Prasonisi is all about its surf culture. Located at the southernmost tip of Rhodes, Greece, the small islet is often considered the freeride and freerace heaven by surfers.
It has a long and narrow stretch of pristine sandy beaches. The islet is surrounded by two water bodies – the Aegean sea and the Mediterranean sea. The Aegean sea provides softer gentle waves, while the Mediterranean is meant for seasoned surfers. The island receives stronger winds on the west and much calmer breezes on the east. The two seas converge right in the center of the beaches, which is a sight to behold.
Prasonisi is a huge flat water bay. The southern tip of Rhodes makes the most famous windsurfing spot in Greece. It is arguably the best flatwater surf spots on the globe. It offers gybing heaven, fast tack mastery, and wave beach.
The long beach receives a combination of thermal winds from the surrounding mountains and a wind-channel effect between Rhodos and Turkey. The result is the perfect windsurfing and kitesurfing conditions at Prasonisi.
What is the best time?
The small windsurfing town gets busy during the midsummer. The months of July and August are when Prasonisi sees a spike in tourist and surfing enthusiasts getting ready with their boards to race on the waters. June to September are the busy months that provide the best conditions for wind and kitesurfing. That’s why is better if you come at that time and looking for hotel to have booked much earlier.
The islet has optimum wind stats during the summer season. The thermal winds often show up in the afternoon, close to lunch hours, and is not included in the wind forecasts.
What do you need?
For windsurfing in Prasonisi during the months of July and August, a larger kite size of 11 or up for tackling stronger winds is required. Check the forecast before going out on the waters to decide what kite size would be most suited for that day’s weather and wind conditions. Kite size also depends on your total body weight, so make sure to factor that in as well.
According to the water temperature, long wetsuits from June to September is the recommended costume-wear. During July and August, short wetsuits will do.
Spots on Prasonisi
On one side of the island, the left is gifted with the perfect flatwater and offshore winds, while on the other side of Prasonisi, you are met with choppy water conditions and wind waves.
The flatwater can get overcrowded during the peak season, which can get difficult to navigate, especially for beginners. Expert surfers may enjoy dabbling on the onshore wave side, which is trickier.
The left side receives a lot of windsurfers here. So, kitesurfers are mostly restricted to the right side of the bay to keep things less muddled. The right side with onshore wind and waves are challenging with choppy waves and stronger winds. They build nice ramps to jump off of.
Reading the wind forecast
Choose your kites according to the daily wind forecast. It is safer to add a couple of knots to the estimated weather conditions. Thus, if the forecast predicted 7 to 8 knots, surf on an 11-meter kite that has around 14 to 15 knots.
A live wind meter predicts the current wind forecast. In general, you could practice adding around 4 to 5 knots on the wind showed.
Some schools give you the run-down of surfing for beginners on the beach. A few rental shops for boards and surfs are also available on Prasonisi.
You can find in Windy website the weather forecast for prasonisi beach. Windy is very reliable and is common used from kitesurfers and windsurfers.
To get the most out of winds and water, head out early or during the afternoon and spend your day surfing on the quality waters of Prasonisi beach. You are bound to agree that Prasonisi is the surfer heaven of the world.
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