A Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay is a day on the water along the south-west coast of Milos, with swim stops under white cliffs and beside sea caves. To plan a longer trip around the islands, the full range of tours in Greece sits on the home page.
This page covers what the cruise includes, how long it lasts and where the sailboat leaves, what Kleftiko Bay is, the swim stops and sea caves, the port of Adamas, how wind and season change the route and the questions travellers ask.
What does a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay include?
On one operator’s route, a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay includes lunch, drinks, snacks and snorkel gear. Swim stops and a shaded deck come with it, and up to 12 passengers sail together.
The operator calls the trip a slower pace cruise. Lunch follows your preferences, such as vegetarian or vegan. Drinks and snacks come throughout the day. After the Sykia cave visit, ice-cold beer or traditional ouzo waits on the boat. For comfort, a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay on this route also carries the following.
- Snorkel masks and flippers, and you are welcome to bring your own
- A deck shower and mattresses
- Large shaded areas with hammocks
- A Bluetooth speaker for music
- A set of souvenir photos of the day, taken with a GoPro
At Kleftiko, the crew provides masks and flippers and gives brief tips before you swim and explore. A Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay also lets you try stand-up paddling there. A small dinghy then takes the group to the caves for photos.
On this route, a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay starts with sightseeing in the bay of Adamas. The crew tells historical facts and myths about the island there, as part of the operator’s guided tour. Between stops, guests can listen to music and have a drink in the shade of the boat.
Other boats carry different kit from this Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay. A half-day boat from another operator provides masks and snorkels, a shot of raki and a small treat. It adds a free printed tour guide in English, Greek and French. A catamaran operator offers full-day and half-day sailboat trips with lunch, drinks, water and snacks.
The same operator describes its route as the west side of Milos, a coast it calls inaccessible. The day covers Kleftiko, the Sykia cave and sightseeing in the bay of Adamas. It pitches the trip as the way to spend one day on the island.
Group size changes from boat to boat. That operator limits its route to 12 passengers. The half-day boat takes up to 118 guests and offers generous deck space with shaded areas. A Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay can be a quiet small-group day or a larger party.
How long is the cruise, and where does the sailboat leave?
On one operator’s route, the Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay leaves Adamas port at 10 in the morning. Guests meet at the operator’s location in Adamas 30 minutes before departure.
The operator lists the minutes at each stop. It describes its Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay as a day of sightseeing, swimming and exploring. Guests can also sunbathe or relax in the hammocks.
Here are the stops of that Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay, with the time at each one.
- Bay of Adamas: sightseeing from the water before the first swim
- Cape Vani: a 30-metre rock at the west entrance of the bay, passed under sail, followed by an old mines quay from the nineteenth century
- Kalogries: a first swim of 20 minutes
- Sykia: 1 hour, with a swim in a nearby bay and a dinghy ride to the cave
- Kleftiko: around 2 hours, with snorkelling, the caves and lunch
- Agios Dimitrios: a 15-minute swim on the way back, if there is time
The 2 hours at Kleftiko make it the longest stop on the list. Agios Dimitrios is the shortest timed stop at 15 minutes, and the group swims there only if time allows. Lunch comes once the group is back on the boat from the caves. The same operator also runs a full-day catamaran cruise for up to 12 passengers.
Other trips are shorter. That half-day boat runs two 4-hour trips daily. The first goes from 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. The second goes from 3 in the afternoon to 7 in the evening. It leaves from Agia Kiriaki. A boat tour from one more operator lasts 3.5 hours, on a 17-metre traditional boat with shade.
What is Kleftiko Bay, and why do sailboats go there?
Kleftiko Bay is a coast of grey and white rock and sea caves in west Milos. Pirates once used it as a hideout. A Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay reaches it by sea, which is the main way in.
Kleftis is the Greek word for thief, and the bay takes its name from it. So a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay sails to a place named for thieves. One operator’s site says pirate ships hid here and the pirates waited in the caves to ambush enemy vessels. Another site calls the word kleftiko a bandit’s lair.
Grey and white rocks with unusual shapes line the shore, among towering rock arches and white sea caves. Over the centuries, says one operator, wind and sea have cut pits and caves into the rock. Wave action forms a sea cave, but only where the rock has a weak zone first. An arch appears when caves cut through a headland.
A travel wiki warns that normal vehicles cannot reach places in the west of Milos. It lists Kleftiko as accessible mainly by boat. A hiking path exists, but a travel blog calls the approach from that side very difficult. A Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay skips that walk and arrives by water.
Large rocks form three small beaches at Kleftiko, and they leave little room for towels, says a travel blog. Boat and swimming are the two ways into the Kleftiko caves. One operator calls its Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay slower-paced and focused on Kleftiko, Sykia and the caves. Its photos show the sailing boat at anchor in clear water.
Which swim stops and sea caves come with a day under sail?
On one operator’s route, a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay has four swim stops. They are Kalogries, Sykia, Kleftiko and Agios Dimitrios. A small dinghy takes the group to the Sykia cave and into the Kleftiko caves. A lava passage south of Sykia cave is also on the route.
From the bay of Adamas, the boat passes Cape Vani, a rock 30 metres tall. Cape Vani was home to one of the first mineral mines of Milos. The route also passes the quay of the old nineteenth-century mines. The first swim of the Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay comes at Kalogries, in clear turquoise water.
