CalmBeach Greece
Beaches in Donousa
All 4 beaches in Donousa, in one list. They vary widely in how sheltered they sit from the meltemi — open any of them and check live wind and waves before you go.
The beaches
- Kedros Sandy - Easy path
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Livadi
Sandy - Difficult access (path)
A secluded beach with emerald water — A striking, isolated beach with emerald water and bright white sand, one of the most photogenic on Donousa — the remotest of the Small Cyclades.
- Limenari Pebbles - Easy path
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Stavros
Sandy - Easy road access
The convenient port beach — The port-and-village beach, split into two parts by the bay, with fine powdery sand and clear turquoise water.
Pick by what you are looking for
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Meltemi options
The coves that face away from the prevailing wind — the shortlist for a windy day.
- All beach guides →
Good to know
Which beaches in Donousa are more sheltered from the wind?
It comes down to which way the coast faces. When the meltemi blows, coves facing the other way have less open water in front of them for a wave to build across, so they are usually more comfortable. It is not a guarantee — the same beach changes character when the wind turns. Check live wind and waves before you go.
How is this list ordered?
By which beaches have the best conditions at that hour, so the order changes through the day: a beach that leads in the morning can drop down the list in the afternoon, once the wind picks up. When there is no live weather data, they are listed by how well known each one is — not by a score of ours.
When is the sea calmest here?
Across 4 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 1.08 m in June, 1.33 m in July and 1.33 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 1.17 m in September. June is the calmest month of the season. We calculate these figures ourselves from European Copernicus wave-model data at 4.2 km resolution. They describe the sea offshore, not the shelter of an individual cove — a bay protected by a headland will usually be calmer than this.
How warm is the water, month by month?
Off 4 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 18.6 °C in May, 21.4 °C in June, 22.7 °C in July, 23.5 °C in August and 23.2 °C in September — mild at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 21.3 °C. August is the warmest month. Satellite measurements, 1995–2024, from a sea cell about 5 km offshore; shallow bays usually run warmer than this.
When does the meltemi blow in Donousa?
Over the last 20 summers, the hardest week in Donousa starts around 10 July: 82 days in 100 had wind of 5 Beaufort or more. When it blew hard, it came from the north 100% of the time — the meltemi. In a week's holiday between 26 June and 17 September, strong wind on about 5 of the 7 days. Once it starts, it lasts about 5 days. In 3 weeks in 10, it blows all 7 days. On windy days, Stavros, Limenari and Livadi stay the calmest of the beaches on this page. These are typical figures from 20 summers of European reanalysis (2006–2025), not a forecast for any single day.
How busy does it get, month by month?
August is the busiest month. When it fills and empties is measured for the Cyclades as a whole, not for this place on its own: in October it drops to 20% of that peak, while in May it sits at 36%. From official overnight-stay figures 2024-2025: it counts whoever sleeps in the area, not day trippers or cruise passengers. It is a historical average, not a forecast for this year.
Weather and sea conditions change. CalmBeach uses the app view for live beach recommendations.