CalmBeach Greece
Meltemi options
Beaches in Chios usually better when the meltemi blows
18 sheltered beaches in Chios, oriented away from the meltemi. Check live wind & waves on CalmBeach before you go.
- 18beaches
- 4organized
- 3with photos
The meltemi blows from N/NE, and the split shows up clearly in the data. Of the 36 beaches we have modelled, 18 take no open water toward N/NE; they cluster on the south coast, facing an arc of SE–W. The most reliable of them are listed below. The other 7 sit wide open to it.
The reason is the shape of the coast itself: these beaches have land behind them on the side the wind comes from. They are not necessarily enclosed bays — they simply sit in the wind shadow of the shore opposite.
The trade-off, plainly: the same south coast is open to the opposite wind. On days the wind swings from the south, the shelter reverses and the far side is the better call. So this list narrows the choice — it does not replace the forecast; check live wind and waves on the beach page before you go.
The beaches
-
Paralia Vroulidia
Vroulidia: the hidden cove at Chios's southern tip — Vroulidia sits at the southernmost tip of Chios, near Pyrgi, tucked into a small cove beneath tall white cliffs.
-
Paralia Avlonia
Avlonia: a pebbled cove in the Mastic Villages — Avlonia is a small beach on the south-west coast of Chios, in the region of the Mastic Villages, a few kilometres from Mesta.
-
KomiThe long sands below the old watchtowers — Komi lies on the southeastern coast of Chios, at the centre of its own bay, stretching along a sandy beach nearly a kilometre long, one of the…
-
Salagona
Salagona: a sandy shore near Olympoi — Salagona lies on the south-west coast of Chios, in the region of the Mastic Villages, near the village of Olympoi.
-
ElintaThe cove that hid the Papanikolis — Elinta sits on the western coast of Chios, in a large enclosed bay below the mountain villages of Avgonyma and Anavatos, about 25 kilometres from…
-
-
Tigani
A wild pine-fringed cove below a watchtower — A cove of fine pebbles and sand (the sandier "Long Sand" is a few steps away) with deep, clear blue water and small reefs and islets, good for…
-
Managros
One of the largest beaches on Chios — Sand and pebbles of varying grade on one of the island’s largest beaches (~40,000 m²), near Volissos. It is known for cold, crystal-clear water — a…
Photo credits
- Komi: Ailinaleixo, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Komi: Ailinaleixo, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Elinta: Robot8A, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Megas Limnionas: Aneeaw, CC BY-SA 4.0
Good to know
Which beaches in Chios may be better when the meltemi blows?
The bays listed here are shielded from the meltemi in the exposure model, so they may be more comfortable when it blows. Local conditions still vary, so confirm wind and waves before you go.
Does this guarantee low waves?
No. Shelter shows which coasts are shielded from a wind direction, not guaranteed calm or low waves. On strong-wind days follow local flags and check live wind and waves in the app.
When is the sea calmest here?
Across 18 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.56 m in June, 0.65 m in July and 0.65 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.60 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 18 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 18.7 °C in May, 21.6 °C in June, 22.9 °C in July, 23.7 °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.
Wind and waves change every day. See live conditions for any of these beaches before you drive out.
Open the live map →