Map › Greece › Anavyssos

Attica · Saronikos / Sounion peninsula · Regional Unit of East Attica

Anavyssos

also known as Anavissos, Paralia Anavyssou, Ανάβυσσος, Παραλία Αναβύσσου

beginner-friendlyhigh crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Vravrona Bay 25 km · Nissakia Loutsa 31 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMay to Octthe months riders and schools name How windy15-25 knotsmixed Launchmediumaccess rules on record, below Watersea26.1°C in summer · 10 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools4named at this spot From the airportno transfer time publishedAthens International Airport (ATH)

When it fills in

The summer Meltemi is an afternoon wind: it hardens through the afternoon and often drops overnight, though it can also run for several days without a break. The SE/E thermal keeps the same hours. Winter southerlies are frontal and arrive at any time of day or night. Regional pattern, no local measurement.

Anavyssos is a U-shaped bay about 1.3 km long on the Saronic side of the Sounion peninsula, south of Athens on road 91, with a wide sandy beach and a sea floor that stays under about 2 m across the whole bay. Water is flat to choppy with small waves.

The seasons run backwards here: the local window is winter, when S or SW blows onshore at up to 25 knots, while the summer N Meltemi arrives offshore and gusty at 15-25 knots and, reportedly, kiting is not allowed in summer at all because the beach is full of swimmers.

That summer ban has not been confirmed by any municipal or port authority, so ask before you rig. The bay also gets a SE or E afternoon thermal and is exposed to a NE Meltemi, so summer is not entirely dead; the wind is often gusty whichever way it comes.

Shallow sand makes it forgiving for beginners when the direction is right, but there is no rescue boat here and Greek rules require one whenever the wind is offshore. Come on a winter southerly with a wetsuit; in summer expect to be told no.

The wind

locals call it Meltemi

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: The summer Meltemi is an afternoon wind: it hardens through the afternoon and often drops overnight, though it can also run for several days without a break. The SE/E thermal keeps the same hours. Winter southerlies are frontal and arrive at any time of day or night. Regional pattern, no local measurement.

Typical strength

15-25 knots in summer N Meltemi and up to 25 knots in winter S/SW.

Often gusty. Winter S/SW lines up best with the bay; the summer N Meltemi is offshore and gusty.

May to October is the standard answer for Athens spots in general; for Anavyssos itself winter is the better season, and in summer kiting is reportedly not allowed because of the swimmers. The bay is exposed to the NE Meltemi and also builds a SE/E thermal.

Thermal or synoptic

NE Meltemi and SE/E afternoon thermal

Also on record

nearby Saronikos Buoy annual average 9 knots, gusts 12 knots, based on 2011-2019 observations

The quiver, in words

Standard sizing for a 75-85 kg rider against the bands quoted for this bay, not a local measurement: 11-12 m for the 11-19 kt days, 9 m around 20 kt, 7 m for a winter southerly running to 25 kt or a strong Meltemi.In an offshore Meltemi with no boat on the water the honest size is no kite at all.

Direction to shore

S/SW is onshore in winter; the N Meltemi is offshore and gusty. The bay is also exposed to NE, and SE/E thermals are workable.

Dominant direction

NE, E, SE, S, SW; the summer Meltemi reportedly comes in mostly from N.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan60
Feb62
Mar53
Apr56
May, riders' month44
Jun, riders' month53
Jul, riders' month71
Aug, riders' month59
Sep, riders' month49
Oct, riders' month57
Nov64
Dec53

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

14Jan16°
13Feb16°
12Mar16°
13Apr18°
11May19°
13Jun23°
14Jul27°
13Aug27°
12Sep26°
12Oct24°
13Nov21°
12Dec17°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	60%	13.5 kt	NNE	11.2°C	16.2°C
Feb	62%	12.7 kt	N	11.7°C	15.6°C
Mar	53%	12.3 kt	NNE	12.7°C	15.9°C
Apr	56%	12.5 kt	NNE	17°C	17.5°C
May	44%	11.4 kt	NNE	19.8°C	18.9°C
Jun	53%	12.7 kt	NNE	26.1°C	23.4°C
Jul	71%	14.1 kt	NNE	29.4°C	26.7°C
Aug	59%	12.8 kt	NNE	28.3°C	27.4°C
Sep	49%	11.5 kt	NNE	24.8°C	25.7°C
Oct	57%	12.4 kt	NNE	20.9°C	24°C
Nov	64%	13.2 kt	NNE	17°C	20.6°C
Dec	53%	11.7 kt	NNE	13.8°C	17.4°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

sea

Standing depth

Shallow: the whole bay is no deeper than about 2 m.

