Is Greece OK for a family holiday in summer?

[Splat92]

I’m Australian and I’ve never been to Europe. Due to the sale of our house we now have some cash spare to take our boys (20,18 and 13) on a nice holiday next year.

I asked the kids which country they would go to if they could go anywhere and they all said Greece. I was going to start checking that out but I was chatting to my sister who told me to avoid summer as it’s really busy. The problem is the only time I can line up all our holidays (2 schools and 2 universities) is mid July.
Is it really crazy then? Is it just the islands and mainland Greece is OK?

YANBU - Greece is fine in July for a family holiday
YABU – Greece is too busy

Additionally I’d welcome any alternative suggestions for holiday locations. I think they liked the historical aspect of Greece. They like cultural experiences although I will admit on our trip too Japan a couple of years ago they loved the country but got a little bit over temples and shrines on our tours because there were so many of them.

Greece is beautiful and we've never found it too busy but maybe in Europe we're used ti tourist places being busy! I would make sure you balance sightseeing with pool/beach days as Greece gets very hot at that time of year and not pleasant to spend all day sightseeing. The Greek islands can be stunning.

UK schools break up usually third week of July so I would advise going as early as possible in July to get cheaper rates and possibly less children around eg in hotels etc.

Many families go to Greece in the summer. It's the UK school holidays so it was the only opportunity for me as I was a teacher.

Not too busy but can be terribly hot.

Very hot in summer but then I guess so it Australia. Some parts of Greece can be busy, go for a lesser known Island if you’d rather it a bit quieter. Greece is a great place to visit

Greece is great. Do three or four days in Athens for the history and museums and then go to one of the islands. There are many to choose from! Do it! It will be busy but manageable. If you hate crowds, choose one of the less touristy islands that is slightly harder to get to.

I love Greece, it’s fabulous! We’ve just come back from Paxos and it was absolutely amazing. I would 100% recommend. I would do a few days in Athens then head out to one of the islands or do a bit of island hopping.

Europe is busy compared to Australia. It's sort of what you expect on a holiday. Being to busy places doesn't/shouldn't really prevent you from enjoying your time there.
You can always look at eco holidays which are away from hot spots but may be a different holiday from what you expect.

We had a July holiday in Greece s couple of years ago and our boys (similar ages) rate it their best holiday. We did a flotilla holiday and a week on the beach learning to windsurf in the Ionian Islands. We weren’t cultured! Suggest a few days in Athens and wherever you fancy!

Just came back from a lovely holiday in Greece. It’s busy in the summer but anywhere in Europe will be. Very hot though! Would recommend doing Athens and then ferry hopping to a couple of islands - Santorini is very pretty (but popular) or there are smaller ones.

Thanks for the replies all. It's sounding promising then. We will be fine with the heat as it's hot where we live so it was mainly the crowds I was wondering about. Useful to know about the UK school holidays too, thanks.

It's busy because everyone has the same issue you have. Just embrace it and go

I would just do a bit of research and choose an island and resort that get a bit less footfall. I went to a lovely quiet resort in Kefalonia (unfortunately I can’t remember where) but there are quieter resorts to be found.

Greece is amazing! The people are very friendly, the atmosphere is laid back, the food is out of this world and again depending where you go there’s lots of places of historical interest.

Go as early as you can in July. August is peak time across Europe plus lots of Greeks take domestic holidays. It means having to book restaurants, busy ferry's and buses. Cramped sun loungers. We go the first two weeks in July every year and it's great.

You'll be flying into Athens. Pre book the main sites like the Acropolis and go early to swerve queues and the heat. Then get a local flight or better still a ferry and head out to the islands. Choose a couple to explore rather than cram in several. I'd suggest the Cyclades. They are the easiest to navigate by ferry or plenty of flights.

They are the quintessential Greek islands. Azure seas. Blue and white churches. Bougainvillea and cats. Myknonos is popular but very expensive. Santorini spectacular but very busy. Gorgeous beaches or Paros and Naxos. History on syros.

Everywhere in Europe is busy in July

It can get very hot, I know you are in Australia so that might not matter, do what the locals do and have a siesta at the hottest part of the day. I love Greece there are so many islands and they are all slightly different. I wasn't keen on Crete. My favourite was Andros but that has to be reached on a ferry. It is, however, very pretty. And Athens was worth a look round. So, yes, I would say do it.

There are always Australian families in the Cyclades, Op.

We're in Kos now. Its UK school
Holidays and it's not too bad at all.
It's really hot though
Corfu is nice too

English school holidays are third week in July but Scotland and the majority of the rest of Europe tend to be end of June so it’ll be busy regardless OP.

Just make sure you have some downtime so you don’t end up sightseeing all the time with grouchy teens and you’ll be grand - have fun!

What date are you travelling? July should be fine - August no unless I really had no option. Too busy and far, far too hot.

Scottish and Irish schools, and some English private schools break for summer in late June. American schools are even earlier. However English state schools tend to be last week in July - not sure about all the continental European countries but typically in France and Spain they holiday in August so i think if you flew mid July around 15th you’d be okay busy wise.

Where in Aus are you from? July will still be very hot though - too hot for me. But you might be used to it depending!

All the islands are different as is mainland Greece. Why don’t you find what is about Greece that your boys are interested in and go from there!

I love it, we’ve been to various islands and the mainland- I’m just such a wus with temps would prefer to go early June or late sept but can’t now with school hols 😑!

Should add that whilst yes as Scottish schools are off many of the medium sized islands are impossible to get to from Scotland as no direct flights.

If you’re worried about crowds, go somewhere without an international airport. We flew into Santorini and got the ferry to Naxos (the ferry also goes to Paros and Ios). Or fly into skiathos and get the ferry to Skopolos. Having to make that little bit extra effort means those islands are maybe a little less busy. Naxos and Thassos (ferry from Thessaloniki) are the most beautiful islands I’ve been to.

The two weeks starting 5 July is when our holidays all line up although we could probably manage a few days either side of this.

We live in western Sydney which is considerably hotter than the city in summer and we get days over 40 degrees. My preferred temperature range is early 30s, it's the cold I don't deal well with.

The schools break up in the UK around the 19th July. So early July is slightly less busy. As suggested find out what they want to do then pick were you want to go. Tbh I wouldn't bother if I lived in Australia, unless you particularly want to see historical ruins etc. I like the likes of Morroco though.

Avoid anywhere on the cruise ship itinerary. We always go to the Chania area of Crete and book a villa in a quiet village. It is not busy at all in the summer holidays.

Agree with @manysausages - if you don’t want crowds then you can easily avoid them by going to the smaller islands. As well as his/her lovely suggestions, Ithaca is incredibly beautiful (ferry from Kefalonia).