Santorini to Milos Day 3: Athinios Port, Ferry to Milos, Adamas Sunshine

Friday 10th May 2024

Cheap Breakfast, Blog Update and Bus to Athinios Port

My last morning in Santorini had come around fast. Later today, I’ll head to my next island, Milos, to continue the short island-hopping expedition.

Armed with the few breakfast bits I’d purchased from the supermarket last night, I woke around 8 a.m. and consumed my cold latte, chocolate croissant and carton of orange juice. Although my ferry isn’t until 3 p.m., the closest bus time for the port is at midday, so my plan was to spend the morning in my room working on this blog, then make my way to the port and hang around there until the ferry arrived.

It felt a bit like wasting time, but again, I felt my options were limited given that I had no transportation. I suppose I could’ve walked around Karterados, but it’s not much of a sightseeing destination, and I decided that walking around just for the sake of it was a bit silly. Despite my love of travelling, I get anxious about making sure I’m on time for transfers, so I would’ve been clock-watching to ensure I didn’t run out of time.

I checked out of the hotel at 10:40, keen to make progress on my journey. The weather was still unsettled, and I felt a few spots of rain as I headed north towards Fira bus station for the final time this trip. Arriving just before 11, I noticed a bus heading for the port about to leave. Rather than sit around at the station until the midday bus, jumping on the earlier one and settling in a cafe/taverna at the port made sense.

Arriving at the port down the winding road brought back memories of previous trips, though the lack of sunshine and cool temperature were a novelty—albeit not a fun one! I was slightly concerned about the ferry, knowing I would be travelling on the small Seajets’ Super Jet 2, known for being unpleasant in bad weather. I had a travel tablet ready, though, and was hoping it wouldn’t be too bad.

Passing Time at the Port

During my first visit to Santorini in 2017, I remember the port being quite small, with just a few cafes and ticket offices. At some point, the harbour area was extended, which allowed space for more tourist facilities and more room for arriving and departing boats. This was definitely a good thing, given the island’s popularity.

Departing the bus, I stretched my legs and strolled along the various tavernas, cafes, transfer companies, and ticket offices that line the back of the port. Some tavernas were already quite busy, while others were quiet. I checked the prices of a few menus, knowing they’d likely be expensive and wanting to save money by choosing somewhere reasonable.

As I walked back in the other direction, I noticed a little taverna tucked away behind the front row of merchants. Athinios Cafe seemed like a quiet spot to settle for a couple of hours, and, as I predicted, its prices were lower than those with more prominent locations.

I wasn’t really hungry or thirsty but felt obliged to order something in return for table space, so I got an Espresso Freddo and set up my laptop to continue working.

An hour or so later, I felt a bit peckish, so I ordered pork gyros and a large Mythos. I consumed them while taking a break from my Santorini Island Guide YouTube script. I checked the progress of my ferry using the FerryHopper mobile app (handy if you use it to book your tickets) and saw that it was running about 40 minutes late. Not ideal, but at least it was on the move and hadn’t been cancelled by the weather.

Ferry Ride from Hell

A little before 3 p.m., I paid my bill at the cafe, packed up my gear and walked over to the gate area. I wasn’t sure which gate I needed to reach, but as an experienced Greek ferry user, I knew it didn’t matter where I stood until the ferry turned up. The ports are quite chaotic anyway, and as long as you know which boat is yours and head to it at the right time, that’s all that matters.

I was surprised at how many people were waiting until I checked on Marine Traffic and saw that the large Blue Star Delos ferry was approaching through the caldera. Most of the passengers were clearly waiting for it to arrive and not for the little Seajets boat I was taking.

Soon enough, our boat appeared from around the headland and docked against the harbour edge. I could see it bobbing up and down as people disembarked, which wasn’t a great sign, but I had no idea how much worse it was going to get…

We set off quickly as soon as everyone had boarded. I was pleased to discover I had a front-row seat, which, due to the boat’s small size and design, meant I could see out of the front windows as well as to the side nearest my seat. In hindsight, it might have been what saved me from being sick.

I’d taken my travel tablet (travel gum, actually, so I was still chewing it) about 30 minutes before boarding and could feel it kicking in as we sped up out of the caldera and northwest towards Folegandros, our next stop. The sea was choppy, but it wasn’t actually unpleasant at first; we seemed to be cutting through the waves quite smoothly. My optimism was short-lived, however, as it started to get worse the further out to sea we went. Several times, the boat crashed down on the waves, making a loud bang and sending plumes of water over the front, covering the windows. Had I not been chewing the gum, I would’ve already started feeling queasy, but I was pretty relaxed and almost enjoying myself so far.

