Heading to Greece towards the end of March. Should we wait for the first couple weeks of April ? We want to enjoy the islands in Greece but we are scared it will be DEAD. We live in a resort town and know how dead it gets during the dead of winter. Things start picking up in April. Would it be the same for the Greek islands ?
Posted by
OP
Virginia Beach, VA, United States
61 posts
Got it. I am still wondering if the first two weeks of April would be a good time to visit Greece - especially the Greek islands ? When do the islands start getting busy again ? end of Marach ? April ?
We hope to not miss the beauty of the islands ,
Thanks for all the input.
Posted by
Tacoma, WA, USA
671 posts
Wait, are you afraid there won't be enough TOURISTS or that everything will be closed?
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8944 posts
The Greek Islands are popular with European tourists too, not just Americans. I know many Germans who would much rather go on vacation when school is NOT out, so it isn't so crowded and prices are a little bit lower. I don't think you should worry about whether it will be dead or not. The islands may have lots of Germans, Brits, Italians, Scandanavians, or French vistiors. With many countries having 6 weeks of vacation per year, folks tend to travel a bit more. Plus lots of package vacations. I can get a 1 week trip with flight, hotel and 2 meals a day for a couple of hundred euro to just about anywhere over here.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
James , I suggest you figure out exactly WHAT you want to do on Greek islands. Suggesting you not worry about it being dead is a problem if you looking for a certain atmosphere. Not everyone wants quiet and solitude.
I can assure you ,, you will not be on the beach. If going for party and nightclubbing,, they will be closed or dead.
Going in March is alot different then going in May,, which is STILL quiet,,but will be nicer weather, and enough people for the nightclubs to start hopping ..
The average tempature on Mykonos in March is about 15 C. or 60 F. I averaged that out after checking about 4 different weather average sites.
I will admit to not having been there in March,, only early October( very nice) ,, but perhaps someone who has actually gone there in March could chime in...
And, James, do check out tripadvisor.com forums and Thorntree.
Posted by
Grapevine, TX, USA
875 posts
We went this year the last week of April & 1st week of May. The weather on Mykonos was very nice, but definitely cooled down at sunset. Sea Satin Market, a restaurant we wanted to go to was closed until the 1st of May.
On Santorini it was very windy during our stay. We had a great balcony/terrace, and it was too cold and windy to be able to really take advantage of "lounging" out there. It was cold and windy at night. The 1800 Restaurant opened on May 1st, so we were able to go there on their opening night.
On the bright side, the flowers were blooming in abundance and the grass, etc was all green and beautiful.
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
FYI Greek Orthodox Easter is the first weekend in April next year. Others will have more current information about traveling at this time of year. When I went in March decades ago, we had a great time on Corfu. Pam
Posted by
Dundee, Scotland
95 posts
The proper tourist season really doesn`t start until the first week in May when the package holidays from UK, Germany, Scandinavia etc start. Check out when Greek Orthodox Easter is and holiday from then at the earliest otherwise most things will be closed.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
"The proper tourist season really doesn`t start until the first week in May when the package holidays from UK, Germany, Scandinavia etc start. Check out when Greek Orthodox Easter is and holiday from then at the earliest otherwise most things will be closed."
As Pamela mentioned, Greek Orthodox Easter comes earlier than usual in 2010, it's April 4th. In most years Easter falls in mid-April or the 3rd week of April. But not in 2010.