A Milos catamaran cruise is a four to nine hour sail out of Adamas to Kleftiko, Sykia and the white volcanic coast of the south-west, with a cooked lunch and an open bar aboard, priced from 90 euros for a half day. Plan the rest of the trip with Greece Tours.
This page covers the day: what it costs, where the boats leave from, Kleftiko, the full-day route, Poliegos, how much of it is under sail, the crowds, the season and how to book.
What does a Milos catamaran cruise cost?
From 130 to 200 euros a head for a full-day catamaran with lunch and an open bar, 90 to 150 for a half day to Kleftiko, 100 to 160 for a sunset cruise, and 1,200 to 3,000 for a private charter of the whole boat.
The full-day price covers the skipper and host, the fuel, a cooked lunch, wine, beer and soft drinks, and the snorkelling gear. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Milos prices sit above the Cycladic average because the Kleftiko run is the single most booked boat trip in the islands. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
Private charters divide by the party, so ten people split 2,000 euros rather than paying ten fares. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
Children go half price to twelve on the shared boats and the minimum age runs four to six. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
Card payment is taken at booking and the crew tip is cash at the end. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
Where do the catamarans leave from?
Adamas, the main port on the north side of the bay, with a smaller number sailing from Pollonia in the north-east. Boarding runs from 09:30 for a full day and 16:30 for a sunset cruise.
Adamas sits inside the Milos gulf, which is a flooded volcanic caldera and one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
The quay is a five-minute walk from the town square and the bus stop. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
Parking along the harbour road is free and full by ten in August. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Pollonia departures suit guests staying in the north-east and reach Kleftiko later in the day. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
Hotel pickup is offered on the premium products and stated on the voucher. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
What is Kleftiko?
A group of white volcanic rock stacks, arches and sea caves on the south-west coast of Milos, reachable only by sea, named after the pirates who used the caves as a hideout and anchorage.
The rock is pale rhyolite worn into tunnels and openings that boats and swimmers pass through. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
No road reaches it. The nearest track ends an hour’s walk above the cliffs with no way down. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
Boats anchor outside the arches and guests swim in with a mask, which is the whole point of the stop. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
The water there is 12 to 20 metres deep and clear enough to see the bottom from the deck. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Catamarans hold 90 minutes to two hours at Kleftiko, which is longer than the fast boats manage. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
What is the full-day route?
West out of Adamas past Sarakiniko, the Arkoudes rocks and Kalogries, south to Sykia cave, on to Kleftiko for the long swim, and back by Gerakas and Fyriplaka, with three or four stops over seven to eight hours.
Sykia is a collapsed sea cave with an open roof and a pebble floor that boats enter one at a time. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
The Arkoudes are volcanic stacks off the north-west cape that look like bears from the water. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
Kalogries is a white rock coast with tunnels at sea level and no beach at all. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
Gerakas and Tsigrado on the south coast are the closing stops on the way back. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
The skipper reverses the route when the north wind is up, which is the usual call in August. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
Can you reach Poliegos as well?
Yes on the premium full-day products. Poliegos is the largest uninhabited island in the Mediterranean, lying east of Milos, with white cliffs and a bay of water so pale it reads turquoise from a kilometre away.
The crossing from Milos takes 40 minutes and the island has no facilities of any kind. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
Kleftiko and Poliegos in one day is a nine-hour trip and the listings say so. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
Poliegos holds a protected habitat and landing is limited to the marked beaches. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
Wild goats are the only permanent residents and they come down to the shore. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
Trips that sell both are the ones to take when the west coast is closed by wind. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
What is Sarakiniko?
A stretch of white volcanic rock on the north coast, weathered smooth into a lunar surface with a narrow inlet, no sand and no vegetation, reached by road in 15 minutes from Adamas or passed on the boat route.
The rock is pumice and ash consolidated into pale tuff, and the sea has cut it into ledges and channels. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
The inlet holds a shipwreck on the seabed at its mouth, which snorkellers reach from the rocks. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
Boats pass rather than stop, since the anchorage is poor and the road access is easy. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
Moonrise photographs of it are the island’s most reproduced image. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
Going there by land at sunrise and by sea in the afternoon covers it properly. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
How much of the day is under sail?
One to three hours depending on the wind, with the engines doing the passages when the meltemi is absent. The catamarans on Milos motor more than they sail, and the honest listings describe the day as a cruise.
The meltemi blows from the north through July and August and the west coast takes it side-on. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
Morning departures motor out and sail the return leg with the wind behind. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Guests take the helm on request and nothing is required of anyone. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
A catamaran stays flat under sail, which is what makes it the boat of choice here for families. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
Sailing purists take the monohull day trips instead and pay less for more sailing. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
What is included on board?
