Sea · Region of Crete · Greece
Paleochora
Best for kiting from January to May, with 52 to 63 % kite days. Water 17 to 19 °C.
A kite day has at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 knots (gusts up to 45) between 10:00 and 19:00, in daylight. Percentages are the share of such days in each month, counted over 9 years.
- Prime 60 % and more
- Good 40 to 59 %
- Possible 20 to 39 %
- Off under 20 %
- No data hatched
- Ringed: this month
Prime also needs a good month in at least 7 of the 9 years, so one freak year cannot make a month Prime. A month with 60 %+ but fewer good years shows as Good.
Confidence mediumECMWF IFS and ERA5 disagree on the shape of the season here.
Month by month
- Kite days
- 35 % Possibleabout 11 of 31 days
- Too light, kiteable, too strong
- Too light 65 %
- Kiteable 35 %
- Too strong 0 %
- Good years
- 0 of 9 years reached 50 % kite days
- 10 day trip
- 2 in 10 trips got at least 5 kite days, about 3.1 expected
- Best hours
- 10:00 to 18:00when the wind is most often 12 to 35 knots
- Daylight
- 11.3 h
- Water
- 24 °C, shorty
- Air
- 23 °Cdaily maximum, 23 °C during kite hours
- Rain
- 4 of 31with 1 mm or more
- In one sentence
In October, Paleochora averaged 11 kite days out of 31 (35 %). Water 24 °C, shorty. 2 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in October got at least 5 kite days.
| Kite days% of days | 55 | 59 | 63 | 56 | 52 | 47 | 44 | 43 | 46 | 35 | 38 | 48 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdictshare plus good years | Good | Good | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Possible | Possible | Good |
| 10 day tripof 10 trips, 5+ kite days | 7 in 10 | 8 in 10 | 9 in 10 | 8 in 10 | 6 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 4 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 2 in 10 | 5 in 10 | 5 in 10 |
| Good yearsof 9, reached 50 % | 6 of 9 | 9 of 9 | 7 of 9 | 7 of 9 | 6 of 9 | 3 of 9 | 3 of 9 | 2 of 9 | 2 of 9 | 0 of 9 | 2 of 9 | 5 of 9 |
| Best hourshour of day, most often 12 to 35 kn | 10 to 17 | 10 to 17 | 10 to 18 | 10 to 19 | 11 to 19 | 14 to 19 | 11 to 19 | 12 to 19 | 14 to 19 | 10 to 18 | 10 to 16 | 10 to 16 |
| Daylighth | 10.1 | 10.9 | 12.0 | 13.1 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.5 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.8 |
| Water°C at the surface | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
| Air°C, daily maximum | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 23 | 21 | 17 |
| Rain days1 mm or more | 14 of 31 | 9 of 28 | 7 of 31 | 4 of 30 | 2 of 31 | 1 of 30 | 0 of 31 | 0 of 31 | 2 of 30 | 4 of 31 | 11 of 30 | 13 of 31 |
| Wetsuitfor that water and the air on kite days, + boots and gloves | 4/3 | 5/4 | 5/4 | 3/2 | 3/2 | spring | shorty | shorts | shorty | shorty | 3/2 | 4/3 |
- In January, Paleochora averaged 17 kite days out of 31 (55 %). Water 18 °C, 4/3. 7 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in January got at least 5 kite days.
- In February, Paleochora averaged 16 kite days out of 28 (59 %). Water 17 °C, 5/4. 8 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in February got at least 5 kite days.
- In March, Paleochora averaged 19 kite days out of 31 (63 %). Water 17 °C, 5/4. 9 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in March got at least 5 kite days.
- In April, Paleochora averaged 17 kite days out of 30 (56 %). Water 18 °C, 3/2. 8 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in April got at least 5 kite days.
- In May, Paleochora averaged 16 kite days out of 31 (52 %). Water 19 °C, 3/2. 6 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in May got at least 5 kite days.
- In June, Paleochora averaged 14 kite days out of 30 (47 %). Water 23 °C, spring suit. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in June got at least 5 kite days.
- In July, Paleochora averaged 14 kite days out of 31 (44 %). Water 26 °C, shorty. 4 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in July got at least 5 kite days.
- In August, Paleochora averaged 13 kite days out of 31 (43 %). Water 27 °C, boardshorts. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in August got at least 5 kite days.
- In September, Paleochora averaged 14 kite days out of 30 (46 %). Water 26 °C, shorty. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in September got at least 5 kite days.
