Best Time To Travel To: Greece
Greece is climatically quite diverse. After all, the country consists of several widely scattered islands and many parts of Greece can also be described as quite mountainous. The seasons are not clearly defined, autumn is hardly noticeable in Greece. Spring is from March to May, Summer from May to October and winter from November to March.
Many parts of the country have a Mediterranean climate. The further you get away from the sea, the less this sea influence becomes. You can feel this quite clearly in the north of the country, where Greece borders to Bulgaria, for example, and of course at high altitudes.
The summers in Greece are basically warm to hot. In high summer you can count on a practically cloudless sky. It rains very little. Temperatures range from 26°C to 30°C in summer in average. It is usually hotter on the mainland than on the islands and coastal regions. It gets very hot in Athens and Crete (up to 45°C). More pleasant are Corfu and the mountainous regions. Roughly, one can say that temperature and dryness increase significantly from north to south. The north is cooler and has about 4 dry months. The south and the Aegean have up to 7 dry months, although the heat seems quite pleasant due to the dry air. The great summer heat is more than bearable, especially in the coastal areas, because there you can always count on pleasant breezes from the sea. But in the inland it can be extreme. So in Athens you can have extremely uncomfortably hot conditions.
Winters are relatively rainy, especially in December and January. The west has more precipitation than the east. Winters are relatively cold in Thessalonia (about 5 °C) and generally in the north with up to -10 °C. Warmer are the winters on Crete (12 °C) and on the Ionian Islands (10 °C). Basically you can say that it gets colder the higher you get. For every 100mtr. of ascent you have to reckon with one degree less. That means: on the mountains it is cold, above 1,200m you can expect snow. The highlands are even quite snow-sure here. The plains by the sea, however, are less prone to snow. Snowfall is possible there, but rare.
Spring and autumn are very short periods with autumn hard to perceive. But they can be very interesting for traveling in the country. For those who do not like the great heat of summer, spring with April and May could be interesting. Autumn is as mentioned hardly noticeable, because it is still warm in September and October. Especially in the coastal areas it is then very pleasant, the water temperatures even reach their highest level in September.
Greece is very sunny all over the country. In winter there are on average five hours of sunshine per day, in summer there can be up to fourteen hours of sunshine per day. There can be less sun in the highlands and also in the extreme north of the country. Precipitation in the country is relatively low. When they come, they are often short and heavy. Basically, the highlands in the country and the west coast receive more rain than other parts of the country. Everywhere where there are mountains, precipitation is usually higher (Corfu up to 1,300mm, Pindos mountains 1,800mm). Athens brings it only to 400mm.
In the higher regions above 2,000 meters, one must expect snow in Greece in winter and until spring. The temperature here can drop below 0°C again and again. On the other hand, the summers are very pleasant with a lot of sun and warmth - but not with great heat.
The driest part of Greece is the east, here is Athens and the climate table gives some impression about the region. In the north, winters are cooler and summers always receive rain. For the region you could take the climate table of Thessaloniki. On the Aegean islands, the winter is extremely mild and the summer heat is usually made bearable by pleasant sea breezes. The climate table of Naxos could give an impression here.
Water temperatures: In the south and on the Cyclades you can swim well from May, then it has about 19 °C. Basically you can swim from June to September. The water has then about 24 °C. Until the end of October it is still around 20 °C. In winter the water temperature drops to 15 °C. Much colder are the waters in northern Greece and Chalkidiki. There, the water temperature drops to 10 °C in winter. Accordingly, it takes a little longer for the water to warm up in the summer.
When is the best time to go to Greece
The main season from May to September is usually mentioned as the best time for Greece. For many, it is still too cold in the water in April and May for a beach holiday, even if the outside temperatures can be relatively pleasant. On the other hand, one can say that the water temperatures remain pleasantly warm over the summer until September and October. Seen in this way, the best travel time for a beach holiday in Greece could be from June to October. However, based on the experience of recent years, one must also say that September always came up with storms. This was usually preceded by intense dry phases, which dried out the earth to such an extent that the rain masses could not be absorbed. In October you have to reckon with wet and sometimes cooler periods. Active vacationers should rather avoid the hot summer, for them the best travel time is more likely to be in April - May.
