Greece - Spring or Fall
 

I have read the water is cold in the spring, tough to swim in. If I am deciding between the spring and going in Sept after the tourism season, any suggestions? Worth waiting until fall to visit.

Any pros/cons?

September is worth it, for me the best time to explore while the weather is still warm.
It is not off season , for some areas it is even still a busy period, like Santorini or Crete.

When exactly is spring for you and what you plan to see and do? Is this a beach holiday or what? As clausar said, September is not after the tourism season, it is consider still "summer" on most places.

Spring for flowers and birds. You can swim in the sea until October (of you're in the south)

You can certainly swim in June, although the water is still cool. Another advantage of that time of year is: longer daylight hours. As already said the sea is much warmer in September, but even then don't expect Florida/Caribbean water temperatures.

I've been to the Greek Islands many times in May, June, and September (July and August too), and have a hard time deciding which is my favourite. This year I will be going in September.

Chitowntraveler, the more info you provide, the better the advice. "Spring" could mean April thru Mid-June; which part? and "Cold" depends on where you're from.Let me use my Sherlock skills on your screen name: Since you don't double the "l", I deduce you are from USA, and the other half reveals you are from Chicago. (Dont make us guess this way!)

"Cold" NO, nothing can be as cold as Lake Michigan off the Oak St. Bridge, which even in August is bone-chilling. In Greece, April is a no-go, early May is tough, but from May 15 on, water is "brisk" when you first get in, but in a few seconds, very invigorating, and you enjoy staying in. My choice for the BEST -- May 25 thru Mid-June. In Fall, of course, the water is Sublime.

I've been to Greece in both seasons, and mostly have chosen Mid-May onward ... for several reasons.
(1) SCENERY -- In late Spring, rains are gone but greenery still fresh, even on dry islands, and on Isles like Crete, Naxos, Sifnos, it's almost lush. By contrast in September, after almost 4 months with virtually no rain, even the greener areas are "brownish." That's fine with US Westerners, they're used to but not us Midwesterners.
(2) AMBIANCE - In Spring, Greeks are out enjoying weather, painting boats, flagstone walks, sociable, time to enjoy a chat. By Sept., those dealing with tourism are a bit "burned-out" by the July-Aug mob scene of throngs of Europeans jamming the isles ... Greeks are tired, ready to get their kids into school, get on with their lives. Still very welcoming of course!! but -- have you ever been with friends out to dinner, chattering away, then you look around, and the staff is mopping the floor, putting chairs on tables and you realize, you've stayed too long at the fair? Just a nuance, but something to consider.

We went to Santorini, Mykonos and Athens last year in early October. Still lots of people but far less that busy season and the weather was excellent. We did not swim however.

Chitowntraveler, take it from me — service will be just as good in September as in May/June. Some years I've been on the Greek Islands in both periods, and have never noticed a difference. Many hotels and tavernas on the islands are open only 5-6 months a year, and I would guess they wish the season were longer.

Greeks eat much later than Americans, often not sitting down for dinner until 9-10 pm. Nightclubs don't get busy until after midnight, and stay open until dawn (too late for me). No one will be "mopping the floor, putting chairs on tables" unless you are a real night owl.

I mentioned the advantages of June in my earlier post, and here are some advantages of September:

All the kids are back in school, so the beaches are quieter. Most of the visitors in September are couples and singles, few families. Although sunset is earlier, the evenings are usually warmer than in May/early June. Lastly, your query was about water temperatures — if you like warm water for swimming, go in September.

Heimdall, I was using the restaurant example as a metaphor, not literally. Of course restaurants are open late -- I was referring to the "end of season" feeling. And I said it was only a "nuance" not a decisive factor. Both seasons are wonderful in Greece -- and easier to enjoy than when the weather is severe! This year, I did come close to the edge, stayed until June 18, and the last 2 days it was BURNING hot, couldn't do as much ... and said to myself, boy I cut it a bit close this trip.

So, you are going in Greece just for the beaches? Because Greece has some great destinations for Fall, that are not islands.

Petros, you are from Europe, not the US, so you don't know circumstances:
(1) it is mUCH farther for Americans & Canadians to reach greece, than for Europeans; airfare can be €1500 - €2000 return (round-trip) price!! ... so people cannot count on coming back again and again, as Europeans can at a price of €300 airfare .. often it is an American's only trip, and they want to see the famous Greece beaches (and more of course). If they could go annually or several times a year, they'd be able to experience much more.
(2) Americans, unlike most Europeans workers, have only 2 weeks holiday per year until they either work for 30 y ears and get a 3rd week or become top executives. So they don't have as much time to explore widely.

Too many assumptions being made here. The OP asked only about water temperatures, which I tried to answer as accurately and politely as possible.

I agree with Petro that there is much more to Greece than beaches, and hopefully chitowntraveler will spend some time on the mainland too. In fact, if I were living in North America and beaches were my only interest, I could find much nicer ones (with warmer water) much closer to home.

Travelerjan, I realise you were using a metaphor, but it was a very inappropriate one. End of season is when many island hotel and restaurant workers lose their jobs — is that what you meant by "get on with their lives?"

I think a first time visitor will not notice the difference but what tj says has some point. Greek hospitality is legendary and even towards the end of the season visitors will be treated like long lost friends, but yes, tourism staff is not so "fresh" as on start of season and a bit less willing to interact. I know this happens to me and all people I know who are on the industry. Not a make or break factor though...

I appreciate many people are on line only every few days or are reluctant to offer many personal details on a public forum, but chitowntraveler has not come back since making the original question and it is hard to help him/her without further information.

Heimdall, i do not mean anything of the sort! I simply refer to the fact that people have other things on their mind at end-of-season ... you so often seem to seek an excuse to critique me; why don't you just contact me directly to vent your spleen, or else lighten up, get a life.

Thanks for the input here! Yes, I am from the USA which means this is our big trip for the year and the airfare unfortunately is over $1500 USD. So this is likely the one time we will be visiting Greece (hopefully not but maybe) and so we would like to try to get as much in as possible.

I was leaning towards September and after this discussion, I think that is definitely the way to do. The people are still going to be more friendly than a lot of places I go to here in Chicago :)

Any suggestions of fun touristy things to do that are not water related but more like wineries, hikes, etc. that might not come up in books?

Greece is.. Big...varied. Where are you going?

How long you will have on the ground? Are you willing to hire a car?

Spring for flora, fauna and fewer wasps and mosquito. Also the national sport of chicken plucking is not in full swing.