Breakfast or a welcome snack, a cooked lunch served at anchor, wine, beer, soft drinks and water, snorkelling masks, towels, and a paddleboard on most of the newer boats.
Lunch on the Milos catamarans is a Greek spread of salads, dips, grilled meat or fish, cheese and fruit. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
Open bar means unlimited wine, beer and soft drinks on the premium products and is named as such. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
Dietary requests are handled with a day’s notice and vegetarian is the default alternative. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
What is excluded is the transfer to Adamas unless the listing names a pickup. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Crew tips run 5 to 10 percent of the fare in cash at the end. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
When does the wind close the west coast?
When the meltemi blows above force five, which happens on a run of days in July and August. Kleftiko is exposed and the operators swap to Poliegos, the south coast or the sheltered eastern bays.
Skippers make the call at 08:00 and the route change is announced at boarding. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
A cancelled sailing is refunded in full or rebooked, and the operators prefer rebooking. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
Morning water is flat almost every day and the swell builds from midday. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
May, June, September and October give the steadiest sailing of the season. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
Anyone prone to motion sickness takes the tablet 45 minutes before boarding and sits amidships. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Catamaran, sailing boat or speedboat?
A catamaran carries 12 to 25 on a flat deck with shade and a galley. A monohull sails better and costs less. A speedboat or RIB reaches Kleftiko in 40 minutes and gives four hours rather than eight.
The catamaran is the comfortable choice and the reason most visitors book one: room to lie down, two hulls of shade and a proper lunch. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
Monohull day sails cost 70 to 120 euros and take eight to twelve guests. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
RIBs bounce, carry no shade and get to the arches before the fleet arrives. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
Self-drive boats without a licence reach Kleftiko on a calm day and the rental base briefs the limits. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
The self-drive option sits at Milos boat rental. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
Groups of ten or more charter a whole catamaran for less than ten shared seats.
How busy does Kleftiko get?
Twenty to thirty boats anchor there between 12:00 and 15:00 in August, from small rentals to 25-metre catamarans. The 09:30 departures arrive at 11:00 and swim before the fleet, and the sunset trips have it almost alone.
The anchorage is large enough to absorb the numbers and the arches are not. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
Operators time their arrival deliberately and the good ones say when they get there. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
Afternoon departures reach it at 16:00 as the day boats leave. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
Shoulder-season trips in May and October see it with three or four boats. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
Nothing else on Milos draws this concentration, and the rest of the coast stays empty. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
What is the swimming and snorkelling like?
Clear water over white rock, visibility of 20 to 30 metres, no seagrass to cloud it, and caves and tunnels at Kleftiko and Sykia that swimmers pass through with a mask.
The volcanic rock gives the water its colour, since the pale seabed reflects the light straight back. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
The temperature runs 21 degrees in June and 25 in August, cooler than the Dodecanese. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Fish life is modest compared with a reef coast and the geology is the attraction. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
Masks and fins come with the boat and a mask of your own fits better. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
Non-swimmers use a jacket and the stern ladder and stay beside the hull. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
The caves are entered only when the crew judge the swell safe.
What is the Milos landscape about?
A volcanic island of 160 square kilometres with more than seventy beaches, mined for obsidian in the Neolithic and for bentonite and perlite today, with rock in white, red, orange and grey depending on the coast.
Obsidian from Milos was traded across the Aegean from about 11,000 BC, which makes it one of the earliest trade goods in Europe. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
The Venus de Milo was found here in 1820 and is in the Louvre. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
Active mining continues on the east of the island and the loading jetties are visible from the boats. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Firiplaka and Tsigrado on the south coast show the coloured cliffs at their strongest. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
The catacombs near Trypiti are among the earliest Christian burial sites in Greece. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
The geology is why the boat trip is the main event here rather than one option among many.
What do you bring aboard?
Swimwear, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen, a hat that ties, sunglasses with a strap, a light windproof for the return, soft soles or bare feet, and a dry bag for the phone.
Hard-soled shoes go in a bag at the gangway on every catamaran. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
Shade is the cockpit awning and the saloon, and the trampolines have none at all. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
Sunburn on the foredeck is the commonest complaint after a Milos day. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
Cash covers the crew tip and nothing else, since the boats include the food and drink. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
Leave hard luggage ashore, because the storage is a locker and a bench. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Is it suitable for children and older visitors?