- In October, Paleochora averaged 11 kite days out of 31 (35 %). Water 24 °C, shorty. 2 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in October got at least 5 kite days.
- In November, Paleochora averaged 11 kite days out of 30 (38 %). Water 22 °C, 3/2. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in November got at least 5 kite days.
- In December, Paleochora averaged 15 kite days out of 31 (48 %). Water 20 °C, 4/3. 5 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in December got at least 5 kite days.
Good year: at least half the days of that month were kite days. x in 10 reads: of all 10 day trips that started in that month between 2017 and 2025, x in 10 got at least 5 kite days. We cap the figure at 9 in 10 because wind is never a promise. Best hours: the hours from 10:00 on when the wind most often reaches 12 to 35 knots. Rain day: 1 mm or more of rain.
Source: ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly model wind, 2017 to 2025; water temperature 2023 to 2025. How we count kite days and trip odds
Trip odds at Paleochora
How often a trip of your length got at least half its days with kite wind, 2017 to 2025, capped at 9 in 10.
- January7 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.6 expected
- February8 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.8 expected
- March9 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 6.4 expected
- April8 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 5.6 expected
- May6 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.9 expected
- June5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.7 expected
- July4 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.3 expected
- August5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.6 expected
- September5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.4 expected
- October (now)2 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 3.1 expected
- November5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.3 expected
- December5 in 10 trips of 10 days got at least 5 kite days, about 4.7 expected
x in 10 reads: of all 10 day trips that started in that month between 2017 and 2025, x in 10 got at least 5 kite days. We cap the figure at 9 in 10 because wind is never a promise.
Trip odds by start week
Pick your start week and trip length. Each cell: of all trips of that length that started in that week between 2017 and 2025, how many in 10 got at least half their days with kite wind.
Trip odds by start week, 10 day trips, 2017 to 2025
- 5
- 7
- 8
- 7
- 9
- 9
- 7
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 8
- 9
- 9
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 7
- 4
- 6
- 6
- 5
- 5
- 4
- 4
- 6
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 4
- 4
- 5
- 4
- 4
- 9
- 4
- 5
- 4
- 5
- 3
- 2
- 2
- 2
- 3
- 3
- 5
- 5
- 6
- 5
- 5
- 5
- 4
Colours as in the kite year: 6 in 10 and more like Prime · 4 to 5 in 10 like Good · 2 to 3 in 10 like Possible · under 2 in 10 like Off · No data hatched (fewer than 30 trips) · Ringed: this week · Raised: your start week
x in 10 reads: of all 10 day trips that started in that week between 2017 and 2025, x in 10 got at least 5 kite days. We cap the figure at 9 in 10 because wind is never a promise.
Source: hourly wind from the ECMWF IFS model via Open-Meteo, 2017 to 2025, kiteCOMPASS method v1. How we count
3 in 10
trips of 10 days starting in week 45 (e.g. 5 to 11 November) got at least 5 kite days in 2017 to 2025 (63 trips).
Zero wind trips: fewer than 1 in 20
about 3.6 kite days expected out of 10
Kite days per trip, 63 trips
Bars right of the line are good trips (5 kite days or more).
How the wind behaves
In March, the windiest month
- Too light 37 %
- Kiteable 63 %
- Too strong 0 %
Too light on 37 %, kiteable on 63 %, too strong on 0 % of days.
Best hours: 10:00 to 18:00, when the wind is most often 12 to 35 knots.
Share of kite days by wind direction, 16 sectors
Wind direction varies, most often WNW (293°).
Kitesurfing at Paleochora: quick answers
When is the best time to kitesurf at Paleochora?
The best months are January to May: from 2017 to 2025, 52 to 63 % of days in those months were kite days.
Is Paleochora windy in October?
Sometimes. 35 % of days in October were kite days from 2017 to 2025, about 11 days in a typical October. 2 in 10 trips of 10 days starting in October got at least 5 kite days, 2017 to 2025.
What is the water temperature at Paleochora?
The water ranges from 17 °C in February to 27 °C in August. In October it is about 24 °C (wetsuit: shorty).
How many kite days does Paleochora get in a year?
About 178 days a year were kite days from 2017 to 2025, out of 365. A kite day has at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 kn model wind between 10:00 and 19:00 in daylight, with gusts up to 45 kn.
Live forecast
The numbers above are long term averages. The forecast shows the next days.
