MapGreecePounta channel, Paros – AntiparosPounda Beach (Antiparos)Pounta channel, Paros – Antiparos

Pounda Beach (Antiparos)

South Aegean · Paros/Antiparos - Pounta channel · Paros Regional Unit

also known as Antiparos port beach, Antiparos ferry landing

Part of Pounta channel, Paros – Antiparos →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

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

Riding essentials

Season

May–Sep

Months riders and schools name

How windy

12-25 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

limited

access rules on record, below

Water

shallow strait

24.8 °C in summerNarrow, wind-compressed water between Paros and Antiparos, flat to choppy depending on the day

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug July August

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Paros National Airport (PAS)

Transfer times under Getting there

On the clock

11:00 · 14:00 · 18:00

The channel wind builds from around 11:00 and peaks between roughly 14:00 and 18:00, easing in the evening. The Antiparos side sits in the same flow, but no timing has been documented from that shore.

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.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

The spot

The channel

Pounda Beach sits on the Antiparos side of the narrow Paros-Antiparos strait, straight across from the better-known Pounta/Punda kite beach on Paros. The channel is a genuine Meltemi accelerator: a Venturi effect, flat water, shallow first meters, wind commonly in the 12-25 knot range and harder again when the Meltemi really sets in. The wind is rarely the problem here. The car ferry is, because it shuttles across the same narrow water and the lane is the one place you cannot be.

Infrastructure

What is actually documented on this channel is the Paros-side launch, the Paros-side schools and their rescue boats, not a dedicated Antiparos-side kite beach, so treat this as an access possibility for independent riders rather than a spot with a setup behind it. Local permission to rig by the ferry landing is unconfirmed, so ask on Antiparos before you unroll lines. Beginners belong on the Paros side.

The wind

locals call it Meltemi

Direction

cross-onN to NNE

Direction to shore

Side-shore to side-onshore in the Paros-Antiparos channel; exact Antiparos-side shore angle depends on the launch point.

Kite sizes

4567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Channel figures, nothing measured on the Antiparos shore. For a 75-85 kg rider, 7-9 m covers most summer Meltemi days in the strait; 5-6 m once it pushes past 30 knots; 11-12 m on the light early-season days before the Meltemi settles in.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

27.2 knots is the figure quoted for the Paros Punda spot; it is unconfirmed for the Antiparos-side beach.

Typical strength

12-25 knots in the Pounta channel, with harder gusts in strong Meltemi; the Paros-side launch reportedly sees 20-35 knots in summer.

Generally steady and accelerated in the channel, with stronger/gustier periods in hard Meltemi.

Summer Meltemi is the main driver. The narrow 1.7 km Paros-Antiparos passage produces a Venturi effect, so the channel can be windier than open-water readings nearby.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan77
Feb69
Mar71
Apr62
May, riders' month48
Jun, riders' month58
Jul, riders' month86
Aug, riders' month60
Sep, riders' month58
Oct60
Nov81
Dec58

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

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

15 ktJan17°
15 ktFeb17°
14 ktMar17°
13 ktApr18°
11 ktMay19°
13 ktJun23°
15 ktJul25°
12 ktAug26°
12 ktSep25°
13 ktOct23°
14 ktNov20°
13 ktDec18°

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

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.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	77%	15.1 kt	N	12.9 °C	16.8 °C
Feb	69%	14.9 kt	N	12.9 °C	16.6 °C
Mar	71%	14 kt	N	13.6 °C	16.9 °C
Apr	62%	13.1 kt	N	17 °C	17.6 °C
May	48%	11.2 kt	N	19.6 °C	19 °C
Jun	58%	12.5 kt	N	24.8 °C	23 °C
Jul	86%	15.3 kt	N	27.4 °C	24.8 °C
Aug	60%	12.4 kt	N	27.1 °C	26 °C
Sep	58%	12.2 kt	N	24.8 °C	25.1 °C
Oct	60%	13.1 kt	N	21.2 °C	23.3 °C
Nov	81%	14.2 kt	N	17.8 °C	20.4 °C
Dec	58%	12.7 kt	N	15.3 °C	18.4 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

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

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

shallow strait

Standing depth

On the Paros side the bottom runs about 50 cm to 1.5 m over the first 80-100 m and is standable at both high and low water. Depth at the Antiparos ferry landing is unconfirmed.

Tides

Micro-tidal. The Paros-side shallows are standable at high and low water alike, and tide is not part of the plan on this channel.

Temperature

24.8 °C summer · 16 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 17–26 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or shorty in July-August; shorty or full suit useful in shoulder months; winter requires a full wetsuit.

Currents

A noticeable current runs through the strait toward Antiparos and shows up most on downwind runs - the crossing is under eight minutes on a good day, which tells you how fast the water and wind move you. No measured figure is published. Ferry movement in the same narrow passage is the other moving-water concern.

