MapGreeceMastichari – Marmari, KosMastichariMastichari – Marmari, Kos

Mastichari

South Aegean · Kos - Mastichari/Marmari · Kos Regional Unit

also known as Mastihari, Μαστιχάρι

Part of Mastichari – Marmari, Kos →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Jun–Sep

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-23 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

24.1 °C in summerWide sandy north-coast beach

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Airport Hippocrates (KGS)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

The thermal typically fills in around midday and holds until sunset. Mornings can be light unless the Meltemi is already established, in which case it blows from early and turns westerly later.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Marmari / Alykes - nearby north-coast kite area used by Kos schools; reports say the main Marmari beach became a swimming zone in 2011 and the kitezone moved west.no page yet
Kohilari Beach - Kitesurfing Kos mobile spot for waves, flat sections and more experienced riders; spot shuttle from Mastichari advertised.no page yet
Psalidi - east-side Kos spot often described by English guides as windier/stronger due to the Kos-Turkey channel effect.no page yet
Tigaki - north-coast beach area between Kos town and Marmari.no page yet

The spot

Mastichari sits on the north coast of Kos and the kite beach is the wide sand west of the village harbour.

Wind and water

Two winds work it: the north to NW Meltemi, which lands side to cross-on, and a west thermal that comes in more onshore. The water is choppy to small-wave rather than flat, with a shallow sandy entry the schools use for first lessons and long body-drags. June to September is the dependable window and June to August the strongest part of it.

For beginners

Beginners do well here because the centres work off the beach with rescue boats and boat-supported instruction; a rider on their own gear gets none of that unless they arrange it first.

Summer crowds

In July and August this is an organised family beach, with sunbeds, swimmers and the Greek distance rules to keep, and the harbour immediately east runs ferries to Kalymnos all year.

Getting there

Mastichari itself is a small fishing-village resort close to Kos airport, which keeps the transfer short and gives non-riders somewhere to sit. Kos is not a wind-guaranteed island: if you want a session every day, budget for a car and move between the north-coast spots.

The wind

locals call it Meltemi / Thermik

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

North Meltemi and west thermal. In the morning the Meltemi comes in onshore to side-onshore from the right; through the afternoon it often backs and blows more from the west, which is more onshore again. NW is the direction the spot is usually rated on.

Kite sizes

4567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider, a 10 m and a 12 m cover most summer days: 4.5-6 Beaufort is the everyday range here. Add a 7 or 8 m for the hard NW Meltemi days, which do come, and expect the afternoon westerly to be softer than the morning north wind.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

The everyday summer band is 12-23 kt, roughly 4.5-6 Beaufort. No measured long-term station mean has been published for the bay itself.

Typical strength

12-23 kt on most days, which is about 4.5-6 Beaufort. Stronger Meltemi days push past that.

Reliable enough through the summer to run lessons most days, though daily reliability varies and Kos as a whole is not a wind-guaranteed island.

June to September is the dependable window and June to August the strongest part of it. Trips and lessons are sold from April to the end of October, but the shoulder months are not reliable and off-season wind is occasional rather than regular.

Kos is not a guaranteed-wind island: riders who want a session every day usually need a car to move between the north-coast spots.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan37
Feb37
Mar26
Apr38
May29
Jun, riders' month18
Jul, riders' month34
Aug, riders' month13
Sep, riders' month18
Oct13
Nov25
Dec27

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

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

37%Jan17°
37%Feb17°
26%Mar16°
38%Apr17°
29%May19°
18%Jun22°
34%Jul23°
13%Aug24°
18%Sep24°
13%Oct22°
25%Nov21°
27%Dec18°

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	37%	52%	45%	11.6 kt	NNW	15:00	12.2 °C	17.2 °C	62
Feb	37%	46%	42%	11.6 kt	NNW	15:00	12.2 °C	16.7 °C	57
Mar	26%	42%	39%	11.4 kt	NNW	16:00	13.9 °C	16.1 °C	62
Apr	38%	58%	45%	12.3 kt	NW	15:00	16.7 °C	17.2 °C	60
May	29%	32%	31%	10.1 kt	NW	15:00	20.6 °C	19.4 °C	62
Jun	18%	30%	25%	9.8 kt	WNW	15:00	25 °C	21.7 °C	60
Jul	34%	42%	37%	11.1 kt	NNW	16:00	27.2 °C	23.3 °C	62
Aug	13%	23%	16%	9.6 kt	WNW	16:00	27.2 °C	24.4 °C	62
Sep	18%	42%	28%	10.5 kt	NW	16:00	24.4 °C	23.9 °C	60
Oct	13%	24%	16%	9 kt	NNW	16:00	20.6 °C	22.2 °C	62
Nov	25%	38%	28%	10.8 kt	NNW	15:00	16.7 °C	20.6 °C	60
Dec	27%	45%	39%	10.6 kt	SSE	14:00	13.3 °C	18.3 °C	62

How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024

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

A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Shallow sandy entry in front of the kite beach, with the training area sitting in about 1-2 m. Enough to stand, and enough to body-drag a long way out from the sand before it drops off.

Tides

Tide-independent. Neither the launch nor the shallow training zone changes meaningfully with the tide.

Temperature

24.1 °C summer · 18.2 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 16–24 °C

Wetsuit

Summer normally boardshorts or swimsuit plus lycra for sun protection; winter requires a wetsuit.

Currents

No current is confirmed at Mastichari, and none is ruled out either. Treat it as unknown rather than absent, particularly in a hard Meltemi and near the harbour mouth.

