MapGreecePounta channel, Paros – AntiparosPounta (Paros)Pounta channel, Paros – Antiparos

Pounta (Paros)

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

also known as Pounta Beach, Pounda Beach, Paros Kite Beach, Pounta Kite Beach, Paralia Pounta

Part of Pounta channel, Paros – Antiparos →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlyhigh 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

Apr–Oct

Months riders and schools name

How windy

18-24 knots

Character: mixed · cross-shore

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

22.5–24.8 °C in summerThe riding area is the narrow Paros-Antiparos strait beside Pounta port

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug Sep

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Paros National Airport (PAS)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

Often builds/picks up in the afternoon; mornings can be calmer and less crowded.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Blue Lagoon downwinder areano page yet
Lagkeri (Paros)no page yet
Tsoukalia (Paros)no page yet
Golden Beach / Chrysi Akti (Paros windsurf area)
Mikri Vigla (Naxos)

The spot

Pounta is the kite beach on the west and southwest coast of Paros, directly opposite Antiparos and right beside the ferry ramp.

Wind and conditions

It works because the Meltemi from the north and northwest is funneled through the Paros-Antiparos channel, which gives side-shore to side-on wind that usually builds through the afternoon and sits around 20 knots or more.

Schools have taught here for years off a sandy beach with shallow water close in, first lessons through advanced riding.

The water is flat to choppy rather than a wave spot, and the chop gets short and hard once the wind passes about 20 knots.

Crowds and safety

This is one of the flagship Cyclades kite beaches and it is not an empty one: July and August bring heavy crowds, a lot of students and congested launching and landing.

The Antiparos ferry crosses next to the riding area, so keep off the lane and off the port structures, and treat strong Meltemi days above about 25 knots as advanced riding rather than a first week.

June-September is the window worth planning around; May can deliver, and October and November are possible but thinly supported.

The wind

locals call it Meltemi

Direction

cross-shoreN

Dominant direction

N, veering NNW to NW. North is the dominant direction in the multi-year Paros airport observation record, and the Paros-Antiparos strait bends it along the shore.

Kite sizes

567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

7-12 m kites are typically used, with a light-wind kite/foil recommended for marginal spells; pack a size down for 20+ knot high-summer days.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

No measured average exists for the channel itself. Spot ranges cluster at 18-24 knots as typical, with 20+ knots ordinary on a Meltemi afternoon. The nearest long-run station, Paros airport, averages 12 knots with average gusts of 26 knots across 2000-2026, an all-year, whole-island land figure that sits well below what the strait delivers in July.

Typical strength

18-24 knots is the usual band. Summer figures run 10-30+ knots, and 17-35 knots is quoted for the peak months.

Side-shore Meltemi accelerated by the Paros-Antiparos channel, steady on a normal day. In stronger wind and in high season it turns gusty and the chop stands up.

The core Meltemi season runs mid-May to mid-September, with July-August the strongest/highest season. One resort's wind season is given as stretching from July to mid-November, while other operating windows are listed as April/May-October.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

14 ktJan16°
14 ktFeb16°
13 ktMar16°
11 ktApr17°
9 ktMay18°
10 ktJun22°
12 ktJul23°
13 ktAug24°
12 ktSep23°
12 ktOct21°
12 ktNov19°
13 ktDec17°

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

Monthly averages. Highlighted: the months riders and schools name (Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct).

Measured at Antiparos, ~3 km from the spot (~1980-2016 (MERRA-2 reanalysis)).

Every figure, month by monthKnots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	13.6 kt	N	11.7 °C	16.1 °C
Feb	13.7 kt	N	11.7 °C	15.6 °C
Mar	12.5 kt	N	12.8 °C	15.6 °C
Apr	10.7 kt	N	15.6 °C	16.7 °C
May	9.4 kt	N	19.4 °C	18.3 °C
Jun	9.9 kt	N	23.9 °C	21.7 °C
Jul	12.3 kt	N	26.1 °C	23.3 °C
Aug	12.6 kt	N	26.1 °C	23.9 °C
Sep	11.5 kt	N	23.9 °C	23.3 °C
Oct	11.6 kt	N	20 °C	21.1 °C
Nov	12.2 kt	N	16.1 °C	18.9 °C
Dec	13 kt	N	13.3 °C	16.7 °C

How this was measuredmeasured · ~1980-2016 (MERRA-2 reanalysis)

A ground station recorded this, at the distance the page names.