Conditions

Narrow, wind-compressed water between Paros and Antiparos, flat to choppy depending on the day. The launch everyone uses is Pounta/Punda Kite Beach on the Paros side; the Antiparos ferry-landing beach shares the same channel but is barely documented as a launch of its own.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Riding the channel from the Paros-side schools works at any ability, with instruction and a rescue boat behind you. The Antiparos landing has neither and sits beside the ferry lane, so treat it as independent-rider access until a local operator confirms lessons and rescue there.

The scene

What riders come here for

freerideflat waterchannel riding

Quieter and less formal than the Paros-side kite beach, but with regular ferry movement and summer visitors around the landing.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: limited

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

7 spots nearby

All 7 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

+30 6944199666

Rescue on this channel means the Paros-side centres and their boats. ParosKite takes calls on +30 6944199666 from May to October, 09:30-18:00. Nothing covers a rider who launches from the Antiparos landing, so a self-rescue there ends on whichever shore the current gives you.

Launch

A small strip of shoreline by the Antiparos ferry landing, across the channel from the established Pounta/Punda kite beach on Paros. Nothing describes a launch layout on this side; the descriptions in circulation all cover the Paros beach.

Hazards riders report 9 reported

Wind

Potentially strong accelerated Meltemi in the strait.

Crowds and zones

Antiparos-side launch layout, swimmer zoning and downwind exit options are all unconfirmed.
swimmers around the landing, especially outside peak season

Bottom

sea urchins on rock near the shoreline

Waves and currents

current through the strait setting toward Antiparos, which stacks with the downwind drift

Other

car-ferry shuttle crossing between Paros and Antiparos
Active car-ferry route between Pounta and Antiparos in the same narrow channel.
Greek national rules require distance from ports, obstacles and heavy-use beaches, and this is a working ferry landing, so confirm locally before rigging.
ferry departures roughly every 20-40 minutes from about 06:30 until after midnight in season

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Greek national kitesurf rules require a helmet, a harness with hook, a line knife, a buoyancy or impact vest, a quick release with safety leash, kite and board retaining leashes, and a wetsuit between 15 October and 15 May.

Restrictions

They ban riding

before sunrise and after sunset,
on heavily frequented bathing beaches,
beyond 1 nautical mile from shore,
within 1 nautical mile of ports, marinas and fish farms,
within 200 m of swimmers and within 200 m of anchored boats, rocks, reefs and buoys,
and above 6 Beaufort or in offshore-pushing wind without a lifeguard and a motorised rescue boat.

Launch

A 100 m clear radius is required at launch, and a kitesurf licence is required.

Antiparos

The Antiparos ferry landing is a working port, so that 1 nautical mile clause reads directly against rigging on it.

No Antiparos municipal kite ordinance has been published; ask on the island, and use the Paros-side beach if the answer is vague.

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

Book lessons, rental and rescue with the Pounta schools on the Paros side and cross for the day.
Stay out of the ferry lane; the crossing is short and the boat repeats it through the day in summer.
Read the wind on the beach rather than off the Paros airport reading, because the channel runs materially stronger.
Ask on Antiparos about beach zoning before you rig; no formal Antiparos-side kite zone is documented.
Stay out of the ferry lane; the crossing is short and the boat repeats it every 20-40 minutes through the day.
Ask on Antiparos about beach zoning before you rig; no formal Antiparos-side kite zone is documented, and the national rule keeps kites a nautical mile from ports.
Rig one size down from what the forecast suggests: the strait accelerates, and 7-9 m is the working range on a normal Meltemi day.
Allow for the current toward Antiparos on any downwind run, and agree a pick-up before you start one.

Getting there

Airport

Paros National Airport (PAS)

Route

Reach Paros by air or ferry, then cross to Pounta on the west side of the island; regular buses run there from Parikia. The vehicle ferry from Pounta to Antiparos takes about 7 minutes and runs year-round, roughly every 20-40 minutes from around 06:30 until after midnight in season.

Transfer

About 7 minutes for the Pounta-Antiparos ferry crossing; road time from Paros airport or Parikia to Pounta varies by transport and traffic.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Sleep in Antiparos town if you want to walk to the ferry landing. Sleep at or near Pounta on Paros if you want the kite schools and the beach facilities on your doorstep.

No-wind days

Antiparos town, Antiparos Cave, beaches around Psaralyki/Soros/Agios Georgios, boat trips, Paros day trips and SUP/snorkeling/diving services on the Paros-side Pounta area.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Pounda Beach, Antiparos?

Summer Meltemi from May to September is the main driver, accelerated through the narrow 1.7 km Paros-Antiparos channel.

Is Pounda Beach, Antiparos suitable for beginners?

No confirmed kitesurf school or rescue exists on the Antiparos side; beginners should use the established schools across the channel at Pounta on Paros.

What is the wind like at Pounda Beach, Antiparos?

North to north-northeast Meltemi is funneled through the strait, cited around 12-25 knots with stronger gusts in hard Meltemi.

What are the hazards at Pounda Beach, Antiparos?

A car ferry regularly crosses the same channel between Paros and Antiparos, so riders must stay clear of the ferry lane.

The bigger pictureEverything about Paros/Antiparos - Pounta channel

Last updated: August 2026