CalmBeach Greece
Beaches in Ikaria
All 19 beaches in Ikaria, in one list. 5 of them are not exposed to the meltemi, which gives them the better odds on a windy day. Open any of them for live wind and waves.
The beaches
- Aris Potamos Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
- Agaliasma Pebbles - Moderate access
- Armenistis Sandy - Easy road access
- Iero Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
- Kampos Sandy - Easy road access
- Kerame Sand & pebbles - Passable dirt road
- Kyparissi Sandy - Passable dirt road
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Livadi
Sandy - Easy road access
A surf beach on the north coast — A long beach of golden sand and clear turquoise-green water, near Armenistis. It is shallow and used by families…
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Mesakti
Sandy - Easy road access
The long golden sands made for surfing — Messakti sits on the north coast of Ikaria, between Armenistis and Gialiskari, one of the island's longest beaches…
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Nas
Sand & pebbles - Easy path
A river-mouth beach below an ancient temple — A small cove of sand and pebble with clear water, at the mouth of the Chalaris river in a green gorge — so it pairs the sea with freshwater behind…
- Paralia Xylosyrti Pebbles - Easy path
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Tou Kontou to Lakoma
Pebbles - Passable dirt road
A quiet pebble beach on the eastern tip — A large pebble beach on the island’s eastern tip, between Faros and Agios Georgios — quiet, secluded and little known…
- Partheni Pebbles - Easy road access
- Prioni Sand & pebbles - Difficult access (path)
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Sevcheles
Pebbles - Difficult access (path)
The Aegean's Seychelles, in white pebbles — Seychelles beach lies on the southwest coast of Ikaria, near the village of Magganitis, a small cove of smooth white pebbles and granite rock. Its…
- Syrtiko Pebbles - Difficult access (path)
- Trachila Pebbles - Moderate access
- Fyrodi Pebbles - Moderate access
- Fytema Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
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.
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Snorkeling
Rockier seabed and clearer water, where there is something to look at underwater.
- Sandy
- All beach guides →
Good to know
Which beaches in Ikaria are more sheltered from the wind?
5 of the 19 face away from the meltemi, meaning less open water in front of them for a wave to build across when it blows. It is not a guarantee — the same beach changes character when the wind turns. Check the live reading before you drive out.
Which side of Ikaria is windier?
When the meltemi blows (from N/NE), the beaches facing north are the most open to it: none of the 10 is sheltered from it. The more sheltered side faces south: all 5 of its beaches have land between them and the wind. When the wind turns, the picture turns with it, so 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 19 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.96 m in June, 1.18 m in July and 1.18 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 1.02 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 19 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 19.1 °C in May, 22.0 °C in June, 23.3 °C in July, 24.1 °C in August and 23.4 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 21.5 °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 is the weather worst in Ikaria?
Over the last 20 summers, the hardest week in Ikaria starts around 10 July: 18 days in 100 had wind of 5 Beaufort or more. In a week's holiday between 3 July and 23 July, strong wind on about 1 of the 7 days. Once it starts, it lasts about 2 days. Even then, the most sheltered side was the southeast coast, with beaches fit for a swim such as Syrtiko and Xylosyrti. 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 peak: on an average night there are about 1,157 people staying here. At both ends of the season, May and October, it stays around 25% of that peak. 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.