Sheltered beaches in Symi
6 beaches in Symi 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 Symi: where land lies close to the north and north-east, waves cannot build.
All 6 sheltered beaches on Symi
| Beach | Faces | Surface | Meltemi shelter (0–100) | Lifeguard | Bars | Tavernas | Toilets | Parking | Resort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paralia Faneromeni | east | – | 96 | ||||||
| Lapathos beach | south-west | – | 95 | ||||||
| Paralia | south-east | Pebbles | 95 | ||||||
| Marathounda Bay | east | Sand | 93 | 22 tavernas and restaurants | Parking | ||||
| Nanou | east | Pebbles | 91 | ||||||
| St. Georgios beach | east | Pebbles | 91 |
Symi: how busy is it, month by month
Symi 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 May 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 Symi are sheltered from the meltemi?
6 of the 12 mapped beaches on Symi stay flat in a strong north wind. The best protected are Paralia Faneromeni, Lapathos beach, and Paralia.
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.