Am I crazy for considering Athens and the Peloponnesian Peninsula for a 3 week tour last week of June and into early 2 weeks of July? Will the heat be too crazy to even consider traveling to that area that time of the year? Has anyone gone on such a trip at this time??
Posted by
4961 posts
Compare the summer temps of Irvine and the places you are going in Greece. Heat tolerance is a personal issue.
Posted by
2784 posts
We were in Mainland Greece the first week of June and it was about 95 degrees. We went sightseeing in the morning and depending where we were went to the beach or an air conditioned museum. I don’t know how much worse it would be when you are talking of going than what we hit.
I am from Florida and used to heat. It didn’t stop us and we actually really enjoyed afternoons at the beach.
Do realize thAt everything isn’t necessarily air conditioned including museums. Newer ones are.
Posted by
Midwest
2768 posts
I went in early August last year. It really was ok. Make sure every hotel you book has air conditioning and make use of early morning and later evening times. The Acropolis is very hot so getting there before it opens so you can be there before it gets too bad. Wear a hat. Keep hydrated. The usual. You could hit a horrible heat wave, but the average high is around 90. That’s about what we had and it was manageable. Personally I prefer that to the risk of lots of rain in the cooler months.
Posted by
Louisville, KY, USA
257 posts
I was just there from July 3-13. It was hot but there is very low humidity so when you move to shade or a breeze blows by you are comfortable. I quickly got used to the heat and enjoyed it and actually suffered in the cold, air conditioned buildings here in the US when I got back. They say it worse in August! The main issue for me was the sun. I used a lot of sunsceen and wore a broad brimmed hat. My dermatologist told me that a good hat is better than sunscreen. The only time I burned was at the beach one day when I didn't put the sunscreen on the tops of my feet. I got a nice burn that outlined the straps on my flip-flops!
If you don't like heat, that might be a bad time. If heat doesn't bother you, it's bearable and can become enjoyable, it's very Mediterranean. The heat waves you read about in France, England, and norther Europe did not impact Greece at all.
Hope this helps. And swimming in the sea is wonderful!