CalmBeach Greece
Beaches in Santorini
All 14 beaches in Santorini, in one list. 4 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 Georgios Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
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Vlychada
Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
Santorini’s lunar coastline — A long strip of dark volcanic sand beneath tall pale cliffs of ash, tuff and pumice — debris from the Minoan eruption…
- Vourvoulos Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
- Gymnistiki paralia Vlychada Sand & pebbles - Easy path
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Kamari
Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
Black sand and Ancient Thera — A wide beach of black volcanic sand and pebbles at the northern foot of Mesa Vouno — the same rocky wall separates Kamari from Perissa. High above…
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Kokkini Paralia
Sand & pebbles - Difficult access (path)
The Red Beach beneath volcanic cliffs — A small cove framed by towering rust-red walls: iron-rich volcanic rock that has oxidised to a deep brick-red…
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Levki Paralia
Sand & pebbles - Boat access only
The White Beach and its pale cliffs — A small cove just past the Red Beach, beneath tall pale (cream-white) volcanic cliffs — the visual opposite of its red neighbour. The "white" refers…
- Monolithos Sandy - Easy road access
- Baxes Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
- Paralia Kerkezou Pebbles - Passable dirt road
- Perivolos Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
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Perissa
Sand & pebbles - Easy road access
Black sand below Mesa Vouno — A long beach of jet-black volcanic sand at the southern foot of the rocky Mesa Vouno headland. Crowning the mountain are the ruins of Ancient Thera…
- Katharos Pebbles - Difficult access (path)
- Exo Gialos Thiras 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.
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Organized
Sunbeds, umbrellas and somewhere to eat or drink nearby.
- Beach bars
- All beach guides →
Good to know
Which beaches in Santorini are more sheltered from the wind?
4 of the 14 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 14 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.84 m in June, 1.01 m in July and 1.00 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.92 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 14 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 19.2 °C in May, 22.5 °C in June, 24.0 °C in July, 24.9 °C in August and 24.3 °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 Santorini?
Over the last 20 summers, the hardest week in Santorini starts around 10 July: 48 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 4 of the 7 days. Once it starts, it lasts about 3 days. Even then, the most sheltered side was the southeast coast, with beaches fit for a swim such as Agios Georgios, Perivolos and Perissa. 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. In October it drops to 26% of that peak, while in May it sits at 44%. 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.