Greek islands - August or October?

[Bythesea1982]

Hi there. Looking for some advice for those who have visited the Greek islands in August or October (the only times we could visit). How was the weather in October and is there still enough to do? I’ve read that restaurants etc can be closed.
August would be high season so busy but I’m concerned it might be too hot for me and my children. Am I right to be concerned about the heat?

I am interested in this too - we are considering Crete for October half term.

We like to do a mix of sightseeing and beach and I think August will be too hot and May the sea might be too cold.

I went to Rhodes in October half term last year and the temperature was perfect for me, 25-27 during the day, only popped a long sleeved top on at about 10pm at night. Sea temperatures were amazing.

Anything above 30 is impossible for me. I will never go away in the summer again!

Oh, and some things were closed but a lot stayed open because of the half term. There was plenty to do and no crowds.

If you have to be back at work on 2 Sept, and you want to use the pool etc, book for 25 August to 1 Sept. It is likely to be a little cooler than earlier in August, and the European schools will be largely back in session, so it will be a little less busy.

And I would head to windier northern Agean islands such as Thasos, or corfu, in preference to more southerly islands such as Crete, to keep it more comfortable.

October is a different type of holiday - lovely if you like hiking.

Crete is ideal for October as it’s further south and warmer. It is huge, so it’s good to hire a car if you’re interested in seeing the ancient sites.

@AlannaOfTrebond we’re going to Nidri, Lefkas next August (we like the heat) did you enjoy Lefkas?

Yeah this is the sticking point for us, neither of us love the idea of driving there - a lot of the roads look quite perilous!

October is the very end of the season, we went to Santorini. We had heavy rain and mist but some sunny days. Definitely jacket weather for the majority. Still plenty of people there and we had a nice time but it's not going to be consistently sunny. Also some places had run out of some stuff (certain flavour drinks etc) and were restocking due to end of season. I wouldn't go in August personally far too hot for me but if you like heat then fair enough. But remember last year when everything was on fire!

We stayed in an apartment in the Avanti Village in Paphos. Would highly recommend!

@Meredusoleil we stayed in the hotel end of Avanti Village, it was great!

@GinForBreakfast Thats really encouraging to hear that plenty was still open. I don’t particularly like crowds so this sounds good to me! Where did you stay in Rhodes?

@spriots Really good point about the sea being cold in May which shouldn’t be a problem in October. Thank you.

@Bythesea1982 Eden Roc, it's all inclusive which is what I wanted (a no brain holiday and I got an amazing deal with EasyJet).

Buses are great in Rhodes if you don't want to drive. We hired a car for one day and driving was easy peasy.

Some of the boat trips had ended for the season but Rhodes town was buzzing. I honestly can't imagine how uncomfortable it would be in August with the heat and crowds.

I know it’s not October but have visited Kefalonia in early September and that was actually on the chilly side on some days! But still hot enough. On that basis I’d go for end of August because as others have said tourist season is winding down in October.

Thanks everyone for your comments- they’ve been super useful in realising that for us August is going to be too hot. We might be taking a gamble in going in October whether wise but on balance the weather will be more suited to us. I’ll also be looking into Cyprus as another option so thanks for the comments on that one.

@GinForBreakfast Thank you - I’ll take a look. Great to hear that the bus service is good and they Rhodes town is still busy.

Rhodes is great in October but many others might not be so great. August would be the hottest time to visit imo.

@Bythesea1982 We stayed outside of Paphos at the Atlantic Aphrodite. I liked the resort but it was uphill and you need a car. That was one reason we didn't eat out but the resort has several restaurants.

We had a car and did lots of trips and always found places open during the day, even up the mountains when we looked at the painted churches.

If you like exploring, Cyprus has so much to over, we only stayed in the western part of the island and I really want to go back.

I used to live on Lefkas and still go back at least once a year to see friends, it's one of my favourite places in the world.

Have a wonderful time!

@reluctantbrit Really helpful, thanks. Would you say Cyprus has more to offer in the way of sight seeing and walking than Rhodes does?

I would say yes but then we were in Rhodes in August and while we went out to explore we covered less in 2 weeks than we did in 6 days Cyprus.
We didn't even attempt to go on longer walks due to the heat.

I've been to kos in late Oct , weather was perfect during the day , but it did drop off considerably in the evening .

I think no one is facing up to the very high temps in Greece that possibly killed Dr Moseley. Well over 40 in June. DD went to Corfu last July and again, well over 40. August is horribly hot these days. October in Crete or Rhodes (remember the fires!) is better. Also Cyprus is good in Oct. The weather is not predictable!

I think a lot depends on the type of holiday you envisage. If you're just doing pool/beach, I think August is probably fine. Hotter than my personal preference but fine.

If you want to see something of the place, do some walking etc, it's just too hot.

Some Greek islands can be pretty hot in October, from my experience. Even Italy was hot the day when I went in October relatively recently. I'm talking 27 not 37.