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Attica · Marathon Bay · Regional Unit of East Attica · Marathon

Schinias

also known as Schinias Marathonas, Schinias Forest, Paralia Schinia, Schinias, Forest

beginner-friendlyhigh crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Nissakia Loutsa 17 km · Vravrona Bay 23 km · Marmari (Evia) 27 km · Aliki Oropos 32 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Decthe months riders and schools name How windy11-30 knotsmixed Launchlargeaccess rules on record, below Watersea24.6°C in summer · 10 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport45 minAthens International Airport (ATH)

Meltemi

11:00

Meltemi sessions run from about 11:00-noon until sunset; the southerly setup is not time-specific.

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.

Schinias is the beach Athens kiters drive to, a long shallow sandy bay on Marathon Bay in northeast Attica with the pine forest of the Schinias-Marathon National Park behind it. Which wind matters more here is unsettled: southerly frontal days through winter and spring, or the N/NNE Meltemi in summer. Summer is the problem period either way.

The swimmers arrive, the beach fills up and kiting stops being possible. Water that stays about 1-1.5 m deep for hundreds of metres makes this a real progression beach on a quiet southerly day; a hard Meltemi over 20-25 knots turns it into chop and current with too many kites on the water.

The dunes and the vegetation behind the sand are protected, so where you walk and where you rig matter as much as where you ride.

The wind

locals call it Meltemi

Direction

onshore

Kite sizes

78910111213

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: Meltemi sessions run from about 11:00-noon until sunset; the southerly setup is not time-specific.

Typical strength

11-30 knots in the S/SW frontal setup; 15-25 knots with gusts to 30 knots in strong Meltemi.

Reliable through the Meltemi periods. When it blows hard the water goes choppy and the beach gets crowded. The southerly winter and spring days are the beginner-friendly ones.

February-May and September-November are the good southerly months, with summer written off for swimmers. The Meltemi reportedly works May-October and best in July-August, while January-May and October-December also turn up as the best window. The season here is not settled.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic and thermal acceleration

The quiver, in words

9-11 m.

Direction to shore

Unsettled: S/SW is given as onshore or toward shore, and the N/NNE Meltemi as fully onshore on the NE-facing bay.

Dominant direction

Reported directions vary: S/SW for the winter/southerly setup; N/NNE Meltemi for the summer setup; E, SE, S, SW, W are also listed as working directions.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month47
Feb, riders' month49
Mar, riders' month56
Apr, riders' month56
May, riders' month47
Jun67
Jul80
Aug67
Sep, riders' month42
Oct, riders' month58
Nov, riders' month52
Dec, riders' month41

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

12Jan16°
12Feb15°
12Mar15°
12Apr17°
11May19°
12Jun23°
13Jul26°
12Aug27°
11Sep25°
12Oct23°
12Nov20°
11Dec17°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	47%	12 kt	NNW	10.4°C	15.7°C
Feb	49%	11.6 kt	S	10.8°C	14.5°C
Mar	56%	11.5 kt	N	11.9°C	15.2°C
Apr	56%	11.7 kt	N	16.3°C	16.9°C
May	47%	10.9 kt	N	19.6°C	18.7°C
Jun	67%	12.1 kt	N	26°C	23.1°C
Jul	80%	13.2 kt	N	29.2°C	26.2°C
Aug	67%	12.4 kt	N	28.3°C	26.7°C
Sep	42%	11.1 kt	N	24.1°C	25.2°C
Oct	58%	11.8 kt	N	20.3°C	23.3°C
Nov	52%	11.6 kt	N	16°C	20°C
Dec	41%	10.6 kt	S	12.8°C	17.4°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

sea

Standing depth

Shallow water; about 1-1.5 m is reported for hundreds of meters.

Tides

No usable tide. Tidal movement in the eastern Mediterranean is very weak, and here the level does not shift enough to change where you can stand or how far the shallow bank runs; the Euripus strait up at Chalkida is the local exception, not this bay.What does move the water is wind: a hard onshore Meltemi piles it up and adds chop over the same shallow sand. Regional characteristic, no local gauge reading found.

