Country guide
Greece
Whitewashed islands, ancient ruins and long taverna lunches; May, June and September are the sweet spot.
Currency
EUR
Language
Greek
English
Widely spoken
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+30
Destinations
Athens
The Acropolis is only the opening act: Athens is three thousand years of layered city, and some of the best eating in the Mediterranean.
✓ best Mar-Jun, Sep-OctCorfu
The most Italian of the Greek islands: a Venetian old town the Ottomans never took, wrapped in olive groves and clear-water coves.
✓ best Mar-SepCrete (Chania)
Big enough to hold Minoan palaces, a sixteen-kilometre gorge and pink-sand lagoons, and stubborn enough to feel nothing like the Cyclades.
✓ best Mar-NovMeteora (Kalambaka)
Six Byzantine monasteries balanced on top of sandstone towers, reached now by staircases rather than rope nets, above a plain that makes them look like they are floating.
✓ best Mar-Jun, Sep-NovMilos
Seventy-plus beaches on one volcanic island, and the best of them only open from the water.
✓ best Feb-DecMykonos
The Cyclades at full volume: cubist white lanes, glamour beaches and all-night bars, with ancient Delos a boat ride offshore.
✓ best Jan-NovNafplio
Greece's first capital: a Venetian harbour town under a fortress, with Mycenae and Epidaurus an easy drive away.
✓ best Aug-JunNaxos
The biggest, greenest and most self-sufficient of the Cyclades: marble villages and a mountain interior behind the archipelago's best sandy beaches.
✓ best all yearRhodes
A medieval walled city you can still sleep inside, on the sunniest of the big Greek islands.
✓ best Feb-NovSantorini
The most photographed view in Greece - cliff-top villages above a flooded volcano - with Bronze Age ruins and serious wine behind it.
✓ best Apr-OctThessaloniki
Greece's second city trades island postcards for Roman ruins, Byzantine domes and the country's most argued-over food, all along one long waterfront.
✓ best Mar-NovZakynthos
The island of the Shipwreck and the loggerhead turtles: Greece's most photographed cove on one coast, a protected nesting bay on the other.
✓ best Mar-OctThe sweet-spot windows
Good weather, thinner crowds, better prices: the windows worth aiming for.
| Where | When | Why it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athens | Apr-May, Oct | Mild sightseeing, wildflowers or warm autumn. No furnace | Jul-Aug 34°C heat closures |
| The islands (Cyclades, Crete) | May-Jun, Sep | Warm, sea swimmable (esp Sep), before/after Jul-Aug peak | Many close Nov-Mar |
Climate zones, month by month
Greece has 12 distinct climate zones. The right month depends on where in the country you're going.
Athens →
✓ Best Mar-Jun, Sep-Oct · ✗ Avoid Jul-Aug
Conditions Jan Cool & wet · Feb Cool · Mar Mild spring · Apr Easter, pleasant · May Warm · Jun Hot · Jul-Aug Scorching · Sep Warm · Oct Mild autumn · Nov-Dec Cool & wet
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Corfu Ionian Islands →
✓ Best Mar-Sep
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Crete (Chania) →
✓ Best Mar-Nov
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Meteora (Kalambaka) Thessaly →
✓ Best Mar-Jun, Sep-Nov
Watch for Jul extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Milos Cyclades →
✓ Best Feb-Dec
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Mykonos Cyclades →
✓ Best Jan-Nov
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Nafplio Peloponnese →
✓ Best Aug-Jun
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Naxos Cyclades →
✓ Best all year
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Rhodes Dodecanese →
✓ Best Feb-Nov
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Santorini Cyclades →
✓ Best Apr-Oct
Conditions Jan Cool & wet · Feb Cool · Mar Mild · Apr Pleasant · May Warm · Jun Warm & sunny · Jul Hot + meltemi · Aug Hot, windy · Sep Warm, sea warm · Oct Mild · Nov-Dec Cool & wet
Cards tinted by verified verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Thessaloniki →
✓ Best Mar-Nov
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
Zakynthos Ionian Islands →
✓ Best Mar-Oct
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions