Inside the ultimate Greek island: There are no direct flights to Milos – but that’s what makes it extra-special

The armless figurine, with its bare torso and inscrutable gaze, looks familiar as it looms into view over a mud-flaked dirt track.

Closer inspection reveals that, yes, it is indeed Venus de Milo, poster girl for ancient Hellenic sculpture and star of a zillion pub quiz picture rounds.

But what is she doing here, alone, on a windy hillside on the Greek island of Milos? Instead of in the Louvre in France?

George, our guide from ‘We Bike Milos’, quickly points out in booming baritone that what we’re actually looking at is a replica.

This body double marks the spot on Melos (now Milos) where, one April afternoon in 1820, a farmer discovered the original marble masterpiece, crafted sometime between 150 and 125 BC, which initially he erected outside his home.

Do the locals want Venus brought back to the island, wonders my husband Martin? ‘Listen,’ shrugs George with an easy smile ‘this isn’t the Elgin Marbles’. (The subject of controversy between Britain and Greece.)

Our exchange with the affable George is a snapshot of the Milian psyche. And could explain why an increasing number of people are visiting Milos.

Then again, its azure seas, pristine beaches, historical architecture, geological wonders and picturesque, white-washed fishing villages (with doors and window frames in striking bright colours) where seafood is caught daily, might also have something to do with it.

Angela reveals that Plaka Village, the old hilltop capital, has a ‘360-degree view of the sea and neighbouring islands’

Sarakiniko, with its white rock formations, is the most ‘startling’ beach on the island, says Angela, who adds that it is ‘moonscape-like’

There are no direct flights to Milos from the UK – though it has a domestic airport with flights from Athens – so getting here requires effort. But that is well rewarded.

Our own journey starts with a flight to neighbouring Santorini and then a two-hour ferry to Milos. 

A car is important if you want to get around, as although the island only measures 12 miles from east to west and eight from north to south, you definitely won’t be able to rely on finding a taxi.

The boat docks at the port town of Adamantas, one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean as well as the commercial hub of the island.

Angela takes a boat to Kleftiko, an expansive chain of rocky coves and sea caves that can only be reached by boat

The town is home to around 1,200 locals – so ‘hub’ stretches the point a little. (There are only 5,000 people on the entire island).

From there it’s a 15-minute drive to the Noma, an adult-only boutique hotel which, with its high ceilings, earthy tones, and wooden and clay furniture, appears to meld into the landscape.

Milos is hilly, which is why an e-bike is such an easy, efficient way to see the island.

The roads are unruffled by traffic and nowhere is far – it takes no more than 40 minutes to drive anywhere. And there is much to see.

A room at adults-only Noma hotel, Angela’s base for the trip, which ‘appears to meld into the landscape’

Fresh seafood is caught daily on the island, reveals Angela 

Our favourite spots include Plaka, the old hilltop capital, where we wander down narrow, stone-paved alleys draped in bougainvillea and lined with whitewashed houses.

Here, we find the church of Panagia Korfiatissa, built in 1820 with materials brought from the abandoned churches of the old town.

Given the altitude of Plaka – around 254 metres – the highlight is the 360-degree view of the sea and neighbouring islands.

Another place of interest, not least since it seems so anomalous, lies in the village of Tripiti where we encounter catacombs (ancient underground Christian cemeteries used in Roman times). They were discovered in 1844 and are estimated to have been built towards the end of the 1st century AD.

Milos benefits from a prevailing north wind – what our bike-tour guide George calls the ‘air conditioning of the Aegean’, which cools us in the soaring heat as we cycle onwards.

The island has more than 70 beaches. The most startling is the white rock moonscape-like Sarakiniko.

Here we scramble like early astronauts over volcanic rock formations, which undulate down to the shallow, refreshing aquamarine waters.

However, one the most distinctive sites on Milos is Kleftiko, an expansive chain of rocky coves and sea caves, which can only be reached by boat.

We join a tour, anchoring so we can plunge into the bracingly cool, clear sea to duck and dive through great arch-shaped rock formations.

Like so much of this island, Kleftiko is a place of wonder – and for us it is a true Greek discovery.

Unlike the real Venus de Milo, we have every intention of returning.