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Sunset over the sea from Kimolos, an islet on the horizon under a broken sky

Kimolos: ten minutes from Milos, and a different decade

A small chalk island a ten-minute ferry from Milos, with a Venetian kastro village, a rock formation called the mushroom, and almost no development at all.

An at a glance card for Kimolos. Where it is: A short ferry off Milos. Why go: Same light, far fewer people. The landmark: Skiadi, a rock mushroom. The village: A fortified kastro core. Opposite: Polyaigos, uninhabited. One row is marked out as the thing that decides the visit. The conclusion reads: Ten minutes from Milos, a fraction of the people. No prices appear.
Ten minutes from Milos, a fraction of the people.

Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.

The island is named for chalk, which it has been exporting since antiquity, and it still quarries bentonite. It is small, dry and low, with one main village and a coast of quiet bays.

Chorio

The village sits inland above the port, built around a kastro: a sixteenth-century fortified core where the outer walls of the houses formed the defence, arranged in a rough square. Parts are ruined and parts are lived in, and it is being restored slowly.

Around it the newer village spreads out in whitewashed lanes with a handful of tavernas. Psathi, the port below, has a few more along the water.

Skiadi

The island’s landmark is a rock. Skiadi is a mushroom-shaped formation on the high ground in the west, where softer stone beneath a harder cap has eroded away to leave an overhanging disc on a stem. It is a walk or a rough drive to reach it, and there is nothing there but the rock and the view.

The coast

Small bays, mostly undeveloped, several reached on foot or by boat:

  • Prassa, in the north-east, is the one with the pale sand and the clearest water.
  • Bonatsa and Aliki on the south are shallow and sheltered.
  • Kalamitsi is small and calm.
  • There is warm thermal water at the shore near the port, in the same volcanic family as Milos.

Boats also run to Polyaigos, the large uninhabited island opposite, which is a protected area and one of the emptiest places in the Cyclades.

Getting there and how long

Ferries from Pollonia on Milos in about ten minutes, plus longer routes from Piraeus. No airport.

Two nights, or a day trip from Milos if that is all the time there is.

Last checked August 2026. Ferry and boat services are seasonal - see our editorial policy.

Common questions

How do you get to Kimolos?

By a short ferry from Pollonia on Milos, in about ten minutes, or on longer routes from Piraeus. There is no airport.

What is Skiadi?

A mushroom-shaped rock formation on the high ground in the west of Kimolos, where softer stone under a harder cap has eroded to leave an overhanging disc.

Is Kimolos worth visiting from Milos?

Yes, either as a day trip or a two-night stay. It has the same geology and light with a small fraction of the visitors.

What is the kastro on Kimolos?

A sixteenth-century fortified core in the village of Chorio, where the outer walls of the houses formed the defences. Parts are ruined, parts are lived in.

Can you visit Polyaigos from Kimolos?

Boats run to it in season. Polyaigos is large, uninhabited and protected, and is among the emptiest places in the Cyclades.

Plan by category

The Kimolos guides

2 guides, each scoped to a decision you actually have to make.

  • Ancient marble temple columns against a blue Greek skyAttractions

    Things to do

    What is worth your time here, and what to skip.

    See the attractions →
  • A turquoise Greek bay with a beach below dry hillsBeaches

    The beaches

    Which shore, which sand, and how you actually get there.

    See the beaches →

Next

Read Milos, Sifnos, or Serifos.