SurfinGR, Attica, Mati

Activities: Windsurf, Kitesurf, SUP
Popularity: Not Much
Style: Freeride, Slalom, Race/Formula
Level: Intermediate, Good, Specialist

Mati is located in the southern part of Nea Makri and in front of the homonymous settlement. It can be reached easily via Marathonos Avenue.

Mati beach (actually two small beaches) is suitable for windsurfing and SUP but keep in mind that in weekends many bathers tend to "occupy" the area. The harbour in nearby Rafina serves as an access point to the Aegean Sea and is frequently used by tourists to reach many of Greece’s numerous islands.

Best Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Medium Months:
Wind Type: Thermal Winds, Frontal Winds
Best Direction: NNE, NE, E
Main Direction: N, NNE, NE, E, SE, SSE, S
Worst Direction:
Wind Factor: 11-16 knots (4 bft), 17-21 knots (5 bft), 22-27 knots (6 bft), 28-33 knots (7 bft)
Main Wind Direction: Onshore, Side Onshore
Blowing at: Morning, Midday, Afternoon
Wave Tack:

Best conditions with NE (Side Onshore) and E (Onshore) wind. Nice conditions also when S wind blows.

Type: Chop, Small Wave (< 1m), Medium Wave (1-3m)
Quality: Clean
Depth: Average (deepens gently and incrementally)
Seabed: Sand, Stones
Attention: Reefs

Mati has clear waters and is nice for families. Close to the shore there are choppy conditions. Deeper, mixed and irregular waves. As stronger the wind, the better the waves.

The two beaches are small, so there is not much space for the entrance. Υou can get into the water either from the beach at the southern part of the small marina, either at the northern.

Needs to sail downwind as you go in, especially if you choose the northern beach. Also, a good level is needed so to be able to come back to the shore. Not ideal for beginners. The southern beach has reefs at the southern part of it. The northern beach has the breakwater of the marina at the southern part of it.

Type: Sand, Stones, Seaweed
Size: Small
Bathers Period: Many
Bathers: Much
Shade: No
Kid Friendly: Yes
Attention:

Two sandy beaches where many spend their holidays for years. On weekdays there is relative calm, but on weekends it is full of people.

GPS Google Maps: 38.045837, 23.999114

Mati lies east of the Penteli mountain, on Marathonas Avenue, north of Rafina Port (which serves as a local hub for holiday ferry boats to the Cyclades Islands) and south of Nea Makri. It is about 35 km east of downtown Athens.

The spot can be accessed through Marathonos Avenue (GR-54) to the west or alternatively via the Dionysos, northwest of Athens.

Arrival by Airplane: The new airport of Athens “Eleftherios Venizelos”, one of the best airports in Europe, (IATA: ATH, ICAO: LGAV) is located in Spata Town and serves flights to Greece daily from several international airlines from all over the world. You can take a charter flight, so you can carry your windsurf equipment with you as well.

The metro and the Proastiakos-Suburban railway, as well as taxis and buses to and from Athens are to be found opposite the main exit of the airport. The distance is 44 km. The bus journey takes between 35 and 45 minutes to the city centre at Syntagma (Parliament) Square (of course depending on the time and traffic), therefore the best way is to take the “Athens metro” that connects the airport with Athens and Piraeus. There are car hire agencies at the airport, in case you want to rent a vehicle.

If you want to go directly to Mati by car or taxi, the airport is 18 km away, with quick and easy access. The metro and the Proastiakos-Suburban railway do not serve this area!

Arrival by Ferry/Boat: If you are coming from the European continent and you prefer to take the ferry from an Italian Port, you need to head towards Italy and the Italian ports of Ancona, Venice Bari or Brindisi. Those ports have daily connections to Corfu, Igoumenitsa and Patras. If you are coming from Aegean Sea (from a Greek Island, Turkey or Cyprus) you will reach one of the Attica’s Ports in Piraeus, Rafina or Lavrio Town.

The Port of Rafina gathers significant share of traffic to the islands of Cyclades (Andros, Tinos, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos, Amorgos, Ios, Santorini and Koufonisia) and has the exclusive connection to Marmari Evia, serving both passenger – tourist and freight traffic to these destinations.

Arrival by Car, Moto, Camper Van: If you’re coming by Ferry from an Italian port, Patra is about 211 km away from the center of Athens and Igoumenitsa is about 445 km. There are some good highways a like the Corinth-Athens and the Athens-Larissa, Corinth-Tripoli and the Egnatia highway.

Mati is about 35 km away from Athens and 42 km away from Piraeus and 54 km from Lavrio. If you come from Thessaloniki -Greece's second largest city- the distance is about 519 km.

The town can be accessed through Greek National Road 54 (Athens - Pallini - Rafina - Mati), Greek National Road 83 (Athens - Marathon - Rafina - Mati) and Greek National Road 85 (Lavrio - Rafina - Mati).

The spot is situated just on the small marina of Mati Town. As you enter Mati from Marathonas Avenue (there is a sign on your right, 3 km after the sign to Rafina), at the end of the road you turn right and right after you turn left.

Arrival by Bus: Access is easy by intercity buses (KTEL) from Pedion tou Areos (near Victoria Station), connects Athens with Rafina as well as the areas in the wider region (Rafina, Nea Makri, Marathonas). During the summer months the services are more frequent for the better service of the passengers.

Arrival by Train: Train travel is not so much in fashion anymore due to the complexity of the journey through the Balkans. Rail services link Thessaloniki with, Athens, Thrace and Patra. The line through what was once Yugoslavia provides connections with Central and Western Europe. The line through Bulgaria connects to Eastern Europe and the line through Istanbul, Turkey with the countries of the Near East.

If you choose to come to Attica by train, when you’ll arrive to “Stathmos Larissis” station, you’ll get the metro Line 2 with direction to “Agios Dimitrios” and after two stops you’ll arrive to Omonia. Then you’ll get on the "Electric" Line 1st having direction towards "Kifissia" and you get off at "Viktoria". Coming out of the station you go to Pedion tou Areos from where you can take the intercity bus (KTEL) that goes to Mati.