Tides

Effectively none. The nearest published gauge in the same gulf, at Piraeus, moves about 0.08 m from low to high water, so the tide changes neither the depth nor the launch. Indicative: no gauge is published for Anavyssos.

Temperature

26.1°C summer · 15°C winter

Wetsuit

None in the warm months; you can ride all year but winter needs a wetsuit.

16–27°C water

Flat to choppy with small waves, in a U-shaped bay about 1.3 km long with a wide sandy beach and shallow sea. Water is 26.1 C on average in August and 15.0 C in February.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Any level on paper, and the shallow sandy bay is as beginner-friendly as they come on the right day. The wrong day is a summer Meltemi, offshore and gusty with swimmers everywhere; a beginner needs legal access, an onshore direction and rescue cover before this bay makes sense.

The scene

What riders come here for

freerideopen-water sessionswinter southerliesflat waterchopsmall waveswingfoil

Local Athens-area water-sports bay. In summer the beach crowd wins; winter southerlies are the local riders' window.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Vravrona Bay, 25 km

Vravrona Bay Nissakia Loutsa

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

None at the beach. No lifeguard post, patrol boat or kite-rescue service specific to the bay was found and no local number is published.

The national rule that a motorised rescue boat and a qualified supervisor must be on hand whenever the wind blows offshore is therefore something you arrange, not something the bay provides -- and the summer Meltemi here is offshore. The nearest club operating its own rescue-boat fleet sits at Artemida, on the other coast of Attica. In an emergency the number is 112.

Launch

Wide sandy beach in a U-shaped bay on the Anavyssos waterfront, with road access via Athens-Sounion road 91.

Space

medium

Rules & access

2026: A national Ministerial Decision (Government Gazette 4415/B, 7 October 2020) sets Greece's kitesurfing rules, still in force: stay at least 200 m from swimmers and 100 m from marker buoys, keep the launch area clear within 100 m, do not ride before sunrise or after sunset, beyond 1 nautical mile from shore, above 6 Beaufort, or in poor visibility or storms, wear a wetsuit from 15 October to 15 May, and have a motorized rescue boat with a qualified supervisor on hand whenever the wind blows offshore. Summer kitesurfing is reportedly not allowed at Anavyssos because the beach is full of swimmers; no municipal or port-authority ordinance confirming this has been found.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Come on a winter S/SW day; that is the onshore setup and the local riders' window.
Treat the summer N Meltemi as offshore and gusty, and do not go out in it without a boat on the water.
Before any summer session, check the swimmer zoning with the port authority; kiting here is reportedly banned in summer.
If you booked a lesson, confirm on the day whether the school is at Anavyssos or has moved to another Athens spot for the wind.
A bay under 2 m deep is no safety net in an offshore wind; the current can carry you toward Cape Sounion.
Wetsuit from 15 October to 15 May; the water averages 15.0 C in February.

Getting there

Airport

Athens International Airport (ATH)

Route

Drive south from Athens on road 91 along the coast to Anavyssos. The town sits on the Saronic coast of the Athens Riviera between Saronida and Palaia Fokaia, with Lavrio further on.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Rooms along the Athens Riviera and in Saronida and Anavyssos itself, plus Sounion and Lavrio nearby.

No-wind days

Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon, Athens city sights, Saronic coast beaches, SUP, wingfoil, coastal restaurants and Lavrio.

Photos

Anavissos Beach (223585763) — Georgios Liakopoulos, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Anavyssos?

Winter southerly (S/SW) wind is described as the cleanest local setup, reaching up to 25 knots, while the summer north Meltemi is reported as offshore and gusty.

Is kitesurfing allowed in summer?

One 2026 source states summer kitesurfing is not permitted at Anavyssos because the beach is full of swimmers; no primary municipal ordinance confirming this was found, so riders should check locally.

Is Anavyssos suitable for beginners?

The shallow sandy bay, no deeper than about 2 meters, is called ideal for beginners, but summer's offshore, gusty wind and swimmer restrictions make independent beginner use conditional.

What is the wind like?

Wind is mixed and often gusty: the summer north Meltemi runs 15-25 knots but offshore, while winter S/SW can reach up to 25 knots and is better aligned with the bay.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Athens Watersports Club, KiteGreece, Nissakia Surf Club and Kitemonkey are listed nearby.

Last updated: August 2026