Riding essentials
Season
Jun–Sep
Months riders and schools name
How windy
15-25 kt
Character: thermal
Room to launch
ok
access rules on record, below
Water
mixed
26 °C in summer
Hazards
15
Reported by riders
Level
Beginner to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
high crowds · busy Jul Aug
Schools
2
named at this spot
From the airport
120 min
Nea Anchialos (VOL)
On the clock
13:00 · 14:00
13:00-14:00
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.
Raches (Fthiotida) has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
The spot
Wind and Season
Water Hazards
The wind
locals call it thermal; the hard late-July to early-August thermal is also called Meltemi
Direction
Direction to shore
Offshore on the flatwater side and side-onshore/onshore on the choppy side
Dominant direction
N/NE, also reported as E/NE.
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
For 75-85 kg the 9 m is the everyday kite. Keep a 12 m for the first hour after the thermal fills and for the softer June and September days, and a 7 m for the hard late-July to early-August spell when it goes past 25 knots.Indicative sizing off the 15-25 knot local range; no school here publishes a size chart.
Character
Typical strength
15-25 kt; usual strength is also given as 11-30 kt.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan2
- Feb2
- Mar6
- Apr17
- May10
- Jun, riders' month18
- Jul, riders' month29
- Aug, riders' month34
- Sep, riders' month13
- Oct0
- Nov8
- Dec0
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- 2%Jan
- 2%Feb
- 6%Mar
- 17%Apr
- 10%May
- 18%Jun
- 29%Jul
- 34%Aug
- 13%Sep
- 0%Oct
- 8%Nov
- 0%Dec
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · 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 · Readings
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | Wind from | Peaks at | Air | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2% | 10% | 3% | 5.8 kt | ENE | 15:00 | 9.4 °C | 62 |
| Feb | 2% | 4% | 4% | 6.2 kt | SE | 15:00 | 10.5 °C | 57 |
| Mar | 6% | 18% | 13% | 7.7 kt | ESE | 16:00 | 11.9 °C | 62 |
| Apr | 17% | 38% | 32% | 10 kt | ESE | 16:00 | 16.7 °C | 60 |
| May | 10% | 23% | 13% | 9.1 kt | E | 15:00 | 20 °C | 62 |
| Jun | 18% | 40% | 32% | 10.3 kt | E | 16:00 | 26.6 °C | 60 |
| Jul | 29% | 71% | 50% | 11.8 kt | E | 16:00 | 29.8 °C | 62 |
| Aug | 34% | 65% | 45% | 12.1 kt | E | 16:00 | 28.6 °C | 62 |
| Sep | 13% | 27% | 22% | 9.2 kt | ESE | 16:00 | 23.4 °C | 60 |
| Oct | 0% | 2% | 0% | 6 kt | ESE | 16:00 | 19.6 °C | 62 |
| Nov | 8% | 15% | 15% | 6.6 kt | SE | 15:00 | 14.8 °C | 60 |
| Dec | 0% | 2% | 0% | 5.1 kt | N | 13:00 | 11.8 °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
Waist deep at the waterline and over your head within a few metres. How abrupt that drop is gets described both ways, gradual and sudden, but nobody treats this as a standing-depth spot once you are past the entry. Tide does not change it.
Tides
Tide is not a factor. The spit rides the same at low and at high water, and how deep you are standing depends on where you walked in, not on the hour.
Temperature
26 °C summer
Conditions
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
2 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: ok
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Rescue — full text1 min read
Launch
Organized sand/small-pebble beach about 2 km outside Raches village with showers, changing rooms and toilets; the riding area sits around the Faros/Raches sand spit.
Rules & access
1 min read
Required gear
Distance rules
Time and conditions
Rescue cover
Age restrictions
Enforcement
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
- Wear booties: urchins, sharp stones and slippery rock plates are all in the entry.
- Ride the offshore flatwater side within reach of the school rescue boat, not alone.
- Come in June or September for space; July and August pack the freestyle area.
- Show up for the 13:00-14:00 thermal instead of waiting around all morning.
- Carry a helmet, a quick-release harness, a hook knife and a vest; riders have been checked and fined here for missing kit.
- Come in June or September for space; July and August pack the freestyle area, and weekends are the worst of it.
- A 9 m covers most days for a 75-85 kg rider; bring a 12 m for the fill-in and a 7 m for the August peak.
- Save the rescue number before you rig: +30 695 544 3512.
Getting there
Airport
Volos/Nea Anchialos (VOL) is about 35 minutes away; Athens (ATH) is also used for access.
Route
About 2 hours from Athens via the A1 highway; distances are 32 km from Lamia, 243 km from Athens and 265 km from Thessaloniki.
Transfer
120 min
Cost level
reasonable
Staying
Raches village has tavernas and accommodation; apartments, villas, vacation homes, a camp and tolerated off-season camping are available nearby.
No-wind days
Raches/Faros beach, Lamia-area sightseeing and the Fthiotida wetlands/flamingo area mentioned in local travel coverage.
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Raches?
July and August are the peak months, though the thermal north-northeast wind can make the spot rideable across the wider June-to-September season.
Is Raches suitable for beginners?
Local schools teach beginners here, but quick-deepening water, rocks, sea urchins and the offshore wind on the flat-water side make it harder for independent first-timers.
What is the wind like at Raches?
A steady thermal wind, usually 15-25 knots, builds around early afternoon and blows from the north to northeast.
Are there kite schools at Raches?
Raches Watersports and Surf Camp Raches both operate on the beach with rescue-boat support.
What hazards should riders know about at Raches?
Sea urchins, sharp stones and slippery rock plates are reported at the water entry, and the beach can get crowded with freestyle riders in July and August.
Last updated: August 2026