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.

Antiparos · WeatherSpark · ~1980-2016 (MERRA-2 reanalysis)

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Shallow sand close in, but how far it runs is disputed: from only the first 5-10 m, through shallow near shore then steadily deepening, to a long shallow shoreline. Take it as enough to stand and body-drag near the beach, not a lagoon you can wade across.

Tides

Tide-independent. The range is negligible and never gates the launch or the riding area. Plan around wind and ferry movements instead.

Temperature

Summer (°C) 22.5-24.8 monthly averages Jun-Aug; August 10-year average 24.8 °C

Winter (°C) 16.0-17.6 monthly averages Dec-Feb; winter average 16.7 °C

Modelled monthly average: 16–24 °C

Wetsuit

Shorts or shorty in high summer; long wetsuit or at least more neoprene is commonly advised for June/September and winter.

Currents

No set or rate has been quantified. The strait is about one nautical mile across and the uninhabited islet in the middle of it is named Revmatonisi, from the Greek for current. Ferry wash and ferry traffic are the better-documented moving-water problem here.

Conditions

The riding area is the narrow Paros-Antiparos strait beside Pounta port. The beach/bottom is sandy, water is flat with chop as wind rises above about 20 knots, and clear; small waves are also reported depending on exact riding area. The ferry channel and Revmatonisi/islets are nearby, so riders should not treat the whole strait as an open training area.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

The two centres teach beginner through advanced, and the sandy beach with shallow water close in does work for learning. Beginners still want supervision: the beach and the water get crowded, launching and landing in high season is fiddly, and the ferry crosses nearby. Strong Meltemi days above about 25 knots belong to independent and advanced riders.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestyleflat waterbeginner lessonschopwingfoilwindsurfhydrofoildownwinders

Who it suitsbeginner

Sport-focused kite-school beach with an international, energetic scene; land is relaxed, but July-August can be very crowded on the water and around launch areas.

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: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

7 spots nearby

All 7 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

The two centres run their own beach-side support, and the adjacent Pounta port keeps a first-aid point among its facilities. Greek law obliges a licensed operator to keep a rescue boat and two trained staff on site, and to have licensed lifeguards and a motorised craft present for riding above 6 Beaufort.

Nothing confirms that this cover extends to independent riders who are not students or rental customers. Assume it does not, and ask before you launch.

Launch

Sandy beach launch on the west coast of Paros beside Pounta port and the Antiparos ferry area, with kite schools and rigging zones along the shore. The beach is big and sandy with lots of space for setup, launching and landing, and clear of obstacles, though specific school launch areas are reported to vary in space.

Hazards riders report 16 reported

Wind

Antiparos car-ferry shuttle crossing the channel just offshore
Gusty spells in stronger wind, despite the beach's reputation for steady side-shore Meltemi.
Antiparos car-ferry shuttle crossing the strait just offshore, very frequently, over a channel only about one nautical mile wide
Gusty spells reported despite the spot's reputation for steady side-shore wind

Crowds and zones

Pounta-Antiparos car ferry traffic and ferry lane through/near the riding area
Crowded water and launch/landing zones in July-August
Piers, port structures, swimmers, boats, buoys and nearby islets are subject to Greek kitesurf distance rules
Pounta-Antiparos car ferry traffic and the ferry lane running through and beside the riding area
Piers, slipway, port structures and moored boats immediately beside the kite beach
Crowded water and congested launch and landing zones in July and August
Swimmers, boats and buoys, all subject to the 200 m Greek distance rules