Temperature

24.6°C summer · 15.4°C winter

Wetsuit

No wetsuit or shorty in summer; full wetsuit normally needed outside the warm season.

Currents

Coastal currents reported in strong wind.

15–27°C water

Large sandy bay, sandy bottom, clear shallow water, small chop or small waves depending on how hard it blows. The swimming season for Marathon/Schinias Beach runs June-November.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

The non-summer southerly setup can be ideal for a beginner: space, and shallow water a long way out. For the Meltemi setup the minimum level is unconfirmed, and intermediate is the safer assumption.

The scene

What riders come here for

learningfreerideshallow-water progressionMeltemi sessions

Where the Athens kite community ends up. Relaxed outside the swimmer-heavy summer months.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: large

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Nissakia Loutsa, 17 km

Nissakia Loutsa Vravrona Bay Marmari (Evia)

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

Rescue

Several kite schools work off this beach, but no public rescue service is on record and nothing says school cover extends to independent riders. Coast guard 108, general emergency 112. The national rules also bar riding in offshore wind or above 6 Beaufort unless a lifeguard with a powered craft is present, which on a southerly day is the clause to think about before you launch.

Launch

Wide sandy beach on Marathon Bay, backed by the Schinias pine forest and national park. Launch away from swimmers, trees, dunes, and protected vegetation.

Space

large

Rules & access

2026: Schinias is inside Schinias-Marathon National Park; riders should respect environmental regulations and not walk on dunes or protected vegetation. A national Ministerial Decision (Government Gazette 4415/B, 7 October 2020) sets Greece's general kitesurfing rules, still in force: stay at least 200 m from swimmers, keep the launch area clear within 100 m, do not ride before sunrise or after sunset, beyond 1 nautical mile from shore, above 6 Beaufort, or in poor visibility or storms, wear a wetsuit from 15 October to 15 May, and have a rescue boat with a qualified supervisor on hand when the wind blows offshore. No kitesurfing-specific park rule was found; the park does enforce vehicle-circulation and visitor bans on very-high wildfire-risk days (category 4-5), which can affect beach access.

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

Rider tips

Work out which wind is running before you commit to the drive: southerly frontal days and Meltemi days behave nothing alike here.
Bring 9-11 m, which covers most of what Schinias delivers.
Stay out of the swimmer zones and the peak beach hours from June through September.
Park behind the beach and walk to your launch on the sand; the dunes and vegetation are inside the national park.
Ask the schools on the beach where the launch is sitting that week before you rig.
Do not plan around tide. Nothing here moves with it, and the shallow bank is the same at any hour.
On a high-fire-risk day the park can close to vehicles and visitors, which takes the beach access with it. Check before driving out.

Getting there

Airport

Athens International Airport (ATH)

Route

Road out of Athens toward Marathon on the Attiki Odos, then the Marathon road, with parking behind Schinias beach.

Transfer

45 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Stay in Marathon, Nea Makri, or Athens; tavernas and small shops line the beach road.

No-wind days

Schinias-Marathon National Park, the pine forest and wetland, Marathon historical sites, swimming, SUP, and Athens day trips.

Photos

TELE 125 — D BELLAS, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Schinias?

The beginner-friendly southerly setup is best February to May and September to November, while a separate Meltemi setup works around May to October; summer is too crowded with swimmers for kiting.

Is Schinias suitable for beginners?

The non-summer southerly setup can be ideal for beginners thanks to the shallow, spacious sandy bay, though the summer Meltemi setup is rated intermediate by at least one source.

What is the wind like at Schinias?

Sources disagree: a southerly wind drives the winter and spring sessions, while a north-northeast Meltemi, sometimes gusting to 30 knots, takes over in summer.

Are there rules or protected areas at Schinias?

The beach sits inside Schinias-Marathon National Park, so riders should avoid walking on dunes or protected vegetation.

Are there kite schools at Schinias?

Kitemonkey, Kite In Athens and Moraitis Sports Center all operate at the spot.

Last updated: August 2026