Yes on a catamaran. The deck is flat, the stern ladders are wide, the trampolines are netted and the boats carry child-sized jackets. A RIB or a speedboat is the wrong choice for either group.
Operators set a minimum age of four to six on the shared boats and take babies privately. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
An eight-hour day is long for a young child and the half-day Kleftiko trips solve it. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
Two heads aboard matter for a family and the larger catamarans have them. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
Boarding from the pontoon onto a catamaran transom is a step rather than a climb. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
The sunset cruise at three hours is the gentlest introduction to the coast. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
What is the season?
May to October, with daily departures from mid-June to mid-September. The sea runs 20 degrees in May and 25 in August, and the island empties completely from November.
July and August are hot, busy and windy, and the first fortnight of August is the peak. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
June and September give warm water, full schedules and half the boats at Kleftiko. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
October runs a reduced timetable while the weather holds. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
Ferries from Piraeus take three hours by fast boat and seven on the conventional route. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
Milos airport takes daily Athens flights year round and seasonal charters in summer. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
How do you book a Milos catamaran cruise?
Book a week ahead from mid-June to early September and two to three days in the shoulder months. The catamarans cap at 12 to 25 and the Kleftiko departures are the first thing to sell out on this island.
August needs a fortnight’s notice for the premium boats and a private charter needs three weeks. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before is standard on the platform listings. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
Weather calls are made at 08:00 and a route change is not a cancellation. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
Walk-up booking at the Adamas kiosks works in May, June and October only. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
Operators confirm the boarding time and the pontoon by message the evening before. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
What is the Milos gulf?
A flooded volcanic crater forming a bay eight kilometres deep and five wide, one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, with Adamas on its northern shore and a narrow entrance on the north-west.
The bay is the collapsed caldera of the volcano that built the island, and the entrance is the breach in its wall. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
Depths inside run 40 to 70 metres, so the whole bay is navigable and the anchorages sit at the edges. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
The Allied and Axis fleets both used it in the world wars for exactly the reasons the pirates did. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Catamarans clear the entrance within twenty minutes of leaving the quay and the open sea starts there. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
Klima, Plathiena and Mandrakia sit outside the mouth on the north coast and appear on the longer routes. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
A morning departure crosses the bay flat and meets the swell at the entrance, which is where the day’s weather is decided.
What is Klima and the syrmata?
A fishing village on the west side of the bay built as a row of syrmata, boathouses cut into the rock with painted doors at sea level and a living room above, used to winter the boats and now let as houses.
The doors are painted in reds, blues, yellows and greens, one colour per family, and they are the island’s second most photographed subject. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
Syrmata exist at Klima, Mandrakia, Firopotamos, Areti and Fourkovouni around the coast. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
The name comes from the winch that hauled the boat up the slipway into the ground floor. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
Boats pass Klima on the way out of the bay and the crews slow for the photographs. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Staying in one is possible and the conversions keep the boat ramp as the front door. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
The catacombs and the ancient theatre sit on the hill directly above the village.
What is the sunset catamaran cruise?
A four to five hour evening sail leaving Adamas around 16:30, covering the western coast and Kleftiko or the northern arches, with dinner aboard and the sun going down over the water, at 100 to 160 euros a head.
The evening trip reaches Kleftiko as the day fleet leaves, which is the strongest argument for taking it. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
Light on the white rock at six o’clock is warmer and the photographs are better than at midday. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
Dinner rather than lunch is served, and the drinks run through the return leg. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
The return crosses the bay in the dark with Adamas lit ahead. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
Couples book this version and families take the full day. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
It costs the same as a full day on some boats and buys half the hours and better light.
What does a half-day trip cover?
Four to five hours, Kleftiko and one other stop, a snack rather than a cooked lunch, and a return by early afternoon, at 90 to 150 euros a head on a catamaran.
The half day exists because Kleftiko is the reason people book and everything else is a bonus. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
It reaches the arches, swims for an hour and comes back on the wind. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
Poliegos, Sykia and the northern coast fall outside its range. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
Morning half-days leave at 09:30 and afternoon ones at 14:30. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
A family with young children takes this rather than the eight-hour day. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
Two half-days across two dates cost more than one full day and see less coast.
How does the boat trip compare with driving the island?
A hire car reaches Sarakiniko, Firiplaka, Tsigrado, Papafragas, Plaka and the catacombs. It cannot reach Kleftiko, Sykia, the Arkoudes or Poliegos, which is the whole case for the boat.
Milos has more than seventy beaches and the road serves about half of them. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Tsigrado is reached down a rope and a ladder through a rock cleft, which is the hardest land access on the island. The milos catamaran cruise season turns on this more than on the calendar.