Sykia, the biggest cave on Milos, is the next stop on a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay. The boat anchors in a nearby bay, where the water is clear and green, and the group swims. The group reaches the cave in a small dinghy. Another site calls Sykia an open cave that leads to a beach.
At Kleftiko the crew gives tips first, then lets guests swim and snorkel among the rocks. Stand-up paddling is on offer too. The dinghy then takes the group through the Kleftiko caves for photos. This is the stop that gives a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay its name.
On the return leg, time allowing, the boat stops for a short swim at Agios Dimitrios. The bay has a view of the Milos caldera, and it is the last swim stop on this route. Each operator plans its own stops, so another Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay can differ.
- On one operator’s half-day boat route, Gerakas Bay hosts the second swim, and a travel blog calls Gerakas a wide sandy beach.
What is Adamas, the port of the Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay?
The Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay begins in the port town of Adamas. Adamas is the centre of culture and trade on Milos, and the town counted 1,268 residents at the last census.
The Greek word adamas means diamond, and it gave the town its name. It is also spelled Adamantas. A travel blog says all the boat tours of the island start from Adamantas. So the Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay shares its starting point with the other trips. A walk along the port shows the boats on offer.
Above the port, the chief town Plaka sits on a rocky outcrop. A French cemetery from the Crimean war lies in Adamas. The church of the Holy Trinity is 600 years old. Two museums stand in town, one about mining and one about the sea. Milos has a second harbour at Pollonia, in the north-east.
One operator opens its Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay with a sail around the bay of Adamas. The boat sails close to the east coast of the bay. These are the landmarks on that route, in order:
- The first Christian catacombs. Milos has catacombs hewn from volcanic rock in early Christian times, among the largest in Greece.
- Klima, a colourful village.
- Cape Vani, a 30-metre rock that marks the western gate of the bay.
- The old nineteenth-century mines quay. On the Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay, the first swim comes after it.
How do wind and season change the route?
Wind and season decide the route of a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay. One operator sails daily from April to October, and the captain can change the itinerary to suit the weather.
A sailing boat moves by sails on masts that catch the wind, so the weather shapes the day. In strong north winds, one operator starts its Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay from the south side of Milos. The operator offers a transfer to Adamas port and back as well.
The Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay sails in the Aegean Sea, where the meltemi blows. This wind from the north is strong and dry. Clear skies give no warning of it. It peaks in the afternoon, and at times it holds for days on end. Its hardest spells score 7 or 8 on the Beaufort wind scale.
In south winds, the same operator sails the north side of Milos instead. It calls at the beaches of Kimolos and Polyaigos, which it describes as inaccessible. Kimolos lies to the north-east of Milos, across a channel 1 kilometre wide. So a day on the Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay can look different from one wind to the next.
Season changes the plan too. Another operator offers tours of the west and south parts of Milos, or a full round of the island. So each Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay follows its own operator’s plan. The months that matter, in order:
- Late spring to about mid-September: the season of the meltemi wind.
- June to August: the peak of tourism on the island, says a travel blog.
- Late October: the end of the tourist season on the island, says the same blog.
What else do travellers ask about a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay?
Is Milos a volcanic island, and which beaches on land show it?
Yes. The island is volcanic, and a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay sails along its coast. Milos lies in the Aegean, north of the Sea of Crete, and is the southwesternmost of the Cyclades.
Traders handled Milos obsidian, a glass-like volcanic rock, 15,000 years ago. Obsidian hunters landed in coves and cut volcanic glass out of quarries.
Two beaches on land show the volcanic rock. Sarakiniko has smooth white rock sculpted into wave-like shapes, and people compare it to a lunar scene. At Paliochori, volcanic activity under the seabed warms patches of shallow water. The heat is even used for traditional sand-cooked meals.
How was the Venus de Milo discovered, and what is Klima?
On 8 April in the early nineteenth century, a Greek farmer dug up the Venus de Milo on Milos. From the following year the marble Aphrodite has been on display at the Louvre in Paris.
The island’s archaeological museum shows a reproduction at its entrance. You can see it before or after a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay.
Klima is a village of syrmata, traditional fishermen’s houses. Each basement is dug out of the soft rock and serves as a winter mooring site. The living part sits upstairs.
What is Polyaigos, and do monk seals, turtles or dolphins live nearby?
Polyaigos is an uninhabited Cyclades island, 6.2 kilometres east of Milos and 2 kilometres south-east of Kimolos. Its name refers to the goats that live there.
Mediterranean monk seals, a shrinking population, find refuge in its sea caves. One operator also says the coast of Milos shelters monk seals, sea turtles and dolphins.
The same operator says luck decides whether swimmers at Kleftiko spot them. So a sighting on a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay is a bonus, not a promise.
Are children and pets welcome, and which items go along on a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay?
On a Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay, one operator asks you to bring only personal belongings. It names a swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, hat, glasses for the strong Greek sun, and a phone or camera. Early or late in the season, it adds that a light windproof jacket can help once the sun starts dropping.
Another operator runs half-day boats for guests of all ages and welcomes pets. It asks you to contact it before booking with a pet, and pets must be supervised throughout the journey. Rules differ between boats, so ask your own operator.
Can you walk to Kleftiko instead of sailing there?
One travel blog says a hiking path to Kleftiko exists but calls it not very safe. The path crosses the habitat of the red vipers of Milos. The blog recommends it only for experienced hikers and calls access from this direction very difficult.
The blog still points travellers to a boat trip as the way to visit. A Milos sailboat cruise to Kleftiko Bay avoids the climb and the vipers.