Sports and leisure activities - Cyclades in 2025

Practical information : Move & Laze around Cyclades

Budget & Tips

If free activities are rare and complicated in the big cities, the Cyclades, on the other hand, offer you a thousand possibilities on land and sea. The majority of outdoor activities will not cost you a cent, whether it is swimming or hiking. For diving, kiteboarding, canoeing or mountain biking, unless you come equipped, you will have to rent the equipment: many stores and associations offer quality equipment for rent, but often quite expensive in season.

What's very local

Dancing is practiced by all during the great celebrations that punctuate the national life: you can learn some traditional steps by joining the circle during these panigyri. The celebrations of Pure Monday, 40 days before the Orthodox Easter, are full of surprises: Greeks eat fasting food to mark the beginning of Lent and then gather in the city or on the harbor, where popular songs and dances prolong the festival. On this occasion, traditionally, large kite flying competitions are organized.

Your documents please

Public swimming pools are not necessarily easy to access: many require medical certificates. On the coast, a boating license is mandatory to rent a sailboat or a motorboat in Greece: normally, the coastal license is sufficient for the captain alone, but some rental companies will ask for an additional guarantee, with a second person who knows how to navigate on board. Scuba diving is regulated to avoid the looting of ancient wrecks: any archaeological find must be reported to the port authorities or to the police. Solo diving is forbidden, as well as underwater hunting (even if you will see locals with harpoons in their hands). Finally, windsurfing and kitesurfing are normally forbidden to children under 16 years old, without the consent of a parent.

To be booked

If you want to take part in emblematic events such as the annual swim between Paros and Antiparos in July, keep an eye on the dates and don't miss the registration deadline. Elsewhere on the coast, for all diving or kitesurfing courses, you'll need to book at the most popular tourist spots. There's no need to book weeks in advance, but the high season can fill up fast.

Main events

Prestigious cultural festivals are organized all summer long in Greece. It is impossible to list them all! In the capital alone, the Athens Festival hosts performances from June to September in the open-air theater of Herod Atticus while other performances are given in the Lycabet theater and other spaces in the city. The Cyclades also organizes quality festivals. But above all, throughout the year, watch for religious celebrations with processions and popular fervor that are often spectacular.

Tourist traps

Some sports practices can be dangerous. This is the case for diving on the coast. It is therefore essential to contact professional schools and rental companies.

Sports and leisure activities Cyclades

Map of top points of interest Cyclades

H2O

CYCLADIC DIVING PAROS

NIMA DIVE CENTER

DIVING CENTER MILOS

LADY K SAILING

AQUA TEAM DIVE CENTER

BLUE FIN DIVERS

TAO'S CENTER

STAMATIS CENTRE D’ÉQUITATION NIKI

HORSELAND

NAXOS KITELIFE

KALO LIVADI

SANTORINI KITE

WAVESPORTS

PAROS TENNIS CLUB

TINOS SURF LESSONS

CALILO GROUP

SENTIER DE THIRA À OIA

AMORGOS SCUBA DIVING

AEGAN DIVING COLLEGE

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