CalmBeach Greece
Meltemi options
Beaches in Ios usually better when the meltemi blows
19 sheltered beaches in Ios, oriented away from the meltemi. Check live wind & waves on CalmBeach before you go.
- 19beaches
- 3organized
- 4with photos
The meltemi blows from N/NE, and the split shows up clearly in the data. Of the 40 beaches we have modelled, 19 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 15 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
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Mylopotas
The river of the mills — Mylopotas lies on the western side of Ios, about two kilometres from Chora, and is considered the largest beach on the island. A long ribbon of fine…
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Manganari
The coves of The Big Blue — Manganari sits at the southern tip of Ios, about 23 kilometres from Chora, and is formed by a series of consecutive coves of fine golden sand.
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Tris Klisies mikri
A secluded beach near Manganari — Access by boat, or by car then a 10-15 minute footpath. Unorganized, with only a few trees for shade.
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KolitsaniAccess by car to a small parking area then a ~20-minute downhill path, or by kayak/boat-taxi from Mylopotas. Unorganized.
Photo credits
- Chalara: Reinhard Kraasch, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kolitsani: Thettalos at Greek Wikipedia, Attribution
Good to know
Which beaches in Ios 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 19 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.80 m in June, 0.86 m in July and 0.85 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.82 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 19.0 °C in May, 22.2 °C in June, 23.7 °C in July, 24.4 °C in August and 23.9 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 22.0 °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.
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