Shortly before we reached Folegandros, the first passenger succumbed to the effects of the rough sea and dived towards a bin just in time to be sick into it. Another passenger did the same. I was worried it might start a chain reaction, but that seemed to be it for now, at least as far as I could tell from the passengers nearby.

We got a brief respite as the ship entered Folegandros harbour, and several passengers disembarked, replaced by new passengers getting on board. Soon enough, though, we were turning around and heading out to sea again. I predicted that conditions would be fine for a while, as the wind and waves seemed to be coming from the north, and we were travelling up the southern coastline, sheltered by the land mass. The relative calm lasted about 20 minutes; then chaos resumed as we cleared Folegandros and were back in open water. The waves seemed to grow larger with every passing minute, and although I wasn’t yet feeling sick, I was gripping the armrests tightly to stay locked in my seat while luggage slid back and forth on the plastic shelf in front of me.

As we closed in on Milos, I became concerned that the travel gum’s effects might start to wear off before we arrived. No sooner had I considered it that I felt my stomach lurch slightly and, for the first time, wasn’t sure if I would actually make it unscathed. Worse still, despite spotting some paper sick bags a few metres away from me, I hadn’t bothered to pick one up when we stopped in Folegandros, so confident was I that I would be fine. This didn’t help matters, as I had no desire to be sick over myself or on the floor, but I wasn’t sure I could stand up and make it to a bin (or sick bag) in time to prevent a mess.

As the ferry navigated the gap between Milos and its neighbour, Kimolos, things settled for a few minutes, and I was hopeful that the worst of the voyage would be behind us. This wasn’t untrue, but things got pretty rough again as we cleared Kimolos and made our way around the northern side of Milos before entering its sheltered interior. The final few minutes were much calmer, and I knew I’d made it with my lunch intact, but as I set foot back on dry land, I knew it had been a close call!

Milos Arrival

Despite arriving almost an hour behind schedule at close to 6 p.m., I was in no rush to get to the hotel in my current state. The first priority was getting a cold drink and sitting down to settle my sea legs and regain my sense of balance. I bought a full-fat Coke from a concession stand opposite the port and sat down at a bench on the harbour front, sipping at my drink gingerly to make sure I wouldn’t bring it back up.

On the plus side, the weather in Milos seemed a vast improvement over Santorini: mostly blue skies with a smattering of clouds. Only the strong breeze reminded me of the journey I’d just endured.

Once my stomach had settled, I got up and strolled west around the harbour towards my accommodation for the final three nights of my trip: Hotel Delfini. It took about 5 minutes, and shortly thereafter, I was in a nice room, unpacking my bags and eager for a shower. The view from my balcony was very pretty (see the photo at the top of the post), and I felt excited (and relieved) to have arrived.

Having felt travel sickness in the past, I knew the best cure was taking a nap: something about sleep seems to reset my sense of balance and alleviate the dizziness. Although the travel gum had definitely helped to prevent me from being sick, it also made me very tired and a bit spaced out, so after a quick shower, I jumped into bed and set an alarm to wake me after 45 minutes. Any longer, and I’d be in a deep sleep and might wake up feeling even more like a zombie!

E-Bike Rental and Skipping Dinner

I felt suitably revived upon waking and was keen to get up and leave the hotel. I planned on hiring an e-bike for the weekend to explore Milos and take it over to Kimolos. A TripAdvisor forum member recommended Safari Rental to me as somewhere that would be open this early in the season and had electric bikes for hire. I figured I could walk there, enquire about prices and availability, and then have dinner near the harbour on my way back. What ended up happening was slightly different.

When I got to the rental shop, I saw that they had e-bikes, but the owner wasn’t there to confirm a price for both days. His assistant called him and told me he’d be along in a few minutes, so I waited patiently for his arrival. When he got there, we had a bit of fun haggling on a price: they usually cost €25 per day, but I managed to get him down to €45 for both days. A small saving, but better than nothing. I know the bikes are expensive to buy, but I still think the rental cost is too much, given that I could have had a moped for the same money! Still, I was happy with the bike as it costs nothing to run (besides burning calories pedalling) and would be easier to take across on the Kimolos ferry.

What I didn’t expect was to be given the bike straight away. I probably could have refused and agreed to pick it up the next morning, but he was happy for me to return it at the same time on Sunday evening, which I felt would give me enough time to use it all day, so it didn’t really matter either way.

Once I’d paid and signed the rental form, he gave me a quick demo of the bike’s features, and then I cycled back towards the hotel. Although he’d provided me with a lock, I wasn’t sure about parking it in the harbour, so instead, I took it straight back to the hotel. By the time I got there, it was nearly 9 p.m., and I wasn’t sure what to do about dinner. Despite feeling better after my nap, I didn’t have much appetite after the ferry journey and was reluctant to spend money on food I didn’t want. I decided to return to my room instead, have an early night and start fresh the following day.