CalmBeach Greece
Meltemi options
Beaches in Syros usually better when the meltemi blows
16 sheltered beaches in Syros, oriented away from the meltemi. Check live wind & waves on CalmBeach before you go.
- 16beaches
- 7organized
- 6with photos
The meltemi blows from N/NE, and the split shows up clearly in the data. Of the 24 beaches we have modelled, 16 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 3 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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Delfini
Access from the road past Kini with a rough final dirt stretch, or by boat. Partly organized (sunbeds, a beach bar) with undeveloped sections.
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Marmari
A U-shaped sandy cove — A U-shaped sandy cove with clear water, in Ano Meria, between Megas Lakkos and Americanou. Essentially undeveloped…
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Megas Lakos
An undeveloped beach (boat or trail only) — Sand and gravel (~600 m) with a rocky, slippery seabed (water shoes help) and clear water, on the isolated northwest coast. One of the island’s last…
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Photo credits
- Megas Gialos: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Voulgari: Sgroey, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Achladi: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lagkonaki: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Ampela: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 4.0
Good to know
If Kini 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 Kini takes open water toward N/NE, so it is among the first here to pick up chop in the meltemi, while Agkathopes, 7 km away and facing west, is oriented away from it and is usually the more comfortable call. The same swap works elsewhere: Paralia Komito → Delfini (9 km, facing south-west). Orientation is a strong signal, not a promise — compare live wind and waves on both beach pages before you go.
Agkathopes · Kini · Delfini · Paralia Komito
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: 6 face south-west (Delfini, Paralia Vari); 4 face south-east (Megas Gialos, Achladi); 4 face west (Agkathopes, Voulgari). 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.
Delfini · Paralia Vari · Megas Gialos · Achladi · Agkathopes · Voulgari
Which beaches in Syros 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 16 of the beaches on this page, the open water in front of them is typically 0.85 m in June, 1.07 m in July and 1.11 m in August when the meltemi is at its strongest, and 0.97 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 16 of the beaches on this page the sea is typically 18.9 °C in May, 22.0 °C in June, 24.1 °C in July, 24.8 °C in August and 24.2 °C in September — ideal at the height of summer, mild in June. By October it is 21.8 °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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