CalmBeach Greece
Beaches in Kea
All 32 beaches in Kea, in one list. 15 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
- Agios Filippos Sandy - Easy path
- Avythou Pebbles - Passable dirt road
- Vlanti Pebbles - Difficult access (path)
- Vroskopos Sand & pebbles - Difficult dirt road
- Gialiskari Sandy - Easy road access
- Kalamitsi Sand & pebbles - Difficult dirt road
- Kalidonychi Sand & pebbles - Passable dirt road
- Kaliskia Sand & pebbles - Difficult access (path)
- Kalogiros Sandy - Passable dirt road
- Kampi Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
- Kastriani Sandy - Boat access only
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Koundouros
Sandy - Easy road access
Koundouros: the sandy bay of the windmills — Koundouros stretches along the southwestern coast of Kea (Tzia), a wide sandy bay of fine and coarse sand dotted with the island's characteristic…
- Ladou Pebbles - Easy path
- Liparo Sandy - Passable dirt road
- Lygia Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
- Mavia Pebbles - Difficult access (path)
- Mavrampeli Sand & pebbles - Difficult dirt road
- Megales Poles Sand & pebbles - Difficult access (path)
- Mikres Poles Sand & pebbles - Difficult access (path)
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Xyla
Sandy - Passable dirt road
Xyla: the beach that took its name from the sea — Xyla lies on the western side of Kea (Tzia), a few kilometres south of Korissia, a beach of fine and coarse sand in a relatively out-of-the-way…
- Orkos Sand & pebbles - Passable dirt road
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Otzias
Sandy - Easy road access
The island’s largest beach — Easy paved access; partly organized (free ends, sunbeds in the middle, tavernas behind). An ancient harbour once stood here.
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Pisses
Sandy - Easy road access
Dark sand and the only campsite — Dark sand mixed with pebbles, clear water, a wide open beach at the mouth of a lush valley of fruit and cypress trees. It is named after the ancient…
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Spathi
Sandy - Passable dirt road
Now road-accessible (formerly path/boat only); moderately organized, with a beachfront restaurant/bar. Quiet on weekdays.
- Stefa Pebbles - Boat access only
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Sykamia
Sand & pebbles - Passable dirt road
A wild "Robinson Crusoe" beach with tamarisks — Sand and pebbles with deep turquoise water, on the east coast. Undeveloped and "Robinson Crusoe"-like…
- Schinos Pebbles - 4x4 access
- Tilegrafos Sand & pebbles - Difficult dirt road
- Freas Pebbles - Moderate access
- Chyliamodou Sand & pebbles - Moderate access
- Psathi Sand & pebbles - Passable dirt road
- Psili Ammos Sandy - Easy path
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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Family beaches
Organised, not hard to reach, and recorded as shallow in our data.
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Snorkeling
Rockier seabed and clearer water, where there is something to look at underwater.
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Organized
Sunbeds, umbrellas and somewhere to eat or drink nearby.
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Secluded
Quieter and harder to reach — dirt track, a walk, or boat only.
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Sunset
West-facing, so the sun goes down over the water in front of you.
- Sandy
- All beach guides →
Good to know
Which beaches in Kea are more sheltered from the wind?
15 of the 32 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.
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 32 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.60 m in June, 0.66 m in July and 0.69 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.69 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 32 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 18.5 °C in May, 22.1 °C in June, 24.4 °C in July, 25.4 °C in August and 24.7 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 22.4 °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 Kea?
Over the last 20 summers, the hardest week in Kea starts around 14 August: 43 days in 100 had wind of 5 Beaufort or more. In a week's holiday between 7 August and 3 September, strong wind on about 3 of the 7 days. Once it starts, it lasts about 3 days. Even then, the most sheltered side was the west coast, with beaches fit for a swim such as Pisses and Vroskopos. 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.