The easiest way to get to Milos from Athens is by airplane. It's just a 30-minute trip from Athens International Airport to Milos airport.

The only catch: because of government subsidies, the fare to Milos is relatively cheap (40-45 Euros/person or less, one-way) and thus very popular. This means you may have to book several weeks in advance in order to reserve a seat on the 36-seater, dual-prop DASH-8 aircraft. The plane trip is usually early morning or afternoon.

The best alternative would be the catamarans, High-Speed or SpeedRunner (around 40 Euros/person). They call on on other islands on the way so they take 4.5-5 hours to get to Milos, but the trip is comfortable. I heard the High-Speed lines would even have wireless internet available on board this season.

There is also the SpeedJet. This cute little boat goes from Piraeus (the port of Athens) directly to Milos in 2.45 hours. The downside: Because the SpeedJet is a smaller vessel, it may not be permitted to sail in inclement weather, forcing you to change your schedule.

For the romantics, there are always the conventional ferries, for half the price (around 20 Euros). They take 7.5 - 8 hours to get to Milos, calling on other islands on the way. Think of such a trip as a poor man's cruise, lol!

Arguably, the best of the conventional ferries are the Cretan ferries, most notably Ierapetra, which goes directly to Milos from Piraeus, 3-5 times a week, in just 5 hours. It is comfortable, reliable and punctual, but with the drawback that it always sails at 7:00 PM and arrives in Milos at midnight, meaning you get to spend an extra night at the hotel in Milos.

As for getting to other islands from Milos, there is always a way, but the schedules change every year, as well as from month to month. Naturally, it is a lot easier to get from Milos to the nearby islands, such as Kimolos, Sifnos, Serifos, Folegandros, even Ios and Santorini. The Cretan ferries such as Ierapetra, even continue to faraway islands such as Karpathos, Kassos and Rhodes. Crete is 6 hours away from Milos. To get to most other Cycladic islands from Milos, you either take a conventional ferry that calls on several other islands before reaching your destination, or get creative: catch a speed ferry to say, Sifnos, Serifos or Santorini, wait a few hours, and get on a different boat from that island to the island of your destination (Ios, Paros, Naxos, Syros, etc.)

My advice to visitors is usually the same: Forget about the common practice of island-hopping. This made sense decades ago, when most islands were under-developed and there was very little to do in each one. Today, ferry schedules are improved, but still, island-hopping means you waste far too much time packing and traveling and not enough time in the hotels, the restaurants, the museums or on the beach. In other words, each year, I'd pick an island and stick with it for the duration of my vacation. Milos, in particular, cannot be fully enjoyed in 4 days. Your vacation in Milos will be largely squandered in if you stay on the island less than a week.