Landing on the lunar landscape of Sarakiniko beach

For those of you who have always harboured a wish to travel to the moon (and maybe do a little sunbathing whilst you’re there), your answer lies on the island of Milos. Sarakiniko is Greece’s lunar landscape: an extraordinary scene of chalk-white rock, smoothed and shaped by time, and all the more dramatic for its contrast against the azure sea beyond.

Named after the Saracen pirates who once used it as a hideout, Sarakiniko Bay is coastline wilderness at its most alluring. There’s even a partly-exposed shipwreck that you can explore, adding to the sense of drama.

There’s a good chance you’ll have seen Sarakiniko, even if you haven’t yet visited. It’s been the setting for countless new-season fashion photo shoots, with the contours and colours of the eroded volcanic ash, sandstone and pumice stone serving as a unique backdrop. So before settling down on the narrow, peninsula-sheltered sandy beach, it’s worth exploring. There’s even a network of abandoned mines and caves.

The more daring might opt for some cliff jumping off the rocks into the deep waters below (don’t rule it out until you’ve watched others doing it). You could spend the rest of the afternoon lazing on the rocks. 

A final tip is to stay till sunset and, if you get the opportunity, definitely visit at night when there’s a full moon. The effect is otherworldly.