Waves and currents

Short chop and rougher water when the Meltemi is strong, especially above about 20-25 knots
Possible current in the Pounta-Antiparos strait, unquantified.
Short chop and rougher water once the Meltemi passes about 20-25 knots
Unquantified current in the Pounta-Antiparos strait

Other

Revmatonisi islet mid-channel, inside the Greek 200 m stand-off rule

Rules & access

1 min read

Checked 2026. Greek national kitesurf rules are the only written regime that applies at Pounta: no riding before sunrise or after sunset, none in adverse weather, none beyond 1 nautical mile from shore, and a 200 m stand-off from swimmers, anchored boats, markers over underwater activity, rocky areas, islets, reefs and buoys.

Launching requirements

Launching requires a clear 100 m radius.

School and commercial operations

Rental and school operations need a marked waterway at least 100 m long and wide with yellow boundary buoys, at least two staff trained in CPR and first aid on site, and a rescue boat; riding above 6 Beaufort is prohibited unless licensed lifeguards and a motorised rescue craft are present.

Geography and access

The 200 m islet rule bites here, because Revmatonisi sits mid-channel between Pounta and Antiparos in a strait only about a nautical mile wide.

Current status

2026: the beach is open to all kiteboarders, with visiting riders asked to check in at a centre for the current school area, storage arrangements and right-of-way. No municipal or port kitesurfing ordinance has been found for 2026.

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

Check in at one of the two centres before riding independently, ideally the one that has worked this beach since 1993, and ask for the current school zones, the launch and landing protocol and the right-of-way.
Stay wide of the Pounta-Antiparos ferry route; the crossing is frequent and passes close to the kite beach.
Ride early or move down the beach from the school pack if you want space, especially in July and August.
Pack 7-12 m plus a light-wind kite or a foil for marginal spells, and drop a size on strong Meltemi afternoons when the chop stands up.
Do not size your kite off the island airport average: that station reads 12 knots across the year, and the strait pushes the Meltemi well past it on a summer afternoon.
Keep 200 m off Revmatonisi, the islet mid-channel. It is not a turning mark, and a shorty or more neoprene is worth having outside peak summer if you are in the water for hours.

Getting there

Airport

Paros National Airport (PAS); international travelers commonly connect via Athens or another Greek island such as Mykonos, then ferry or fly onward.

Route

Pounta is on the west/southwest coast of Paros, about 8-9 km from Parikia/Paros port and near the Antiparos ferry ramp. Access is by car, scooter, taxi, local bus, or own transport; summer buses connect Parikia and Pounta.

Transfer

About 10 min by taxi from Paros airport to Pounta and about 20 min by bus from Pounta to Parikia and the main port. The Pounta-Antiparos ferry crossing is about 5 minutes over one nautical mile and runs very frequently, though it is often rounded up to 7.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Hotels, beachfront rooms, apartments and kite-center accommodation are available around Pounta; broader restaurant, nightlife and lodging choice is in Parikia, Naoussa, Aliki and Antiparos. Book early for high season.

No-wind days

Antiparos day trip by frequent ferry, beaches around Paros and Antiparos, diving/snorkeling, horse riding, SUP/kayak/watersports, boat trips, shopping and restaurants in Antiparos/Parikia/Naoussa, and Paros nightlife.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Pounta?

The core Meltemi season runs mid-May to mid-September, with July and August the strongest and busiest months.

Is Pounta suitable for beginners?

Two local schools teach beginner through advanced levels on the sandy, shallow-entry beach, though beginners should expect crowds in high season.

What is the wind like at Pounta?

North to northwest Meltemi is accelerated through the Paros-Antiparos strait, typically 18-24 knots and often building in the afternoon.

What are the hazards at Pounta?

The Antiparos car ferry crosses the channel close to the riding area, and water gets choppy above about 20-25 knots.

Are there kite schools at Pounta?

ParosKite has operated here since 1993, alongside Paros Kite Pro Center, both offering lessons, rental and rescue support.

The bigger pictureEverything about Paros/Antiparos - Pounta channel

Last updated: August 2026