Live forecast from Windy
The forecast map for Paleochora comes from windy.com (Windyty SE, Prague, Czech Republic) and opens right here on this page. Once you load it, your browser contacts Windy, which receives your IP address and may set its own cookies. Nothing is loaded before you click.
Spot facts
- Region
- Region of Crete
- Country
- Greece
- Water body
- Sea, from Natural Earth map data
- Nearest airport
- Chania International Airport (CHQ), 58 km straight line. Flights are not sold here; this is for planning only.
- Time zone
- UTC+03:00 in October
- Coordinates
- 35.2325, 23.6222
- Model
- ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly
Conditions, checked against kite guides
Water state, flat areas, waves and whether schools teach here, from kite sources, not from satellite images.
Not yet checked against kite guides. We research spot conditions one by one and show only what a kite source says.
Nearby kite spots in Region of Crete
Kite days in October, % of days
- Elafonisi
Greece · 3 points more kite days than Paleochora in October
38 %Kite days by month at Elafonisi: Jan 56 %, Feb 57 %, Mar 56 %, Apr 48 %, May 43 %, Jun 54 %, Jul 71 %, Aug 64 %, Sep 54 %, Oct 38 %, Nov 45 %, Dec 50 % - Kasteli
Greece · 28 points more kite days than Paleochora in October
63 %Kite days by month at Kasteli: Jan 76 %, Feb 69 %, Mar 66 %, Apr 61 %, May 47 %, Jun 39 %, Jul 52 %, Aug 53 %, Sep 53 %, Oct 63 %, Nov 70 %, Dec 72 % - Agia Marina
Greece · 10 points fewer kite days than Paleochora in October
25 %Kite days by month at Agia Marina: Jan 43 %, Feb 43 %, Mar 44 %, Apr 37 %, May 29 %, Jun 20 %, Jul 15 %, Aug 12 %, Sep 24 %, Oct 25 %, Nov 27 %, Dec 31 % - Georgioupoli
Greece · 27 points fewer kite days than Paleochora in October
8 %Kite days by month at Georgioupoli: Jan 25 %, Feb 30 %, Mar 30 %, Apr 23 %, May 17 %, Jun 11 %, Jul 14 %, Aug 14 %, Sep 13 %, Oct 8 %, Nov 14 %, Dec 17 % - Plakias
Greece · 2 points fewer kite days than Paleochora in October
33 %Kite days by month at Plakias: Jan 46 %, Feb 43 %, Mar 41 %, Apr 31 %, May 19 %, Jun 29 %, Jul 48 %, Aug 39 %, Sep 33 %, Oct 33 %, Nov 34 %, Dec 33 % - Timbaki
Greece · 32 points fewer kite days than Paleochora in October
3 %Kite days by month at Timbaki: Jan 10 %, Feb 7 %, Mar 13 %, Apr 7 %, May 12 %, Jun 9 %, Jul 8 %, Aug 12 %, Sep 5 %, Oct 3 %, Nov 3 %, Dec 7 % - Amoudara
Greece · 12 points fewer kite days than Paleochora in October
23 %Kite days by month at Amoudara: Jan 37 %, Feb 41 %, Mar 43 %, Apr 38 %, May 36 %, Jun 45 %, Jul 65 %, Aug 66 %, Sep 44 %, Oct 23 %, Nov 20 %, Dec 26 % - Gra Lygia
Greece · 17 points fewer kite days than Paleochora in October
18 %Kite days by month at Gra Lygia: Jan 44 %, Feb 35 %, Mar 33 %, Apr 21 %, May 10 %, Jun 9 %, Jul 13 %, Aug 7 %, Sep 14 %, Oct 18 %, Nov 27 %, Dec 30 %
Plan your trip
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kiteCOMPASS · method k3h-10to19-v1 · 2017 to 2025
Model wind: ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly, 2017 to 2025. Water temperature: 2023 to 2025. Kite day: at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 kn model wind between 10:00 and 19:00 in daylight, with gusts up to 45 kn. Confidence: medium.
Cite this
In October, 35 % of days at Paleochora met the kiteCOMPASS kite day rule: at least 3 hours of 12 to 35 kn model wind between 10:00 and 19:00 in daylight, with gusts up to 45 kn (ECMWF IFS 9 km via Open-Meteo, hourly, 2017 to 2025). https://kitecompass.app/spot/paleochora
Numbers on this page are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: name kiteCOMPASS and link to this page.