Early March 1 March
64°F
Typical afternoon high
27% historical wet-day frequency
Greece · Beach
Crete
in March.
Is March a good time?
Mild days.
More overnight stays than February.
March averages 66°F afternoons and 62°F seas, with about 6 rain days. Later March is typically warmer. Check seasonal openings.
- Afternoons
- 66°F
- Sea
- 62°F
- Visitor demand
- 4%of August peak
Historical Kriti regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Chania and Heraklion; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
6.5/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#9 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather6.8/10Good
CrowdsOff seasoncheck seasonal openings; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, typical for Europe this month
CostCheapfor Europe; Greece-wide price level
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your March
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 66°F (19°C): light layers; nights around 49°F (10°C): a sweater and a light jacket. About 12 hours of daylight. About 6 rain days in a typical March.
Can I swim in March?
The sea averages 62°F. Our swimming guide: cold: short dips, or a wetsuit. Your comfort will vary. This is open water near the coast, not a beach-specific reading.
Monthly coastal averages from NOAA, 2011–2025. Sea temperature is separate from the weather and Overall scores.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights, sea temperature & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 12 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 06:33 and sets about 18:27 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 49°F (10°C); afternoons reach about 66°F (19°C). Expect rain on about 6 days in a typical March.
Typical afternoon
66°F (19°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Marches
Night low
49°F (10°C)
average daily minimum
Sea
62°F (16°C)
cold; open water near the coast, NOAA satellite record 2011–2025
Daylight
11h 54m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late March?
Late March is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 64°F on the 1st, versus 69°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency falls from 27% to 17% between those dates.
Mid March 15 March
65°F
Typical afternoon high
22% historical wet-day frequency
Late March 31 March
69°F
Typical afternoon high
17% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Public holidays · 2027: 15 Mar Clean Monday; 25 Mar Independence Day.
Daily calendar & holiday datesMarch 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
March 2027 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 164° | 264° | 364° | 465° | 565° | 665° | 765° |
| 865° | 965° | 1065° | 1165° | 1265° | 1365° | 1465° |
| 1565° | 1665° | 1765° | 1865° | 1965° | 2066° | 2166° |
| 2266° | 2366° | 2467° | 2567° | 2667° | 2768° | 2868° |
| 2969° | 3069° | 3169° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
Afternoons warm from about 65°F (18°C) in the first week to 68°F (20°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 16–28%.
No school holidays here in March 2027. Public holidays: 15 Mar Clean Monday; 25 Mar Independence Day. Elsewhere in March 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Germany 27%, Spain 30%, Italy 19%, France 10%. (School holidays: official calendar, compiled by Bigfoot Wanders; other countries from OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds and cost
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Off season. March averages 4% of August's overnight stays per day. More overnight stays than February. Check seasonal accommodation and activity openings.
Overnight stays across Kriti do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, typical for Europe this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
A little below usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
Greece as a whole
Below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 86 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Year-to-year variation
How much does March vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 59°F (15°C) and 70°F (21°C); in 11 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 66°F (19°C). Rain days ranged from 2 to 11; half the years had 5–9.
Rain days in each March
Rain days
6
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 10 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
10 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no March in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
18 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded MarchHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 64°F | 6 |
| 2012 | 64°F | 5 |
| 2013 | 68°F | 2 |
| 2014 | 65°F | 8 |
| 2015 | 64°F | 10 |
| 2016 | 67°F | 5 |
| 2017 | 65°F | 10 |
| 2018 | 70°F | 2 |
| 2019 | 65°F | 7 |
| 2020 | 66°F | 5 |
| 2021 | 64°F | 9 |
| 2022 | 59°F | 11 |
| 2023 | 67°F | 7 |
| 2024 | 69°F | 5 |
| 2025 | 69°F | 5 |
Checked against official climate averages for Chania Souda and Heraklion. How we check
Compare dates
February, March
or April?
| Typical conditions | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 61°F | 66°F | 73°F |
| Sea | 62°F | 62°F | 63°F |
| Rain days | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| Overnight demand | 2% | 4% | 24% |
February: Cooler afternoons and more rain days than March. Less overnight demand. Check seasonal accommodation and activity openings. February guide →
April: Warmer afternoons and fewer rain days than March. More overnight demand. April guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues. Sea temperatures are monthly coastal averages.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with March Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. March stays as your reference.
November has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than March, without a substantially busier visitor season.
Your comparison
March or February?
Overnight stays are 2% of the busiest month; check seasonal openings.
National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest well below usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Read the February guide →| Typical conditions | March | February |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 66°F | 61°F |
| Nights | 49°F | 47°F |
| Sea | 62°F | 62°F |
| Rain days | 6 | 9 |
| Visitor season | Off season | Off season |
| Overall / 10 | 6.5 | 5.7 |
| Month rank | #9 | #11 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.4 | #12 | 60°F | 47°F | 63°F | 11 | 4.5 | Off season |
| February | 5.7 | #11 | 61°F | 47°F | 62°F | 9 | 5.1 | Off season |
| March | 6.5 | #9 | 66°F | 49°F | 62°F | 6 | 6.8 | Off season |
| April | 8.5 | #2 | 73°F | 53°F | 63°F | 3 | 9.0 | Low season |
| May | 8.4 | #3 | 80°F | 59°F | 67°F | 3 | 10.0 | Moderate season |
| June | 7.8 | #5 | 87°F | 67°F | 73°F | 1 | 10.0 | Busy season |
| July | 7.5 | #7 | 91°F | 71°F | 77°F | 0 | 9.9 | Peak season |
| August | 7.6 | #6 | 90°F | 71°F | 79°F | 0 | 10.0 | Peak season |
| September | 7.9 | #4 | 86°F | 68°F | 78°F | 1 | 10.0 | Busy season |
| October | 8.5 | #1 | 77°F | 62°F | 75°F | 5 | 10.0 | Moderate season |
| November | 7.0 | #8 | 69°F | 56°F | 70°F | 5 | 7.8 | Off season |
| December | 5.8 | #10 | 62°F | 50°F | 66°F | 11 | 5.3 | Off season |
Near here
Nearby places in March
Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.
Elsewhere in Europe
Better March weather than Crete
Crete's weather ranks 6 of 77 beach regions this month. These beach regions outside Greece have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Crete.
Cyprusabout 470 miles
Very good weather (8.2): 2°F warmer afternoons, 2 fewer rain days, busier for its season (low season)
MelillaSpain · about 1560 miles
Very good weather (8.1): 5°F warmer afternoons, 2 more rain days
Canary IslandsSpain · about 2410 miles
Very good weather (8.7): 3°F warmer afternoons, pricier
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
It's off season, 4% of the busiest month and 91% below its average month. That means about 8,600 overnight visitors on a typical March night across the region, 38% of them from Greece itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 3,000 more: 34 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Beach, 0–100) | 69 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Chania Souda and Heraklion from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 2°F (1.4°C), night lows within 1°F (0.2°C). |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 14 |
| Busiest month here | August · 370 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 1.4% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 73rd percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 38% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | 34 |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | 1.8% |
| National hotel-price season | Greece historical 2024–2025 index: A little below usual (−6% vs its average month). Not a local room quote. |
| Population used | 621,000 |
| Statistical region | EL43 · Kriti |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.