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Egeo settentrionale e Sporadi · Lesvos · Lesbos Regional Unit · Agrilia

Katia

also known as Lesvos / Katia, Katia after the airport, Katia, Agrilia

advanced only
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Nearby Skala Kallonis 40 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMay to Septhe months riders and schools nameHow windyno knot figure publishedsynopticLaunchmediumaccess rules on record, belowWateropen sea24-25°C in summer · 9 things riders flagLevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section
Schoolsnone named here
From the airportno transfer time publishedAirport Odysseas Elytis (MJT)

When it fills in

Frontal wind, so there is no filling-in hour to plan around; it blows when the pattern delivers rather than on a daily cycle. Whether the summer southerly gets an afternoon push here is unconfirmed.

Katia is a real spot on the southeast coast of Lesvos, just past the Mytilene airport near Agrilia, and almost nothing about it is written down. What is known: open sea, shallow clear water, small waves, a medium sand-and-pebble beach with a short walk to the water.
It is listed for intermediate and expert riders, and no school, rescue or measured wind average is confirmed. The point of Katia is that it works when the west of the island does not, because it takes southerly and southeasterly flow onshore. Northerly Meltemi is the wrong wind here.
It blows offshore from this beach, toward Turkey, and there is no boat to come after you. Members of the local sailing club were already kiting here before it appeared anywhere as a spot. Pull a forecast for Katia itself, not one for Sigri.

The wind

Direction

beachwater
wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Character

synoptic

fills in: Frontal wind, so there is no filling-in hour to plan around; it blows when the pattern delivers rather than on a daily cycle. Whether the summer southerly gets an afternoon push here is unconfirmed.

Frontal wind. No measured reliability data was found for this beach.
May through September, with frontal rather than thermal wind. Katia, after the airport, is one of the windy Mytilene-area beaches used by local sailors and kitesurfers, and it is the fallback for west-coast Lesvos when the Meltemi is not blowing.

Thermal or synoptic

frontal

Strength

No knot figure is published for this spot.

Direction to shore

The coast faces southeast. SE comes in onshore, S/SSE and E/ESE arrive side-onshore, and the N to NNE Meltemi is dead offshore, pushing out across roughly 10 km of open strait toward the Turkish coast.

Dominant direction

N, NNE, S, SSW, NW, NNW

Forecast

This week, from Windguru · full forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan61
  2. Feb56
  3. Mar56
  4. Apr53
  5. May, riders' month44
  6. Jun, riders' month57
  7. Jul, riders' month86
  8. Aug, riders' month63
  9. Sep, riders' month50
  10. Oct56
  11. Nov61
  12. Dec48

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

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

  1. 13Jan17°
  2. 12Feb16°
  3. 12Mar17°
  4. 12Apr17°
  5. 11May19°
  6. 12Jun23°
  7. 14Jul25°
  8. 13Aug25°
  9. 11Sep24°
  10. 12Oct22°
  11. 13Nov19°
  12. 11Dec18°

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

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan61%13.2 ktNNE10.3°C17.1°C
Feb56%12.3 ktNNE10.6°C16.2°C
Mar56%11.9 ktNNE11.4°C16.7°C
Apr53%11.8 ktN16.3°C17.4°C
May44%10.7 ktN19.7°C19.3°C
Jun57%12.1 ktN25.6°C23.4°C
Jul86%14.4 ktN28.5°C25.3°C
Aug63%12.7 ktN28.1°C25.2°C
Sep50%11.3 ktN24.3°C24.2°C
Oct56%12 ktN19.9°C22.1°C
Nov61%12.8 ktN15.5°C19.4°C
Dec48%11.3 ktS13.1°C17.7°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

open sea

Standing depth

shallow; exact standable area unconfirmed

Tides

tide independent

Temperature

Summer 24-25 near Mytilini/Lesvos in July-August averages

Winter 15-17 near Lesvos/Mytilini in winter averages

Wetsuit

shorts in summer, shorty in spring/fall, normal wetsuit in winter

16–25°C water
Shallow, clear water with small waves. This is the southeast coast near Agrilia and Mytilene, not the Sigri wind zone on the other side of Lesvos.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced
Intermediate and expert. Nothing confirms beginner lessons, rescue or a forgiving school setup at Katia.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridesmall wavesnon-Meltemi southerly sessions
A Mytilene-area local beach, not a school resort. How busy it gets is unconfirmed.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Skala Kallonis, 40 km

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

Rescue

Nothing. No lifeguard on this beach, no club boat, no organised cover.
That matters more here than at most spots: the national rules forbid riding in a wind that sets you toward open sea unless a licensed lifeguard and a motorised rescue vessel are present, and at Katia neither exists, which is what puts the northerly out of bounds rather than merely making it awkward.

Launch

Medium sand-and-pebble beach with a short walk to the water. The launch is past Mytilene airport.

Space

medium

Hazards riders report 9

  • swimmers
  • road
  • Swimmers
  • Road near the beach
  • Offshore drift risk toward Turkey in N/NNE Meltemi
  • Airport/flight-path proximity should be checked locally under Greek kitesurf area requirements
  • Roughly 10 km of open strait downwind in any northerly, with an international maritime border in it
  • Shipping and ferry traffic in the Mytilene strait
  • Sand-and-pebble bottom, with current reported in stronger wind
Rules & access
Checked in 2026: no Katia-specific ordinance was found, so the national kitesurf rules are what apply. Keep 1 nautical mile from ports, marinas and fish farms. Keep 200 m from swimmers, and from anchored boats, rocks, reefs, buoys and other obstacles.
Hold a clear 100 m radius to launch. No riding before sunrise or after sunset, and no riding beyond 1 nautical mile from shore. Above 6 Beaufort, or in a wind blowing toward open sea, riding is prohibited without a licensed lifeguard and a motorised rescue vessel.
Minimum age 16, or 14 with parental consent and supervision within 100 m. Where a launch corridor is formally established it is marked with yellow floating buoys and a sign reading WARNING - KITESURF TAKEOFF LAUNCH AREA; none is confirmed at Katia.

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

Rider tips

  • Skip Katia in northerly Meltemi unless a local confirms the launch and how you get back; the wind is offshore here.
  • Rig only where you can hold the 100 m clear launch radius and stay 200 m off swimmers, which is the summer constraint on this beach.
  • Ask Mytilene-area riders about the airport approach and the road behind the beach before you fly a kite.
  • Use a forecast station for Katia itself. Sigri wind on the west coast tells you nothing about this side.

Getting there

Airport

Mytilene International Airport Odysseas Elytis (MJT)

Route

Katia is near Agrilia, just beyond the Mytilene airport area, with car, bus and boat access and a short walk at the end. Take a car: the wind direction decides which Lesvos coast you ride, and you want to be able to move.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Mytilene and the airport-side southeast coast offer the closest accommodation base; no specific kite lodging at Katia.

No-wind days

Mytilene town, Lesvos beaches, tavernas, the wider Lesvos Geopark/Petrified Forest area, and inland village visits

FAQ

Is Katia suitable for beginners?

No, it is rated for intermediate and advanced riders, with no verified beginner lessons or rescue at the spot.

What is the wind like?

Reports differ on direction: southerly and southeasterly winds are treated as onshore here, while the northerly Meltemi runs offshore toward Turkey.

Are there kite schools at Katia?

No kite school has been verified at Katia.

Are there rules or restrictions?

As of 2026, no Katia-specific rule was found, but Greek national kitesurf rules require a 100 m clear launch radius and 200 m distance from swimmers and obstacles.

Last updated: August 2026