Greek islands in October

[JamPotJenny]

I’ve never been but I’d love to go there and am thinking of a week in October half-term.

Has anyone done this? Would love to swim in clear seas and have a week’s worth of sun before our dark winters set in.

I’d love to hear your recommendations.

Be careful when researching different places/islands - many of them start to close down in mid-September.

If it's late October then head to an island further south where the weather (hopefully) won't be as variable. But as above, check what's still open.

They may still sell holidays in late October but it would be a mistake to assume you'll get sunbathing and sea swimming weather. You might be lucky but it's also possible you'll get rain.
Most places will be closed. The southern islands would be more likely than the north, places like Corfu etc are winding down in September.

We were in Crete early October last year and had good enough weather for sunbathing but the pools were cold… however, the week before had been very wet & everywhere was starting to close down. I don’t think there’d have been much left open by half term week.

We go to Kos, it’s quite far south. Have had quite good weather for the past few years in October half term.

I think placeswill beclosing by late october. Cape Verdi would be a good choice though

I used to work a yacht charter company with a lot of the holidays we sold being in Greece and we never recommended going to Greece in October half term. There is a reason the islands are green, it rains a lot off season! Definitely wouldn’t recommend it.

You need a Southern Island, Corfu is too north and is quite wet at that time of year. The more south the better, they do keep things open now as they've realised people are still coming but that'll likely be the last week for a lot of places (with some closed already). Turkey also a good bet as it's just below Greece for weather and southerly.

We went to Rhodes last October. It was definitely sunbathing weather but the pool was a little cold. Didn't get a drop of rain. We went all inclusive as I'd read that restaurants were closing down that time of year. Obviously the sun starts setting earlier than in the summer so it gets cooler in the late afternoon but I think I put a cardigan on once at night. I'd go again that time of year.

I have been to Crete a couple of times in the October half term. Once the weather wasn’t too good and once we got a really good break. During the week everything was closing down by the day. The flight was full of holiday reps coming home after the end of the season.

Went to Zante in October a good few years ago, still warm , definitely winding down but enough to do

I went to Crete a few years ago in October half term

Quite warm during the day but chilly at night. Sea was quite cold (as was the supposedly heated pool). Most things, including restaurants, had started closing/already closed by then

You could chance it, been here 3 years and I love October, granted we get rain, but it really isn’t that bad in October, the high season ends around 16/17th, if that’s any help.
As for swimming it depends what you are used to, I’ve swum in November (I’m from the UK) and walked around in shorts up until the end of November.
If you’re coming for 7 days, we have pretty good weather apps, plus there is plenty to do in Athens, after your island visit, should the weather change.

I went to Kefalonia the last week of October (some years ago) and got sunshine and mid 20s. However, the week before had been cool and wet.
Greece is beautiful, the food is gorgeous and the people are lovely.
You need to find a southerly island eg Rhodes to get (hopefully) warm weather.

I always take 1 holiday in October, normally second week. From Greek islands I've been to Crete, Rhodes and Santorini (but I wouldn't recommend that one) in October and it was always low to mid 20s and sunny. I absolutely love going in October as it's much quieter, away from school holidays (I'm going adults only anyway) etc.

perhaps consider Cyprus, we had a warm sunny week in October half term about 10 years ago, and plenty of bars and restaurants were open (we were in the Paphos area).

We've had good experiences but it is a risk.

You want south. And even then Kos and Rhodes are probably more likely to get you a week of sun than Crete. I found Kos hotter than expected and no rain, but it did very much have an everything closing down feel. Wasn't necessarily a bad thing, as we got to explore Kos Town area without it being rammed- it seemed like somewhere that would be a nightmare in high season. I wouldn't want the west of the island at that time.

Pools will likely be chilly by then, but I found the sea quite warm.

I wouldn't risk it if all you want to do is sunshine/swim, there's a chance it'll be good but also a high chance it won't. If you need guaranteed sun, you could try the canary islands, Morocco, Egypt, dubau/UAE or a long haul destination. I would prefer the Greek islands as places to all of those because I love the culture, food and scenery but you'd be rolling the dice on weather. If you want to risk it, I'd say Crete, Kos and Rhodes are going to be most likely to stay warm, I still wouldn't swim personally as they really don't heat the pools enough! Cyprus would also be more southern so better chances I think, although not been at that time of year

The islands we have been to deliberately close down the week after the UK half term -
Kos, Crete, Corfu, Rhodes. We must have been lucky with the weather as it has been warm on all of those islands in mid October and we only had rain once, that was in Crete and only for half a day.

We did Corfu 1st week in October and it was boarded up in Kavos and it rained all week

It depends as well what you mean by sun and warm OP. Will you be happy with low 20s, some clouds in the sky?

@Kerri44 was that last year (2024)? We were there the same week but in the north of the island, I remember checking the forecast multiple times a day hoping it would get better 😞

I'd think you'd be better off going for Canary Islands

I think you’d be safer with turkey or Egypt or the canaries weather wise

Try Seville. Inland so no sea but get a nice hotel with pool. It’s hot because it’s inland and it’s far too hot in summer(40+) Gorgeous city and reasonable to eat and drink out.