Sheltered beaches in Ios
27 beaches in Ios that stay flat when the meltemi blows. Most protected first, and re-ranked live for today's wind.
A beach counts as sheltered here when its sea stays flat in a strong north or north-east wind (6 Bft), the meltemi. We measured the open sea upwind of every beach on Ios: where land lies close to the north and north-east, waves cannot build.
All 27 sheltered beaches on Ios
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Meltemi shelter (0–100) | Lifeguard | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking | Resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agia Kyriaki | east | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Antonarou | east | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Chalara | south | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Diammoudia | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Katsiveli | south | Pebbles | 96 | Parking | |||||
| Kolitsani | south | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Koubara | south-west | Sand | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | |||||
| Kremasto | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Lorentzena | west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Manganari | south | Sand | 96 | 33 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | ||||
| Manousou | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Pepa | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Perammos | south-west | Sand | 96 | 11 bar or café | 44 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | |||
| Pikri Nero | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Treis Kleisies mikri | south-east | – | 96 | ||||||
| Treis Kleisies voreios | south | Pebbles | 96 | ||||||
| Trypiti | south-west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Tzamaria | south | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Valmas | west | Sand | 96 | ||||||
| Viziri | north-west | Pebbles | 96 | ||||||
| Louka Avlaki | east | Sand | 95 | ||||||
| Mylopotas | south-west | Sand | 95 | 11 bar or café | 22 tavernas and restaurants | ||||
| Plakes | south-east | Sand | 95 | ||||||
| Sapounochoma | west | Sand | 95 | ||||||
| Almyros | west | Sand | 94 | ||||||
| Clema | west | Sand | 94 | ||||||
| Papas | east | Sand | 94 |
Ios: how busy is it, month by month
Ios is busiest in August. In May and October there are about half as many visitors, or fewer. For a flat sea and fewer people, the best months are June and October.
Visitor levels are nights spent in tourist accommodation in the South Aegean region (Eurostat, average of 2023–2025), compared with its busiest month. They show when the area is busy, not how many people are on a given beach.
Frequently asked questions
Which beaches in Ios are sheltered from the meltemi?
27 of the 46 mapped beaches on Ios stay flat in a strong north wind. The best protected are Agia Kyriaki, Antonarou, and Chalara.
Are these beaches sheltered every day?
They are sheltered in the meltemi, which blows from the north. With wind from another direction the sheltered side changes, so check the live ranking above: it applies today's forecast to these beaches and is refreshed every 2 hours.
How do you know which beaches are sheltered?
For every beach we measured how much open sea lies in each of 16 compass directions, using OpenStreetMap coastlines. Waves build over open water, so a beach with land close by in the direction the wind comes from is sheltered. Today's wind forecast from MET Norway is then applied, and the result is refreshed every 2 hours.
Are the forecasts reliable?
They are estimates. The model does not include swell from distant storms, and local gusts can be stronger than forecast. Always follow lifeguard flags and local warnings.