Moraitis Beach, Schinias: A Windsurfing Club Founded in 1979, When the Sport Itself Was Still Largely Unknown

Greece | Schinias | Marathon, East Attica

Moraitis was established in 1979, at a point when windsurfing itself was still a relatively new and unfamiliar sport rather than the established discipline it is today. What began as a modest operation has grown into the considerably larger complex now standing on this stretch of Schinias beach, though the club’s identity remains anchored in that original purpose: it is, first and foremost, a watersports centre, with the beach club, restaurant, and surrounding facilities having developed around it over more than four decades rather than the reverse.

The beach sits within the Schinias National Park corridor on the northern edge of Marathon Bay, the same protected coastal stretch I have described at El Pouda Beach Dikastika Attica Greece, where the rockier coves near Dikastika present a markedly different character from the long sandy run at Schinias proper. Moraitis occupies a specific section of that longer beach, identifiable by its grassy areas, its surf shop, and the equipment laid out along the sand for the lessons it runs throughout the season.

A point worth stating plainly, since promotional descriptions of the area sometimes suggest otherwise: the open beach at Schinias, including the section around Moraitis, does not have public restroom facilities, and dogs, camping, and nude sunbathing are explicitly prohibited. Showers, including a hot one, are available through the club itself, and lifeguard supervision applies specifically to the organised section rather than uniformly across the open sand. A small, practical tip that several visitors mention independently: the club issues a parking coupon on arrival, which can be stamped free of charge with even a minor purchase — a rented chair, a coffee — avoiding a separate parking fee.

Getting There: Forty-Five to Fifty-Five Minutes From Athens via Marathonos Avenue or Attiki Odos

The drive from central Athens follows the same route described for the wider Marathon and Schinias area, via Attiki Odos or Marathonos Avenue, taking forty-five to fifty-five minutes and passing the Marathon Tomb along the way for those combining the beach with the historical sites I covered separately at Marathon Beach Nea Makri Attica Greece. The orange KTEL bus from Pedion tou Areos, marked for Schinias, stops a short walk from the Moraitis entrance.

A dedicated parking area sits directly at the centre’s entrance, sparing visitors the need to carry equipment across the dunes from a more distant lot.

The Beach: Fine Sand, Shallow Water, a Significant Concentration of Watersports

The sand is fine and golden, the seabed remaining sandy and shallow for a considerable distance from shore, with adults able to wade several hundred metres before the water passes overhead in calm conditions — a quality shared with the broader Schinias coastline and one that makes the area consistently popular with families. The water sits calm in the mornings and tends to develop a local thermal breeze through the afternoon, even on days when wind elsewhere in the region is minimal, a specific microclimate effect that several windsurfing guides attribute to the bay’s particular orientation.

Moraitis offers instruction and equipment rental across an unusually wide range of disciplines for a single centre: windsurfing, waterskiing, wakeboarding, wake surfing, stand-up paddleboarding, sea kayaking, sub-wing, and catamaran sailing, alongside triathlon training. The beach bar serves snacks and drinks in a setting the operators themselves describe as blending relaxed beach atmosphere with the more active pursuits taking place just offshore. Full moon parties are a recurring summer fixture, drawing a livelier evening crowd than the daytime watersports activity alone would suggest.

Moraitis Beach at Schinias is built around a windsurfing club founded in 1979, among the older such operations anywhere, now expanded into a broader watersports and beach club complex within the Schinias National Park corridor on Marathon Bay. Fine sand, shallow water extending a considerable distance from shore, a wide range of watersports instruction, and a beach bar and restaurant on site. The open beach itself lacks public restrooms, and dogs, camping, and nude sunbathing are prohibited; a parking coupon can be stamped free with a minor purchase. Forty-five to fifty-five minutes from Athens, within reach of the Marathon Tomb, the Archaeological Museum, and the broader Schinias and Dikastika coastline covered elsewhere in this series.

Drive via Marathonos Avenue. Bring your own equipment if you do not intend to rent. Stamp the parking coupon with a small purchase before you leave.