Nearby Ammoudara (Heraklion) 26 km · Agios Nikolaos lagoon 35 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
09:00 · 12:00 · 16:00
Light overnight and through the early morning. The summer flow starts building around 09:00, roughly doubles by midday, holds from about 12:00 to 16:00 and fades through the evening. Modelled for this stretch of coast, not timed on the beach.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
locals call it Meltemi
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Light overnight and through the early morning. The summer flow starts building around 09:00, roughly doubles by midday, holds from about 12:00 to 16:00 and fades through the evening. Modelled for this stretch of coast, not timed on the beach.
Typical strength
Nothing is measured at Anissaras. The kite beach 25 km west at Heraklion runs 10-25 knots through the summer with an average near 18, and 15-40 knots in winter. Take that as the shape of this coast rather than as a figure for these coves, which sit lower and more sheltered in the modelled wind field than the open sea a few miles north.
Thermal or synoptic
frontal
The quiver, in words
Indicative, with no local measurement. On this coast a 75-85 kg rider is on 9-10 m through the summer Meltemi, drops to 7-8 m when it pushes past 25 knots, and needs 12 m on the light days at either end of the season.Winter fronts here run much harder, so a 7 m is the small kite to travel with.
Direction to shore
The coves face north, so the NW arrives onshore to side-onshore. Across a summer afternoon the flow veers more northerly, which puts it square on the sand; there is no offshore direction here to give you an easy drift back out.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan58
- Feb56
- Mar56
- Apr43
- May, riders' month25
- Jun, riders' month34
- Jul, riders' month49
- Aug, riders' month33
- Sep, riders' month26
- Oct, riders' month24
- Nov46
- Dec45
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.
- 13Jan18°
- 12Feb17°
- 12Mar17°
- 11Apr18°
- 9May20°
- 9Jun25°
- 11Jul27°
- 10Aug28°
- 9Sep26°
- 9Oct24°
- 11Nov21°
- 11Dec19°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 58% | 12.6 kt | SSW | 12.6°C | 17.6°C |
| Feb | 56% | 12.2 kt | S | 12.4°C | 16.7°C |
| Mar | 56% | 11.7 kt | W | 13.3°C | 16.8°C |
| Apr | 43% | 10.9 kt | WNW | 16.9°C | 18.1°C |
| May | 25% | 9.3 kt | NW | 19.3°C | 19.8°C |
| Jun | 34% | 9.3 kt | WNW | 24.5°C | 24.6°C |
| Jul | 49% | 10.6 kt | WNW | 27°C | 27.1°C |
| Aug | 33% | 9.5 kt | WNW | 26.9°C | 27.6°C |
| Sep | 26% | 9.4 kt | WNW | 24.3°C | 26.2°C |
| Oct | 24% | 8.7 kt | NW | 20.8°C | 24.3°C |
| Nov | 46% | 11.4 kt | SSW | 18°C | 21.4°C |
| Dec | 45% | 10.9 kt | SSW | 15.2°C | 19.2°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
No shallow shelf to count on. The coves are ordinary bathing depth rather than stand-up water, and the bottom is rock in most of them, so plan on deep-water work from the moment you leave the sand. Not measured.
Tides
Tide independent.
Temperature
26°C summer · 16°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorty in summer and autumn, a full wetsuit in winter and spring. Sea temperature runs around 26 C in August and about 16 C in February.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
3 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: small
Somewhere else
Ammoudara (Heraklion), 26 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Small sand-and-stones launch on an organized resort coastline, with rocks, trees and power lines close by.
Space
small
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Walk the launch before you unpack: power lines and trees sit right behind the small beach.
- Stay out of the hotel swimmer zones; this whole coast is organized bathing beach with umbrellas and sunbeds.
- Wear booties. The seabed is rocky in most of the coves and the clean entry is not obvious.
- Call a Heraklion or Hersonissos kite contact before you drive out, because no active school or rescue is confirmed at Anissaras itself.
- Base yourself in Hersonissos for food, supplies and evenings; there is no kite base on the sand.
- Rig for a summer afternoon: the flow builds from around 09:00 and is at its best between midday and 16:00.
- Bring the full national kit list, helmet and impact vest included, and a wetsuit if you are riding between 15 October and 15 May.
- If the day looks marginal, drive the 25 km west to the Heraklion kite beach instead; it is the windiest sand on this stretch and it is set up for riders.
Getting there
Airport
Heraklion International Airport (HER)
Route
Heraklion Airport is 25 km from the beach. Anissaras is 21 km east of Heraklion and next to Hersonissos. No bus runs direct from Heraklion, so bus riders get off near Hersonissos and finish by taxi or on foot.
Transfer
About 24-35 minutes by private transfer from Heraklion Airport to Anissaras; the bus connection is much longer, with transfers.
Cost level
medium
Staying
Large all-inclusive hotels dominate Anissaras, with a few smaller hotels and studios among them. Hersonissos next door has the dining and the nightlife.
No-wind days
Sarandaris coves, Hersonissos beaches, Aquaworld Aquarium, Lychnostatis open-air museum, resort pools and Heraklion-area sightseeing.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Anissaras?
May through October is listed as the season, with the north-facing beach also said to receive reliable summer Meltemi.
Is Anissaras suitable for beginners?
No; most sources mark it expert/advanced only, citing the rocky seabed, small launch, and nearby trees and power lines.
What hazards should riders know about?
Reefs and rocks in the water, a rocky seabed in many bathing coves, trees and power lines near the launch, and a small launch area are all reported.
What is the wind like?
Listings describe frontal NW wind as the main direction, though another source calls it a reliable onshore summer Meltemi typical of Crete's north coast; no stable wind-speed range was confirmed.
Last updated: August 2026