Conditions

Wide sandy north-coast beach. The sea is choppy to wavy depending on wind direction, with small waves. Seagrass, pebbles and shells can occur on the wider Mastichari coast.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Mastichari is a teaching and improver beach first: sandy entry, shallow water, side and onshore wind, radio helmets, boat-supported lessons and rescue boats. Beginner, intermediate and advanced all get ridden here, and advanced riders use it for freeride, but Kohilari along the coast is the wave and freestyle option.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridebeginner lessonsimprover coachingfamily kite holidaysunset sessions

Who it suitsbeginner

Small fishing-village resort with beach bars, sunbeds, seafood restaurants and rooms. Busy in summer, but easier going than the big Kos resorts and less given over to mass tourism.

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: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

7 spots nearby

All 7 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

School-run, not municipal. Both Mastichari centres keep a rescue boat, one with boat-supported instruction and radio helmets, and a kite repair and rescue service runs at the spot in peak season.

That cover is for their own students and renters, and renting means holding at least VDWS level 4 or IKO level 3j. No public lifeguard works this beach and no call-out number is published.

On your own gear, agree the terms with a centre before you go out.

Launch

Wide sandy beach west of Mastichari harbour, the widest on the island.From the harbour, walk left along the sand about 500 m and the centre is past the sunbeds. Plenty of room to rig and a lot of open water in front, though in summer the near part is an organised beach with loungers, showers and a bar behind.

Hazards riders report 8 reported

Crowds and zones

Summer beach users, sunbeds and swimmers in organised Mastichari beach areas; keep launch and riding separated from swimmers.
Year-round ferry traffic in and out of Mastichari harbour immediately east of the kite beach.

Bottom

Seaweed drifts in along this stretch of coast, and the sand can carry gravel or shells.

Waves and currents

Currents at Mastichari are unconfirmed. Treat them as unknown rather than absent, particularly near the harbour mouth when the Meltemi is up.
Currents here are unconfirmed; treat them as unknown rather than absent.

Protected areas and rules

Greek national kitesurf rules require large clear launch space and prohibit riding close to swimmers, obstacles, ports, piers and similar hazards.

Other

Water is generally choppy rather than flat, and the afternoon westerly shift changes the angle mid-session.
No public lifeguard: rescue cover is tied to the schools and to holding a VDWS 4 or IKO 3j certificate for rentals.

Rules & access

1 min read

National rules

2026: no Mastichari-specific municipal ordinance or marked kite corridor has been found. Greek national rules apply: no kitesurfing before sunrise or after sunset, none at heavily frequented beaches, 200 m clear of swimmers, 200 m from anchored boats, reefs and obstacles, nothing inside ports, piers, docks or fish-farm areas, and no further than one nautical mile offshore.

Launching and harbor

Launching needs an unobstructed 100 m radius, and licensed operations must mark a designated waterway with buoys and warning signs. Mastichari harbour runs ferries to Kalymnos year-round, so the port exclusion is not theoretical: stay west of the harbour.

A EUR5 beach charge for 2026 comes from one rider report and no ordinance backs it.

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

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Choose Mastichari over Marmari when it is blowing hard NW; the venturi effect at Marmari amplifies the wind further north.
In July and August launch only through the local kite area and stay clear of the sunbeds and swimmers, because this is also an organised family beach; check the current rules with a school first, since a EUR5 beach charge for 2026 is reported but unconfirmed.
Carry a 10 m and a 12 m for the usual 12-23 kt, add a 7 or 8 m if the Meltemi forecast is strong, and bring your VDWS 4 or IKO 3j card if you plan to rent instead of flying your own gear.
Wind usually arrives around midday and runs to sunset, so spend the morning on coffee and the beach rather than waiting on the water.
Stay west of the harbour: the Kalymnos ferries run all year and the port exclusion zone is enforced.
Sleep in Mastichari to keep the KGS transfer short and walk to the beach; hire a car or scooter and ask the schools about Kohilari or Marmari/Alykes when the direction suits those better.

Getting there

Airport

Kos International Airport Hippocrates (KGS)

Route

Mastichari is on the north coast of Kos, about 7-8 km from KGS and 22 km from Kos town. Public buses connect the airport with Mastichari and KTEL Kos publishes airport itineraries, though the timetable does not always meet your flight. By car or taxi it is about 8-15 minutes.The port runs ferries to Kalymnos year-round.

Transfer

8-15 minutes by car/taxi from Kos airport; about 10 minutes by bus where the timetable matches arrival time.

Staying

Mastichari carries far more tourist beds than its resident population suggests, and one operator's house is a short walk from the kite spot.

No-wind days

SUP, wingfoiling, windsurfing, catamaran sailing, beach bars/restaurants, island cycling, Kos archaeological sights such as the Asklepieion, and ferries/day trips to Kalymnos.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Mastichari?

June to September is the popular kite season, with June through August the strongest period for wind.

Is Mastichari suitable for beginners?

Local schools present it as a beginner and improver teaching spot because of the sandy beach, shallow entry and boat-supported lessons with rescue boats.

What is the wind like at Mastichari?

North to northwest Meltemi combines with west thermal wind for cross-on to onshore conditions, typically 12-23 knots, usually starting around noon and lasting until sunset.

Are there kite schools at Mastichari?

Kitesurfing Kos, Horizon Surfing Center and KiteWorldWide Kos all run lesson programs at the beach with rescue-boat support.

Are there rules to know at Mastichari?

2026 Greek national rules ban kiting near swimmers, ports and obstacles, and require a clear 100 m launch radius.

The bigger pictureEverything about Kos - Mastichari/Marmari

Last updated: August 2026