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Meltemi options
Beaches in Halkidiki usually better when the meltemi blows
51 sheltered beaches in Halkidiki, oriented away from the meltemi. Check live wind & waves on CalmBeach before you go.
- 40beaches
- 27organized
- 17with photos
The meltemi blows from N/NE, and the split shows up clearly in the data. Of the 132 beaches we have modelled, 53 take no open water toward N/NE; they cluster on the southwest coast, facing an arc of SE–W. The most reliable of them are listed below. The other 58 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 southwest coast is open to the opposite wind. On days the wind swings from the southwest, 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
The order is not random: first the bays whose orientation turns their back on the most wind directions, and among equal ones the beaches more people actually visit. Orientation is the shape of the coast, not a forecast — check wind and waves before you go.
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KalamitsiThe bay that recalls Voidokoilia — Kalamitsi sits at the southern tip of Sithonia in Halkidiki, fronting a small seaside village a few kilometers from Sykia…
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Paralia AlykesWhite sand by the old salt pan — Alykes lies on the western side of Ammouliani, the only inhabited island of Halkidiki, about a kilometer from the village. The crescent-shaped beach…
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Akti Kalogrias
Sand and pines south of Nikiti — Akti Kalogrias lies in western Sithonia, Halkidiki, about five kilometres south of Nikiti on the road towards Neos Marmaras. It is a long…
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Paralia Vergias
The sandy shore by Nea Kallikrateia — Vergia beach lies in the Nea Kallikrateia area, on the northwestern coast of Halkidiki, about forty kilometres from Thessaloniki. It is a long…
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Lagomandra
Pines down to the sand on the Toroneos gulf — Lagomandra lies on the west coast of Sithonia, between Nikiti and Neos Marmaras, looking out over the Toroneos gulf. Its sandy shore stretches for…
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Porto Koufo
The sandy shore of Greece's deepest natural harbor — Porto Koufo lies at the southern tip of Sithonia, at the head of a strikingly enclosed bay considered the largest and deepest natural harbor…
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Paralia Nikitis
The waterfront of a village with monastic roots — Nikiti beach spreads out in front of the seaside quarter of Nikiti, on the west coast of Sithonia…
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Paralia Agiou IoanniThe long sandy shore below the Ai-Giannis chapel — Agios Ioannis beach stretches south of Nikiti, on the west coast of Sithonia in Halkidiki, along the road to Neos Marmaras. It takes its name from…
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Karagatsia
The cove named after its elm trees — Karagatsia lies on the northwest coast of Ammouliani, the only inhabited island of Halkidiki…
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Paralia TristinikaA kilometre of sand in southern Sithonia — Tristinika unfolds on the southwestern coast of Sithonia in Halkidiki, a little north of Toroni and about 19 kilometres south of Neos Marmaras. Its…
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Plagia FlogitaThe long sandy front on the Thermaic Gulf — The Plagia-Flogita beach stretches along the west coast of Halkidiki, on the Thermaic Gulf, in front of the villages of Nea Plagia and Nea Flogita…
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Nea FlogitaThe accessible shore of a Cappadocian village — Nea Flogita lies in western Halkidiki, on the Thermaic Gulf coast, along the coastal road a few kilometres before Nea Moudania. The village is built…
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Paradisos
The northern sands of Neos Marmaras — Paradisos is the northern beach of Neos Marmaras in Sithonia, Halkidiki, a sandy stretch of roughly one kilometre at the entrance to the town. Its…
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Paralia Kastri
Twin coves below an ancient stronghold — Kastri lies south of Nikiti, on the northwestern coast of Sithonia in Halkidiki: two small sandy coves separated by a rock in the sea…
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Paralia Elani
The green bay of western Kassandra — Elani lies on the west coast of Kassandra in Halkidiki, between Sani and Siviri, a few kilometres north of the latter. It is a beach of roughly 400…
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Paralia Aretes
Three coves on the road to Toroni — Aretes lies on the southwestern coast of Sithonia in Halkidiki, along the road from Neos Marmaras to Toroni…
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Paralia Spathion
The twin coves with the mark on the rock — Spathies is a small stretch of coast in western Sithonia, a few kilometres south of Nikiti, between Kalogria and Elia. The name is said to come from…
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KalopigadoThe dark clay-tinged sand of Ammouliani — Kalopigado lies on the west side of Ammouliani, the only inhabited island of Halkidiki, between Alikes and Karagatsia and a short distance from the…
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Lemos
The twin shore at Sithonia's southernmost tip — Lemos sits at the southernmost end of Sithonia, beyond Porto Koufo, where the Halkidiki peninsula narrows before reaching its final cape. The place…
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Paralia Koviou
The small golden cove of west Sithonia — Koviou beach lies on the west coast of Sithonia in Halkidiki, about five kilometres south of Nikiti on the road to Neos Marmaras. It is a small cove…
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Photo credits
- Kalamitsi: Angela Stefanoni, CC BY 3.0
- Kalamitsi: Angela Stefanoni, CC BY 3.0
- Paralia Alykes: dragi.stanojevic63, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Paralia Agiou Ioanni: apostolis k, CC BY 3.0
- Paralia Tristinika: vujas, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Plagia Flogita: john melekidis, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Nea Flogita: Tilemahos Efthimiadis from Greece, CC BY 2.0
- Kalopigado: Horia Varlan, CC BY 2.0
- Achlada: Ioannis Houvardas, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Paralia Toronis: Itto Ogami, CC BY 3.0
- Paralia Azapiko: id.nfero, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Ouranoupoli: Tomisti, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Psakoudia: Andrew Zorin, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Castello: DJUKI, CC BY 3.0
- Agios Nikolaos: Christaras A, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Paralia Gerakinis: florin_glontaru, CC BY 3.0
Good to know
If Kavourotrypes is too windy, where do I go instead?
Check the forecast when you wake up, then pick a bay that turns its back on the wind that is actually blowing. In our exposure model Kavourotrypes takes open water toward N/NE, so it is among the first here to pick up chop in the meltemi, while Kalamitsi, 15 km away and facing south-east, is oriented away from it and is usually the more comfortable call. The same swap works elsewhere: Sarti → Porto Koufo (14 km, facing south-west). Orientation is a strong signal, not a promise — compare live wind and waves on both beach pages before you go.
And if the wind turns?
This list is built for one wind — the meltemi from N/NE. But the beaches on it do not all look the same way: 22 face south-west (Paralia Alykes, Akti Kalogrias); 9 face south-east (Kalamitsi, Lemos); 6 face south (Paralia Agiou Ioanni, Plagia Flogita). On days the air arrives from somewhere else, that is what changes the decision: pick a group whose bays turn their back on the direction it is actually coming from, based on their orientation. Check wind and waves on each beach page before you go.
Paralia Alykes · Akti Kalogrias · Kalamitsi · Lemos · Paralia Agiou Ioanni · Plagia Flogita
Which beaches in Halkidiki 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 40 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.26 m in June, 0.26 m in July and 0.25 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.30 m in September. August 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 40 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 18.9 °C in May, 23.4 °C in June, 26.1 °C in July, 26.8 °C in August and 24.6 °C in September — ideal 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 →