Greece in February half term with 10 year old?

[thetravellingteacher]

Thinking of trying Greece (probably one of the islands) for the first time in the February 2026 half term holiday.
Are the Greek islands "open for business" at this time of year? I hear some of them close down for tourism when out of season, so wouldn't want to arrive somewhere to find it all closed and boarded up till the summer!
Which (if any) of the Greek islands would be suitable to visit in mid-February? I have a 10 year old too, so anything with lots of water-based attractions or splash parks etc would be ideal!
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you :)

I think it would be too cold for water based activities in February TBH.

I've never been to Greece in February but not sure any of it will be water park weather then. Even Cyprus which is usually a bit hotter than the southern Greek islands is about 15 degrees average then apparently.

If you want that kind of holiday then, why not the Canaries?

I think it would be a bit chilly for splash parks. In the islands the season shuts at the end of October. I’m sure there would be things open but not the sunbathing kind, you would need to be up for museums, galleries etc.

We went to Crete for October half term a few years ago. It was cold and wet and lots of businesses in the small towns and villages were closing up for the winter. Worst family holiday we've had.

Greece in Feb wouldn’t be a water-based holiday as its winter and won’t be hot

I’d definitely consider Athens though in Feb. Plenty of historical sites & museums and restaurants will be open etc

It will be too cold. The pools over there aren’t heated and splash parks don’t open til late April/May.

My husband's birthday is in Feb and I've spent many years with holidays then. We've done Athens (nice daytime, coat in evening) but most of the other Greece flights stop. I'd go to canaries for sunshine, or Málaga for a city break

Google suggests Corfu would be 6 - 15 ° in Feb.

We've done the canaries in Feb. It was about 20 degrees we didn't go in the pool much but there was other stuff happening.

I went to Kefalonia early May and the weather was a little unpredictable. We were in a smaller resort and many restaurants hadn’t opened for the season.

It wouldn’t be a beach/water based holiday at that time. Greece can be pretty chilly at that time of year - it can have warm days still (you could get lucky with some beach days) but it could be very cold - snowy even! It really does vary a lot. I lived in Athens for several years and Dec-March can vary from being able to wear t shirts to needing hat, scarf, gloves and a winter coat on a daily basis.
So if you went you’d be looking at a more cultural type holiday with museums, monuments, and architecture.

Edited to add, Canary Islands are probably your best bet for winter sun in Europe.

Greece is also lovely in winter, but not in that ‘islands and water park’ way! Even if you stayed completely in a big resort hotel I would be surprised if it had all its facilities and restaurants open/in full service.

You should be ok for accommodation etc on the mainland, but most of the islands don’t open for business until May-ish. The weather is cooler than the south of Spain at that time of year, and def too cold for swimming. Not sure it’d be that much fun to be honest!

Greece doesn’t wake up until May, February half term would be so cold

Way too cold. It will be horrible. Change country. Look at Cape Verde.

You need to go further afield for that sort of holiday at that time of year. Even going further afield, you need to check all of the hotel information carefully to find out how many pools are heated and when they turn the heating on & off. We have been to the Canaries several times at Easter. The first time, in our naïveté, we didn’t check this and our toddler DC barely went in the pool as it was just too cold. The next year, the kid’s splash area was OK and so was the kid’s swimming pool but that meant everyone was in them so they weren’t much fun, or at least not if your DC were one of the younger ones and so constantly being splashed by the older kids playing.

No greece wouldn't be suitable for the holiday you want. Isnt Tenerife the go-to in feb?

Try the May half term for Greece. If you went to Budapest in February you could visit the outdoor thermal baths.

Having been travelling to Greece for 35 years, you won’t find much open outside the main towns/cities before May.

Much of Greece has cold wet winters and do I wouldn’t recommend fir a holiday with kids outside of late May to early October.

Canaries would be your best bet.

Agree with others. Greece in October is risky in terms of weather, Greece in February is definitely going to be cold and possibly wet. Athens, Thessaloniki or Rhodes old town would be interesting (but maybe not for a 10 year old) but swimming etc would be off the radar.

Greece in Feb? Nope. Tenerife and Siam park

Wrong Country for February.