We are planning a trip to Greece and my husband and I will be in Milos May 27-30. It seems it would be best to stay in Adamas at this time of year?
The hotel I wanted (Villa Notos) is already booked, does anyone have any experience with Studios Helios? It is inexpensive and appears to be close to main part of town and has rooms with balconies and views (which we want).
Any other hotels I should consider?
I don't know that hotel however it looks nice. Inexpensive and sea views, whats not to like. You will have an uphill walk though. This early in the season Adams is the place to stay.
Do rent a car. The bus system is not set up for tourists so a rental car will give you access to the island. The round the island boat tours are spectacular and take you to places you can't drive to.
Milos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632109429236/
Milos http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157634779985764/
Thank you!!!!
Do you have a specific car rental company you recommend (will need an automatic)? Or a specific around the island tour (that is budget conscious, how much should they cost)?
About the round-the-island tours ... I was there May 2011, so prices doubtless have gone up somewhat, but at the time most were €42-45. This includes morning coffee (most tours take off around 10 am), lunch aboard OR, weather permitting, onshore at a cove, including glass of wine, and afternoon snackies as you head back. Since you have a number of days in the island, it's prudent to check in the afternoon what the weather is likely to be the next day, and THEN book a tour. The boats are all lined up along the Adamas harborside, and people walk along before dinner, go aboard & talk to Captains & make their choice.
Here's a great map of the island, to check out http://www.seakayakgreece.com/virtualtour.htm Tours are counterclockwise and are either completely AROUND the island, or halfway then turning back. The downside of All-around is that there is so much ground to cover, there isn't as much time to stop to explore, swim/snorkel or picnic onshore. The halfway one goes as far as Kleftiko, which is the last really scenic volcanic cave/arch area ... by not doing the whole circuit you do not miss much unique water-level scenery.
The next choice is vessel size. In High Season there are larger boats, holding 30-50 people, and it's quite a party scene, but that won't be on offer in May. The 2 May choices are (1) small 1-masted (sloop?) capacity about 6 + skipper, with a mainsail & foresail or (2) a large catamaran, which holds about 14 + 2 crew. 2 of our party went with a small boat/all-round island deal, because they are sailors and looked forward to crewing. 3 of us chose the Catamaran -- name of it is a mouthful -- Chrysovalandou -- and we were the smarter/luckier ones. First, there were only 8 sign-ups so there was a ton of room to loll about on deck sunbathing. Second, it was quite windy, but because the Cat was big, and very stable, we were able to be under sail most of the time. However, the small boat that our 2 friends were on dropped its sails and they were motor-driven 90% of the way. The Milos volcanic formations at the waters edge are amazing... and cannot be seen from land. We stopped twice for swims, the 2nd time we had spaghetti and seafood sauce, yum!! and went on rubber rafts to negotiate the sea arches at Kleftiko. The water was BRISK! but I loved it. On the return lap, sun shone brightly and sunbathing (to greek music) was Brill! Stepped off the boat @ 6:30 windblown and ready for a huge dinner. Totally worth it!
Thank you! That is very helpful for the tours.
As someone who isn’t a good swimmer and doesn’t like swimming in water she can’t stand up in ... (vs my husband who loves water, so compromising on activities) are there dingies of some sort to take people from the boat to the beaches, land, etc?
Yes of course, there are big rubber dinghies on board the catamaran. I did not go on the small boats, but they would pull up on a small cove beach. And nobody has to swim off a boat unless they want to.
Follow up question to rental car and itinerary in Milos. We arrive at 4pm on May 27 via airport and our hotel does not offer hotel pickup and we leave on May 30 at 10am via Ferry. We only know how to drive an automatic and plan on spending one day on a boat tour (on the calmer, better weather boat day) and a second day driving the island to the beaches, etc. Maybe do dinner in Plaka the first night if we have energy or after the boat tour day.
Option 1: Rent a car for entire 3 days, pickup at airport and drop off at port.
Option 2: Rent a car for 1 day and hope it is the day that works.
Option 3: Rent when we arrive and hope we can still get an automatic.
Option 4: Something I’m not thinking of?
Thanks for the feedback! So far rental cars are about 35 euros a day (RAC Milos). Any rental car places to stay clear of?
Check with your hotel again. They may not offer a pick up service however for sure they will have a friend or relative who is a taxi driver. Our hotel just arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the airport and we paid the taxi. I suspect your hotel would be willing to do the same.
Then you can walk the waterfront and look for a rental agency when you need the car. As I recall there were only three or 4 to choose from. I have not heard of any complaints about any agency in Milos.
Thank you! Any concern they will run out of automatic cars?
Indeed it is quite possible that there will not be automatic cars in Milos available for you. In that case you probably should start contacting the rental agencies now and try to reserve one.
