Greece
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2017 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
277km²
Area
131km
Coastline
506m
Highest point
3,973
People
26°C
Warmest sea
August
6km
To the mainland
When to go to Kythira
Best for the beach from July to September.
The sea is warmest in August (26 °C) and coolest in February (15 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Greek island in the Ionian Sea
Kythira is an island in Greece. It covers 277 km², with 131 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 506 m. About 3,973 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 6 km away.
Getting there
- Kalamata Airport (KLX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 125 km in a straight lineCar hire at KLX airport (Kalamata)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 6 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From July to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Kythira.
- 47beachesKaladi Beach, Paleopoli Beach, Routsounas Beach and 44 more
- 20viewpointsrock arch and 19 more
- 4lighthousesKapsali Lighthouse, Moudari Lighthouse and 2 more
- 2marinasAgia Pelagia Marina
- 1named peaksKythira high point
- 4waterfallsWaterfall of Neraidas or Fonisas and 3 more
- 7castles and fortsPaleochora of Kythira, Castle of Agios Georgios of Kolokythia, Vigla of St George of the Mountain and 4 more
- 5ruins and archaeological sitesCastle of Paleohora, Signal station, Apokleistra Windmill and 2 more
- 14waymarked walking routesM1 Kapsali-Chora (Kythera), M44 Short loop Aroniadika-Geraktianika, M49A Amir Ali-Karavas-Diakopoulianika-Amir Ali and 11 more
- 1campsites
- 13hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 41restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Kythira in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Kythira, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
25.8°C
Limnária
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 219 m above the sea. 42 % of it is below 200 m.
- 8 %0–50 m
- 34 %50–200 m
- 58 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Kýthira281 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 21 | 26 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 19 | 16 |
| Night low (°C) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 17 | 14 |
| Sea (°C) | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 18 |
| Rain (mm) | 95 | 79 | 48 | 28 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 47 | 77 | 94 |
| Wet days | 12 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 13 |
| Sun h/day | 4.2 | 5.1 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 10.4 | 12.1 | 12.4 | 11.3 | 9.3 | 6.9 | 4.8 | 3.7 |
| Wind (km/h) | 25 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 25 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | −0.8 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +1.2 | +0.6 | +0.9 |
| 2021 | +1.6 | +1.3 | +1.0 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +1.1 |
| 2023 | +1.7 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.1 | −0.4 | +0.1 | +1.7 | +1.3 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +1.5 | +0.8 |
| 2024 | +1.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.3 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +2.1 | +1.8 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.8 | +1.8 | +1.3 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +1.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q207239) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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