konstantinos (St Constantine) close to the top of the town.

▲ Driving around the island there were assorted beaches to check out including at Mega Livadi, which was a former mining port, with the remains of a jetty still evident, a sign warning of parking congestion in the season and two Americans who complain (in a friendly fashion) that we’ve just doubled the town’s tourist population when we stop for a beer. From Mega Livadi we drove on to the White Tower (Aspros Pyrgos), probably the most interesting ancient edifice on the island and yet remarkably unpromoted. It was built of white marble in the 4th century BC and would once have stood 12metres tall.

▲Taxiarches Monastery with its adjacent chapel is right by the road in the north of the island, overlooking the beach at Platys Gialos. Dating from 1592 its fortress-like construction was designed to repel pirates, attracted by the monastery’s wealth.

▲ And that still left the fine lighthouse at Cape Spathi and overlooking fish farm circles looking remarkably like the ones I had flown over in the Orkney Islands just a couple of weeks previously.