Overview The Good Very consistent wind all summer long, warm, sunny, beautiful kitespots, clear water, etc. No third-world hassles. Low crime. Family/non-kiter friend friendly. It’s a great trip even if you don’t kitesurf. Great affordable beach front accommodations and dining. Great party scene if you’re into that. Great gay scene on Mykonos (T are you reading this). Great places to camp. Most everybody speaks enough English, even the guy at the mini-mart. Greek beaches, ferries, and hotels are very dog friendly. No mega-resorts or high-rise hotels.
The Bad The free falling US dollar will makes Europe expensive for Americans. A 12+ hour flight from Boston and 7 time zone difference is tiring. Summertime flights are expensive. No waves. Some spots are not beginner friendly. If you come for two weeks, chances are you’ll get a couple days of crazy strong wind, still fun but not beginner friendly. And worst of all, believe it or not, but windsurfing is still popular in Greece.
Lodging You can always find a nice little hotel for 40 to 60 Euros per night. The price is for a room. You can put as many people in it as you like.
Eating You can eat a big greasy souvlaki (gyros) meal for less then 5 Euros. A full dinner at a beach-front tavern (a Greek tavern is a restaurant that serves meat) with a pork chop, salad, jajiki, fries, beer/wine, desert, etc. will be between 15 and 20 Euros. Seafood will cost a little more. Where to Go
Rhodos
If you just want to go to one island and stay put, Rhodos is your best bet. You can get flights direct to Rhodos from many European cities. It has super consistent wind from mid-June to mid-September. The best kiting is on the north and south end of the island. The north end is more populated and has more stuff to do. The south end has flat water. The wind is onshore and offshore at Prasonisi, on the south end, but they have a rescue boat and the butter is sweet as can be. It can get a little crowded in August.
http://www.prasonisi.com/
Cyclades (Paros, Naxos, Mykonos, and a secret island)
This is your best bet if you want to do island hopping. The down side is that August is the only super consistent month for wind. These islands are only good on the North wind (Meltemi Wind). On Naxos the wind is super strong, a little gusty, and choppy. It’s nice when there isn’t enough wind on Paros. Paros for the most part has better conditions but the lodging and eating is not at the kite-spot. Mykonos is only kiteable on mild north wind, the wind is onshore, and a little dangerous. Most of Europe comes to Greece in August so everything is packed, but there is still some room. The Cyclades are only a 4-hour ferry ride from Athens so you can combine a trip to these islands with a mainland road trip. Check the forecast, if it’s for North wind catch the ferry to the islands. If it’s for west wind drive out to western Greece, if it’s for no wind catch thermic wind at a secret spot, Nafpaktos, Opopos, or Nafplio.
http://www.paroskite.gr/
http://www.naxos-windsurf.com/
Athens, The Mainland, and Lefkada This is a great road trip with some amazing kitesurfing places. Because the country is small and there are places that are good on every summertime weather set up, you’ll find wind 100% of the days June through September within a two-hour drive. The best thing to do is rent a car and plan your itinerary around the wind. Wind patterns usually set up for a few days then change, except in August when it’s usually non-stop north wind. So you go to a location, kite for a few days, then pack the car up and drive two hours to the next spot as the wind changes. The names of some of the spots with driving times and good wind direction from Athens are as follows: Loutsa (20 min, north wind), Oropos (45 min, east thermic wind), Lexio (1 hr, west wind), Kslokastro (1.5 hr, west wind), Nafplio/Astros (2 hr, southeast thermic wind), Nafpaktos (2.5 hr west wind and/or west thermic wind), Raxes (2.5 hrs north east thermic wind NOT north Meltemi wind), Lefkada (4 hr west or northwest wind, enhanced by a local thermic effect) and a secret spot. Sorry but some spots are better kept off kiteforum. E-mail me and I can tell you whatever you want to know. The best site for weather forecasts is: http://www.meteo.gr/. It’s in Greek, but just click on the thing that looks like little ripples on the water on the upper right hand corner of the webpage and you’ll get a map of Greece. The scale is in Beaufort. Usually a forecast for 4 or more Beaufort in the correct direction depending on the spot means the wind will be good. There is good lodging at all the spots. I have an unused basement apartment I rent out by the hour that is an easy 20 min drive to Loutsa and a 10 min subway ride to the city center fully equipped with a bed, sink, and toilet. Check out http://www.kitebasement.gr
http://www.nissakia.gr/
http://www.radicalkite.gr/home.html
http://www.milosbeach.gr/en/index.php
http://www.kiteclub.gr/component/option,com_google_maps/Itemid,28/lang,el/
Note: There are many ways to write Greek words in English. For example the port city Πειραιας can be written Peiraias, Pireas, Piraias, etc. Or the kite spot Λεχιο can be written Lexio, Lehio, or Lechio. The Island Ροδοσ can be Rhodes, Rhodos, Rodos, Rodo, Rhodo, etc. The Greeks use a different alphabet and there are no rules for transliterating it into English.
Other Places Greece has thousands of islands and just as many miles of coastline. There are a lot of other places to kitesurf. These are just the spots I’m familiar with. |