Papafragas is a sea cave inlet on the north coast with a narrow entrance the small boats use. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
A car day and a boat day together cover Milos properly and neither does it alone. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
Car hire runs 40 to 80 euros a day in season and the island roads are short. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
ATV hire is popular here and useless for the unpaved tracks the rental terms exclude.
What is Plaka and the island’s other side?
The hilltop capital above Adamas, a Cycladic village of white lanes with a Venetian castle on the summit, an archaeological museum, a folk museum and the widest sunset view on the island.
The castle rock gives a 360-degree view over the gulf, the north coast and the open sea. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
The Archaeological Museum holds a plaster cast of the Venus de Milo and the Neolithic obsidian finds. A milos catamaran cruise operator states this at booking and prints it on the ticket.
Trypiti below it holds the catacombs and the Roman theatre cut into the hillside. A milos catamaran cruise fills first on that count in August.
Plaka is fifteen minutes from Adamas by bus and the last stretch is on foot. The milos catamaran cruise fleet is prepared for it through the season.
Evening in Plaka is the counterweight to a day at sea and most visitors do both. A milos catamaran cruise carries the lunch and the jackets for it.
The village has no cars in its centre, which is why the parking sits below it.
What is the geology behind the colours?
Milos is a volcanic complex of rhyolite, perlite, bentonite and kaolin, hydrothermally altered over two million years, which is why the rock runs white at Sarakiniko, red at Firiplaka and orange at Paliochori.
Hot springs still discharge at Paliochori and Adamas, warming the sand and the shallow water. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
The white of Kleftiko is rhyolite bleached by the hydrothermal system rather than by the sun. Every milos catamaran cruise is planned around it before the lines come off.
Sulphur was mined at Paliochori until 1956 and the workings stand on the shore. The milos catamaran cruise timetable is shaped by it more than by demand.
Obsidian outcrops at Nychia and Demenegaki were the Neolithic quarries. A milos catamaran cruise starts with this settled on the waterfront.
Crews on the better boats explain the rock, which turns a swim stop into something more.
Nothing else in the Cyclades looks like this coast, and that is the island’s whole proposition.
Which stops are exclusive to the boat?
Kleftiko, Sykia, the Arkoudes, Gerakas, Kalogries, the Glaronisia columns, Poliegos and the caves at Fourkovouni. No road reaches any of them and no path descends the cliffs above them.
The Glaronisia are basalt columns standing off the north coast like organ pipes, and only a boat gets near them. It decides which milos catamaran cruise format fits the party.
Gerakas on the south-west is a rock arch with a beach behind it and a landing only in calm water. A milos catamaran cruise is sold on that, and the listing says so plainly.
Fourkovouni holds syrmata and a cave the small boats enter. Guests on a milos catamaran cruise meet it within the first hour.
Poliegos has two beaches and no other access at all. The milos catamaran cruise route is set by it rather than by the clock.
These eight stops are the reason a Milos visit without a boat day is incomplete.
Different operators cover different subsets, which is what the route on the listing tells you.
What are the common mistakes?
Booking the cheapest boat for a Kleftiko day and finding it arrives at noon with thirty others, leaving the booking to the week of travel in August, and underestimating the sun on an open foredeck.
Arrival time at Kleftiko is the single variable that decides the quality of the day. The milos catamaran cruise price reflects it, stop by stop.
August bookings made on arrival find nothing but the late departures. This is what a milos catamaran cruise delivers on the Kleftiko run.
The second error is expecting shade where a catamaran has none forward of the cockpit. That is the milos catamaran cruise difference against a hire car day.
The third is treating the wind forecast as the operator’s problem rather than checking it. Crews brief it on deck before a milos catamaran cruise leaves the quay.
The fourth is booking a RIB with small children on a nine-hour day.
The fifth is skipping the boat entirely and driving to beaches that the island’s best coast never touches.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Milos catamaran cruise cost?
From 130 to 200 euros a head for a full day with lunch and an open bar, 90 to 150 for a half day to Kleftiko, 100 to 160 for a sunset cruise, and 1,200 to 3,000 for a private charter of the whole boat.
Can you reach Kleftiko by road?
No. The nearest track ends an hour’s walk above the cliffs with no way down. Boats anchor outside the arches and guests swim in with a mask, which is the whole reason the cruise exists.
How busy does Kleftiko get?
Twenty to thirty boats anchor there between 12:00 and 15:00 in August. The 09:30 departures arrive at 11:00 and swim before the fleet, and the sunset trips have the arches almost alone.