Among the most beautiful islands of the Cyclades: Santorini, Folegandros and Milos
DAY 1
Italy - Santorini
I've always loved night-time departures, and unlike my traveling companion who drags along with me with an expression anything but enthusiastic, I hop towards the airport at 3 in the morning. We fly from Milan Malpensa to Santorini, the first of the Cyclades islands we are about to explore.
We booked a driver through the hotel, but after waiting in vain in front of the tiny airport of the island, we get on the only bus leaving for the tourist destinations and after only 2 hours, and a change of bus, we arrive at the Hotel.
HOTEL: Best Western Paradise Resort Santorini
When we arrive at the hotel we discovere that our driver had actually arrived at the airport, but in our place he picked up another couple headed to the same hotel. The latter is a basic and cheap solution, an alternative to the expensive accommodations on the most famous island of the Cyclades. Unfortunately, however, it is located in a center quite far from both the most picturesque towns, and the beaches. We must therefore decide to rent a means of transport to move, since our idea of using public transport proved to be an impractical option after only one first bus trip. These islands, in fact, are poorly served by precarious public transport, which however cross the whole island and do not allow to optimize travel times.
We rent a quad, for about 20 Euro a day, and we immediately move to one of the beaches on our list. We cross half of the island and through a winding road that follows the cliff on the opposite side, we cross the central ridge to reach Gialos Beach. A few minutes of dirt track leads to this expanse of pebbles and fine deep black sands. The sea here has a deep blue colour and the cliff behind it allows only a few hours of sunshine before it hides behind the west side of the island and leaves this cold stretch of sea in the shade.
We are not fans of pebble beaches, but the color of this coast is impressive and also swimming in the cool waters of the sea, between the underwater caves is really nice. The advice is to go early in the morning, to enjoy as much as possible of the short sunny day.
As a must we head to Oia to see the sunset. Really suggestive, if it were not that in high season every little corner of the town, every roof and every balcony is stormed by tourists who photograph one of the most famous sunsets in the world. The walk at dusk in the center is still very pleasant, among the white and blue villas and dream hotels overlooking the caldera and spread on the steep cliffs. We can only look at the pools that glisten in the dark with envy, and dream to observe one day in future our private sunset from one of these.
For now we are satisfied with our low-cost holiday and resume our quad to return to the hotel, stopping for dinner in a remote inn along the road that leads from Oia to Imerovigli, where we enjoy an authentic and excellent and low cost dinner of fish and oven lamb, away from the sophisticated and hyper-expensive restaurants of the caldera.
DINNER: Taverna Tasos
DAY 2
Santorini
The next day we go in search of a beach characterized by high cliffs carved by the wind, called Vlychada. The beach is an endless strip of dark sand dotted with light white pebbles brought by the sea, that beats the shoreline with strong waves. It is bordered on the opposite bank by an imposing cliff formed by sandy and little cohesive rock that is shaped by the wind in supernatural forms.
The place is magnificent and peaceful, strangely isolated to be so pleasant. We enjoy a quiet and peaceful day at the sea. At the end of the beach, with a short walk, you can reach a bar from which you can enjoy the sea breeze and a cool drink to the rhythm of music.
We return to the city in time for the sunset, which tonight we go to observe in a quieter place, with less tourists, Imerovigli. We enjoy the twilight, and an excellent fish dinner.
DINNER: Mama Thira
By coincidence we are on the island in the evening dedicated to the Ifestia, an event that celebrates the volcano from which the island of Santorini originated, with a fireworks display that simulates a picturesque volcanic eruption in the middle of the lagoon that now submerges the old caldera. The show lasts about an hour, and we observe it perched on a wall of the coastal road that leads on foot from Imerovigli to Fira. The lights of the villages are turned off and the lagoon is filled with moored boats, where the lucky ones observe from the water the suggestive representation.
DAY 3
Santorini - Folegandros
Today we're going to the famous Red Beach. Too famous for its relatively small size, and consequently too crowded. The peculiarity and the name of the beach are given by the brick colored rock cliff that hangs over the narrow strip of pebbles bathed by the green sea. The view from above, from the path from which you get from the parking lot to the beach, is very nice, but spending a day on a beach, so crowded and moreover at the foot of cliff marked everywhere by signs of danger of landslides, is not an unmissable experience. The advice, if you are curious to go and see this peculiar beach, is to hop there for a few photos from the cliff, and then head to other less popular beaches.
