Fewer crowds
January is quietest.
January, at 1% of the busiest month (August). Low season, under 35% of the peak: November to April. In off-season months, many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
A good place. At the right time.
Best time to visitSantorini, Mykonos & the Greek islands.
Plan your visit
Find your month.
What matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
Start with October.
#1 of 12 · Balanced · 8.7/10
Overnight stays are 37% of the busiest month.
Based on South Aegean regional averages.
- Afternoon high
- 76°F
- Sea temperature
- 73°F
- Crowds
- Moderate
About 4 rain days in a typical October, with about 11 hours of daylight.
Check what is open. The off-season flag comes from visitor patterns. Confirm accommodation, services and transport for your dates.
Price context. National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest a little above usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Historical averages, not forecasts or live prices.
A regional guide. The South Aegean: Rhodes, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and the rest of the Cyclades and Dodecanese. The islands differ a lot from each other; these figures describe the group. Part of The Greek islands; see the Greece guide for the wider area.
The whole calendar
Already have dates?
Explore your month, then weigh up the trade-offs.
October at a glance
Balanced match #1 · 8.7/10
Overnight stays are 37% of the busiest month.
About 4 rain days in a typical October, with about 11 hours of daylight.
Check what is open. The off-season flag comes from visitor patterns. Confirm accommodation, services and transport for your dates.
Read the October guide- Afternoon high
- 76°F
- Night low
- 65°F
- Sea temperature
- 73°F
- Rain days
- 4
- Daylight
- 11h 19m
- Crowds
- Moderate
All 12 months, on the same measures. Tap a heading to sort or a month to open its guide.Select a month to open its guide. Scroll the table for more detail.
| Rank | Month | Overall | Weather | Crowds | Cost | High | Low | Sea | Rain days | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | October | 8.7 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Moderate | Moderate | 76°F | 65°F | 73°F | 4 | 11h 19m |
| #2 | May | 8.4 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Moderate | Moderate | 74°F | 63°F | 67°F | 1 | 14h 06m |
| #3 | April | 8.3 | 8.4/10 Very good | Low | Moderate | 68°F | 57°F | 63°F | 3 | 13h 06m |
| #4 | September | 8.0 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Busy | Moderate | 82°F | 71°F | 77°F | 1 | 12h 28m |
| #5 | June | 7.8 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Busy | Moderate | 81°F | 70°F | 72°F | 0 | 14h 40m |
| #6 | August | 7.6 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Peak | Moderate | 86°F | 75°F | 78°F | 0 | 13h 37m |
| #7 | July | 7.5 | 10.0/10 Excellent | Peak | Moderate | 85°F | 74°F | 76°F | 0 | 14h 27m |
| #8 | November | 6.9 | 7.7/10 Very good | Off season many places closed | Cheap | 69°F | 60°F | 69°F | 7 | 10h 15m |
| #9 | March | 6.3 | 6.4/10 Good | Off season many places closed | Cheap | 64°F | 53°F | 62°F | 6 | 11h 54m |
| #10 | December | 5.7 | 5.2/10 Good | Off season many places closed | Cheap | 63°F | 54°F | 66°F | 12 | 9h 40m |
| #11 | February | 5.7 | 5.0/10 Good | Off season many places closed | Cheap | 61°F | 51°F | 62°F | 9 | 10h 50m |
| #12 | January | 5.2 | 4.1/10 Fair | Off season many places closed | Cheap | 60°F | 50°F | 63°F | 13 | 9h 54m |
Overall follows your priorities. Crowds compare each month with this place's own year. Highs, lows and rain days are historical averages for 2011–2025.
A little perspective
The shape of the year.
Afternoon highNight low
Top balanced match · October
October
- High
- 76°F
- Low
- 65°F
- Rain
- 4 days
- Crowds
- Moderate
Some weather measures are unavailable. Gaps in the chart mean no data.
Off season can mean fewer services. Confirm what is open for your dates.
Notio Aigaio regional averages · Historical patterns, not a forecast. Gaps mean no data. Crowds compare months within this region.
The busiest month records 81.8 times the overnight stays of the quietest.
Very-good-or-better weather scores: April to November. No month has a poor weather score.
Peak-season months: July to August. Low-season months: November to April.
The two busiest months account for 42% of annual overnight stays.
Events that move crowds and prices Orthodox Easter, 25 April – 3 May 2027: Greeks travel home and to the islands; ferries and hotels book up. Official site.
On the 2024 EU comparison, Greece's restaurants and hotels are below EU average.
Before you go
Pack a little context.
Good weather
May and October, outside the busy season.
Very good or better April to November. May to October share the highest displayed weather score (10.0/10). Highest weather score outside the busy season: May and October.
Lower prices
December to February.
These are three lower-price months on Greece's historical 2024–2025 national hotel index. It cannot identify this region's cheapest bookable rooms.
School holidays
Summer break meets the busy season.
If your dates follow US school breaks: June falls in busy season; July and August fall in peak season. Spring break spans off season in March and low season in April.
Local families travel too: at least 30% of people in Greece live where schools are out on a typical day June to August. Greece's school calendar for September isn't fully published yet. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL, and official calendars.)
About these answers
These are historical seasonal patterns. Crowds compare a month with this place's own busiest month; they do not measure queues at individual sights. Weather answers use the displayed weather scores. These seasonal facts stay the same when you change your priorities; your Overall recommendation updates above. Prices retain the scope stated beside them. Full methodology.
Choose your season
The year, season by season.
Winter
Dec–Feb
Off season throughout.
Many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
60–63°FAfternoon highs
Spring
Mar–May
A quieter start, a busier finish.
March falls in off season; April falls in low season; May falls in moderate season. In off-season months, many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
64–74°FAfternoon highs
Summer
Jun–Aug
A busy season for visitors.
June falls in busy season; July and August fall in peak season.
81–86°FAfternoon highs
Autumn
Sep–Nov
A busier start, a quieter finish.
September falls in busy season; October falls in moderate season; November falls in off season. In off-season months, many seasonal hotels and restaurants may be closed.
69–82°FAfternoon highs
Ranges span monthly average afternoon highs, not daily extremes. Conditions and seasonal openings vary within Santorini, Mykonos & the Greek islands.
How we know
The default Balanced Overall weighs weather 50%, crowds 30% and cost 20%. Your priority choice updates the Overall, month ranks and recommendation. While your weather weight is at least 40%, Overall cannot exceed weather by more than 2. Close scores can describe different trip experiences. How the scores work.
| Statistical region | EL42 · Notio Aigaio |
| Region type | Beach (Eurostat NUTS3 typologies weighted by population: urban 0%, coastal 100%, mountain 100%; median ground height 142 m) |
| Population used | 327,000 (1 January 2025) |
| Crowd reference years | 2024–2025 average |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Kos, Mykonos, Rhodes and Santorini from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.8°C), night lows within 2°F (0.9°C). |
| Climate index | HCI:Beach, observed climatology over 15 years (2011–2025) |
| Hotel occupancy (annual) | 51% |
| Accommodation mix | 78% hotels, 0% camping |
| Country price level (restaurants & hotels, EU27 = 100) | 86 |
| Daylight latitude | 36.74° N |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by month and NUTS 2 region, per 1,000 inhabitants, divided by days in the month. "Season here" is the month's figure as a share of this region's busiest month. "Visitors" ranks overnight visitors per resident against all Europe's regions that month. Weather: Holiday Climate Index (Scott et al. 2016; Rutty et al. 2020) computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records and population-weighted to the region. Prices are national. Hand-written notes are marked and nothing depends on them. Full method · this region's data.