If you’ve looked into the best places to stay in Milos, you probably have come across lodging recommendations for areas such as Adamas, Pollonia, Plaka, or Klima. While all of these locations are great bases to situate yourself on the island of Milos, if you truly want a once-in-a-lifetime lodging experience (at a reasonable cost), you may want to consider this cozy Airbnb. Located in the quiet fishing village of Areti, the sea-house is not only the number one thing we remember from our time in Greece, but it also stands as one of our favorite Airbnbs in the world!
Here is everything you need to know about it!
Background on the Airbnb
Many people come to Milos looking to stay in one of its famous fishing village homes, and why not? Being in Greece means being by the water, and there’s nothing more relaxing than vacationing by the ocean/sea. If you were to look up recommendations of where to find homes that offer this in Milos, you would most likely be guided to the Klima, the island’s most popular fishing village. Klima is beautiful with its colorful homes and picturesque sunsets, but one thing it lacks (especially during the day) is peace and tranquility. Klima is one of the island’s most popular spots to visit, which inevitably means tourists and foot traffic for most of the day. Luckily, through some Airbnb searching, we came across Milos By The Sea- Eco House, which offers a similar sea-side experience to the homes in Klima, with absolutely no crowds and total privacy.
About the Location
Without a doubt, the best feature of this Airbnb is its location! Situated, quite literally, above the sea, you can easily spend an entire day at this home just enjoying its location. Mornings can be spent with coffee as you boat-watch with binoculars. Afternoons can be spent taking a swim in your “front lawn”. Evenings can be used to enjoy some wine or dinner with a magical sunset view from your patio. And then, of course, the magical experience of ending a long day in your bed with the ocean breeze coming into your room as you hear the sounds of waves crashing.
If all that isn’t enough though, what truly makes this home’s location even better, is its intimate and private location. Enjoying the sea is one thing, but enjoying it in privacy and peace? Nothing beats that! There were only five other houses next to our Airbnb, and they were all local homes that were not occupied at the time (not fishing season when we went).
The location was so peaceful and magical that we changed our entire Milos itinerary to try and utilize the home as much as possible. Rather than seek out crowded sunset spots, we enjoyed it in peace from our doorsteps. Rather than go out for breakfast, we enjoyed the light breakfast spread that the owners provided on our private terrace. Even when we got hit by an unexpected thunderstorm, we thoroughly enjoyed the day playing backgammon with our windows open as we heard the waves crashing with force.
All this being said, if you do wish to explore the amazing island of Milos (and you 100% should), it is certainly not hard from this location. The Airbnb is relatively close to restaurants and beaches. It took us about 10 minutes (via ATV) to get to the nearest beach (Planthiea) and around 20 minutes to get to the Plaka, Sarakinko Beach (a must-see!), and many other famous Milos destinations.
General Details About the Airbnb
The house is spacious and comfortably fits two (could possibly fit more with the pull-out couch being used as a bed). Amenities-wise, the house had everything we could have needed such as kitchen appliances, water shoes, a stove, and even a fairly large dining table.
The highlight of the house is, of course, its proximity to the sea, so everything in it is designed with this in mind. The bedroom window has a built-in screen so you can fall asleep to the sound of the waves without fear of getting attacked by bugs. The outdoor patio has a table and chairs which allows you to enjoy meals or a drink while taking in the view of the boats. Even several of the furniture pieces were sea-themed, which added a nice aesthetic touch to the entire home
The only minor complaint we could think of (if we were splitting hairs) was that the bathroom was a bit small, and warm water was limited on cloudy days (it’s an eco-friendly solar-powered house). Nothing, however, was uncomfortable or unmanageable.
Logistics and Driving to the House
Ok, so great home, good price, and an outstanding location- What is the catch?
The catch is the off-roading that is required to get to the Airbnb. You can get relatively close to the home via main roads and highways, but the last 10/15 minutes of the journey is mostly off-roading through some hilly roads. You will not be able to get to the house via public transport or taxi and will need a rental vehicle that can handle some dirt/rocky roads if you want to stay here. Your best bets for this are renting either a Jiminy or an ATV. Some of the roads are narrow and windy, so it is best to have a smaller vehicle if possible. Per the host’s recommendation, we went with an ATV for this very reason.
Your next logical question may be, how scary or safe is this drive? For us, the first journey to the house was terrifying, but this was more so because we had never driven an ATV before and didn’t get much of a demo on how to use it from the rental company! Not knowing when to press which break as we went down a dirt road was a bit scary. Once we learned how to manage the vehicle though, the drive felt MUCH less daunting (and we ended up loving our choice to go with the ATV).
If you have ever driven an ATV before, you will be fine. If you have never driven one (like us), getting comfortable with the vehicle on the main roads before heading off-roading would make it much easier. Night-time drives can be a bit more challenging since the last off-road stretch has no streetlights, but it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle with our ATV headlights.
Keep in mind the hosts can help you book a rental and will also help you transport your luggage (and guide you to the home for the first time) if you do go with an ATV.
About the Hosts
It can not be understated how incredible the owners of the property are. They came to pick up our bags (since we had an ATV), stocked our fridge with breakfast items, water and some wine, and provided water slippers so that we could enjoy swimming in comfort. They were available via WhatsApp for any questions we had and provided great island recommendations throughout our stay. They truly provided the extra touches that turned this already amazing Airbnb into one of the best we have ever stayed at.
Summary
We loved this Airbnb and would recommend it to anyone visiting Milos! While the downtown options provide more convenience, we felt that the time spent going to and from this house to other areas was well worth the magical experience of having the sea all to ourselves. The house is perfect for couples, nature lovers, slow travelers, honeymooners, or anyone who loves experiencing unique lodging options. It may not be best for those afraid of driving a car or ATV in Greece, or those that prefer to be centrally located to bars and restaurants.
Overall 5 stars for us as this was truly one of the best Airbnb experiences of our lives!
Very detailed blog post. I’ll be sure to utilize on my visit!