It's time to leave Santorini, and in the afternoon we embark on a ferry that will take us to the second scheduled island, Folegandros. Our accommodation is located in one of the two tiny centers of the island, Agkali, an isolated fishing bay, with a handful of houses arranged on the cliff surrounding a quiet beach. We dine in one of the two taverns in the bay: fish, Greek salad, baked feta. A real treat.
HOTEL: Kymanemi Studios | DINNER: O Psaromiligkas
DAY 4
Folegandros
The next morning we have breakfast in the only open bar, with a cup of Greek yogurt and fresh fruit and a Karpouzopita, a local specialty made with sesame, watermelon and honey, absolutely to try, all with sea view and caressed by the morning breeze. The day passes lazily on this beautiful beach.
For dinner we decide to head to Khora, the main center of the island, and to do so we make a long walk of 5 km on foot. We arrive just in time in the town to cross it in the dark and go up a winding white road that leads to the top of the mountain overlooking the town, on which stands the white monastery of Panagia (just before closing). We return to the center with a pleasant walk under the starry sky, and we stop in the center for dinner.
DAY 5
Folegandros - Milos
A quiet day at sea, and in the evening we take again the ferry that leads us to the island of Milos. We rent a car, a small car with peeling paint, which accompanies us to the hotel in the late evening. We dine in a quiet tavern with a terrace overlooking the sea and octopus hanging to dry in wooden cases.
HOTEL: Paleochori Studios | CENA: Pelagos Taverna
DAY 6
Milos
We go in search of the remote beach of Thiorichia, where there is an abandoned sulphur mine. After a long dirt track to the coast, we stop at the edge of the driveway area, and continue on foot along a steep cliff that descends to the beach. On the other side you can see the ruins of the mine, and once off we dive into an area that reminds us of the settings of an adventure film: a crystal clear and beautiful sea, with a slight greenish color given by the sulfur deposits. A refreshing bath (note for those who want to swim in this area: the sulfur has a high concentration in the water, as well as the iron of the metal carcasses that rust on the shore, and your white costume could come out, like mine, a not so beautiful pink color!), and a tour of the accessible areas of the mines and back on the road, to reach another beach, Tzigrado. Hidden between the cliffs, to reach it we have to go down between the rocks along a ladder and then with ropes anchored to the cliff. The beach is too crowded for the dimensions, even if it is so hidden, but we carve out a wonderful corner next to a small cave in front of crystal clear blue waters.
For the evening we head to the main center, Adamas. On the way, however, we discover a beach, Paleochori, crowded with a few old men who bathe in the hot springs: the beach seems quite normal, and not particularly attractive, along the busy coastal road. But intrigued by the unusual attendance, we dive and immediately understand its peculiarity. The island of Milos is endowed with natural thermal sources, and some of the beaches have hot water dandelions that go up from the sand underwater. After an hour in soak to the warmth of the submarine geysers, we go to the center to eat a pita gyros and some baklava.
DAY 7
Milos
On the last day we change hotels to stay in a lovely apartment on the hill next to the most beautiful beach on the island, Sarakiniko. Once at the cliff, a lunar panorama welcomes us, with expanses of white chalk cliffs against the backdrop of an emerald sea. The landscape is formed by flat cliffs furrowed by the wind, which that day leaves us no mercy, and because of the sea too rough we can only swim in a small sheltered bay. The rough sea shatters in the caves dug into the cliffs in a truly unique and surreal landscape.
The apartment is really beautiful, a stone building with a terrace with white curtains overlooking the wild cliff.
HOTEL: Milo Milo Suites
DAYS 8-9
Milos - Mykonos - Italy
We wake up early in the morning and rolled up in a sheet we watch the sunrise from our terrace. We plan to leave to spend a day on the island of Mykonos before leaving Greece, but the strong wind and the rough sea prevent the hydrofoils from travelling, and so we have to fall back on a very slow ferry that takes us after many hours of travel, now in the evening, to Mykonos. Just few time for a night walk in the overcrowded city center, before leaving at the first light of dawn to return to Italy.
This content is NOT SPONSORED, but based on my genuine personal experience. Spontaneous opinions, positive and negative, shareable or not, that I hope will help to live better travel experiences. My advice is a guide to lead you through world explorations, but the real journey, you build it!
