My husband and I are in our early 30's and are interested in visiting Greece in Late Septmeber or early October of this year. We wanted to go after the Olympics. The summer is not an option for us so we were wondering if the weather would still be in our favor in Sept/Oct. both in Athens and on the Islands. Any thoughts or suggestions for us would be greatly appreciated.

We went to Greece in September into October several years ago and the weather was perfect. It was cool enough to enjoy all the walking you will want to do, and yet we were able to swim as well. The summer heat can be brutal. We found the fall ideal.

2seeds:

Many years ago my hubby and I spent 4 weeks in Greece for our honeymoon. We followed this time with 2 weeks in Turkey.

After a fabulous and over the top wedding we had the ultimate icing on the cake...6 weeks in Greece and in Turkey.

We were there mid September until the end of October.

The weather was awesome, warm, hot, ideal...

I implore you to go and get a Fodor's, Frommers and another travel book and simply read, explore take notes.

If you do not want to buy these books then check them out at the library.

You start with one and ask hubby to start with the other one

I can tell you you will probably buy them eventually.

Then search these threads for Greece and print the pages that sound good to both of you.

Next, draft YOUR OWN ideas for your itinery and then ask all of us what we think, blah, blah, blah.

Greece is incredible, lots of diverse experiences are possible...

Happy Research & Planning!

Oaktown Traveler

Depending on where you are, you might have to watch for the meltemi

Thanks Shelia- I never even heard of this before. Do you know where I might be most susceptible to this type of wind? We would be starting out in Athens for 1-2 days and then off the a few islands, possibly Crete, Rhodes, Mykonos and/or Santorini...

Your welcome!

...oops, I am sorry, you only thanked sheila...

There is NO meltemi wind....in september and october!!!!!

Is there not? Well, whilst wholly signing up to what OaktownTraveller (for whom the use of an apostrophe is clearly anathema, about how fantastic Crete is in September/October, I HAVE been sandblasted on the beach at that time.

Because I'm sad, I went and looked it up:-

The Meltemi wind was known by the old Greeks as the Etesian northern winds, and results from a high pressure system laying over the Balkan/Hungary area and a relatively low pressure system over Turkey.
Although this katabatic wind can bring about harsh conditions it also provides cooling, low humidity and good visibility. Furthermore, it can be characterized as one of the few Mediterranean winds that do not necessarily die out at the end of the day and can easily last more than three to six days.

The onset is the monsoonal effect of the summer season that leads to the development of an intense heat trough over southern Asia extending westward over the Anatolian plateau. Higher pressure dominates over the relatively cooler surface of the Mediterranean Sea, and settled, dry weather persists. Northerly winds prevail along the Greek coast during the winter also, but only those northerly winds occurring between May and November are considered Etesian. The pressure gradients necessary to drive the Meltemi result from a combination of:

The monsoonal ef-fect dur-ing the sum-mer that leads to a low pres-sure trough over Tur-key. Ete-sian winds flow from a high pres-sure ridge over the Bal-kans toward the trough. During a strong Ete-sian, the trough may ex-tend rela-tively far to the west and be-yond Rho-des. It may also form a closed low, resul-ting in almost calm winds at Rho-des.
Synop-tic condi-tions leading to anti-cyclo-gene-sis over the Bal-kans.
A jet-ef-fect in-crease of wind caus-ed by chan-nel-ling of the wind between islands and mountain valleys. These effects tend to render wind reports from certain locations unrepresentative. In the lee of Crete, katabatic flow off the mountains generates gusty winds similar to the Föhn of the Alps. The mountain valleys tend to channel the flow which increases the wind velocity.
The Meltemi occurs mainly during the summer season (June - September with 70%), but also in May and October one may frequently experience this dry wind.
One should anticipate its maximum during July and August.
Usually the wind starts in the early afternoon and dies out at sun set.

One can experience strong fall winds on the leeward side of the islands, notorious are Kea , Evvia, Tinos and Andros, Folegandros, Kos, Serifos, Amorgos and Sifnos. When the wind encounters very high cliffs on the North shore of an island, a calm -extending several miles off shore - can be expected. Good examples are Amorgos, Paros and Naxos.
In the wide corridor between the dodecanese and cycladic islands the Meltemi blows undisturbed over 100 miles.


However, 2seeds, do not let this put you off. I was only mentioning it in passing. Greece is magical and September is the best time to visit.

September is an excellent month with most tourists gone home and the business community still operating. Be prepared for the beginning of the weather change, the nights will begin to get chilly, the winds might blow some, the sun is low in the sky, but the beauty and peace of the islands will still be there for your pleasure. Athens is fun for a few days, there's a lot to see and do there, and the shopping is excellent.

Of the islands you have so many to choose from. Whichever you decide to visit will be worth your time and effort. And in September the prices will be down from the high Peak Season rates. Please consider Santorini, my personal favorite, especially the village of Oia.

There is most definitely meltemi in September! I experienced it on both Santorini and Mykonos last September. We were there the first 3 weeks of the month and I'd say we had about 4 or 5 days of extreme wind.

Thanks to everyone so far who has posted. Your information is very valuable to us! I would definitely like to visit Mykonos and Santorini- I actually have been to both before but want my husband to see these islands. I would also like to visit Crete, Rhodes and/or Corfu also and I am wondering:
1) What my "path" should be to try to get to one or all of these islands from Santorini or Mykonos
2) which if any of these islands is better to visit in late September/early October?
3) How long do I need on each island and
4)recommendations for accommodations

Just a repost of a previous message still looking for help! Thanks to everyone so far who has posted. Your information is very valuable to us! I would definitely like to visit Mykonos and Santorini- I actually have been to both before but want my husband to see these islands. I would also like to visit Crete, Rhodes and/or Corfu also and I am wondering:
1) What my "path" should be to try to get to one or all of these islands from Santorini or Mykonos
2) which if any of these islands is better to visit in late September/early October?
3) How long do I need on each island and
4)recommendations for accommodations

You could fly to Rhodes and take a ferry to Karpathos and then to Crete. From Crete, you could take a ferry to Santorini and then to Mykonos. Corfu is out of this travel loop and is further north so the weather may not be as warm as on the islands.

You have chosen some islands close together and some that are not. From Mykonos you can get to Santorini and then on to Crete if you hit the ferries just right. That might be a problem in Late September or early October because that's about the time the ferry schedules cut back for the off-season.

http://www.gtpnet.com/

http://www.greekislands.gr/hfd/

Assuming that your timing is good, from Crete you can take a ferry to Rhodes, then fly on Aegean Airlines to Corfu. There's no ferry between those two. You could also reverse this path, go to Corfu first and then fly to Rhodes, ferry to Crete, etc. There are flights from Santorini and Mykonos back to Athens as well as ferries.

Overall it sounds a bit too ambitious and expensive AND time-consuming. I'd stick to the Cyclades-Mykonos, Santorini, Naxos and Paros, and maybe go on to Crete and back to Athens from there.

My only recommendation for what to see is to say that if you go to Santorini you should stay in the village of Oia, my all-time favorite.

Weather-wise, the longer you wait the colder and windier it will be. By early October there's a chance the winds will be acting up and some of the ferries could possibly be cancelled because of it. This is something you can't predict but it's something you have to accept and be prepared for.