CalmBeach Greece
Meltemi options
Beaches in Skopelos usually better when the meltemi blows
13 sheltered beaches in Skopelos, oriented away from the meltemi. Check live wind & waves on CalmBeach before you go.
- 13beaches
- 6organized
- 7with photos
The meltemi blows from N/NE, and the split shows up clearly in the data. Of the 22 beaches we have modelled, 13 take no open water toward N/NE; they cluster on the southwest coast, facing an arc of S–W. The most reliable of them are listed below. The other 5 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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StafylosA beach with a Minoan tomb — Fine grey-silvery sand with small pebbles and blue-green water, framed by large rocks, ~4-5 km south of town. On the cape above, a 1936 excavation…
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NerakiA pine-fringed cove with deep water — Golden sand with white pebbles and notably deep, crystal-clear water, with pines reaching the waterline — one of the loveliest coves on Skopelos…
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Ftelia
A small cove for sunsets — A small cove (~70 m) of sand and small pebbles with deep, very clear water and pines down to the sea — famous for its sunsets.
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Photo credits
- Stafylos: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
- Limnonari: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
- Paralia Panormou Skopelou: Rok B, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Neraki: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
- Chovolo: Alika Obrazovskaya, CC BY 3.0
- Spilia: dronepicr, CC BY 2.0
- Kastani: Athinavaitsi, CC BY-SA 4.0
Good to know
Which beaches in Skopelos 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 13 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.25 m in June, 0.27 m in July and 0.28 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.33 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 13 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 18.5 °C in May, 23.1 °C in June, 25.7 °C in July, 26.4 °C in August and 24.5 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 21.4 °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.
Wind and waves change every day. See live conditions for any of these beaches before you drive out.
Open the live map →