I am traveling to Greece over Christmas and am curious if anyone has any experience traveling to Greece at this time of year. I really wanted to go to Santorini / Thira, but wonder what the weather is going to be like. I realize it will not be beach weather and could be rainy, but is it miserable? Lonley Planet said this may be a good time to go since there are no crowds, but a travel agent said we may want to re-think that. Any suggestions or weather information would be appreciated!

Jill, I feel for you. I too asked numerous questions about the Greek Islands over Christmas on this forum with little help. The people here are wonderful but it appears not many people have knowledge of the G. Islands over the winter holidays.<BR>I finally opted for Paris instead, basically b/c of the uncertainty of the GI over Christmas.<BR>I will get there but I didn't feel comfortable going at that time of year with no vocal support from others who have done so.<BR>If you are already booked for Greece I say go for it.

I mean go for it (Santorini) - what do you have to lose if you're already booked to Greece anyway?

After doing some reading today, as I am also contemplating going to the Greek Islands over Christmas/New year, I found out the temprature around that time of year is about 21 degrees fahrenheit, so it definately gets cold and rainy. I may haver to rethink. I hope this info helps

After doing some reading today, as I am also contemplating going to the Greek Islands over Christmas/New year, I found out the temprature around that time of year is about 21 degrees fahrenheit, so it definately gets cold and rainy. I may have to rethink. I hope this info helps

Hardly anyone goes to Greece in the winter time because it gets very cold and the sea gets choppy (if you are taking a smaller, faster ferry, I'd rethink that). I personally think the best time to go is May, June, and early September. The months of July and August are too packed with people on holiday. If you got the tickets though-go! Have a blast.

Dear Belinda,<BR><BR>I just read the part you mention that tempatures in the islands may reach "21 degrees fahr" !!!! are you sure you read it right ? I am Greek and especially in the islands I never heard tempatures like that! maybe in some remote mountainous villages of northern Greece and that's very rare. Maybe they meant Celcious, but then again that's high... If you are coming from the States don't eepect Christmas to be like back home, or as in London and Paris. In the Greek islands they usually decorate small wooden boats, instead of Christmas tree. The atmosphere is very simple and usually doesn't remind you much of Christmas except if you visit the church. The reason is that isn't as commercial (decoration everywhere etc) as it is in the States. Athens is a different story. PS&gt; If you decide it, and want to go by boat it's fine, but I would choose a "regular" boat compared to the Catamaran style, although doesn't make a difference since the coast guard follows closely the weather conditions and knows the sea condition.

We really wanted something quiet and were looking forward to their being not much in the way of tourism. We were planning on flying from Athens since boats are unpredictable at that time of year. We live in Raleigh, North Carolina, so I figure since the latitude is about the same it can't be any worse than home...and there will be the beautiful scenery. If anyone has actually been there and can give me an idea of how gloomy, rainy or cold it is, or more importantly, how many resturaunts and museums are still open. There is a travel agent pushing us towards Crete, but Santorini was our first choice and we don't know if and when we will ever get this chance again. I guess I really want to go, but if someone thinks that we will just stay inside and regret going..I would appreciate the info!

To:Jill<BR><BR>My suggestion is to go on May or end of Septembre if you want the place quiet It can still rain but the weather will be warm.Most of the shops and some of the rests can be closed in Dec.Check also the hotels so that you don't freeze in the room. You can go to Athen and there is a small village near Athen named Khalifada.It is more beautiful then Athen.<BR>Why don't you go to Italy?5 years ago we went to Rome and it was wonderful.

Jill<BR><BR>Five years ago we spent Christmas in Greece. We thought long and hard about being there at that time as we knew ‘winter’ Greece could be very different to the country we visited regularly in the summer months. As we had had a horrible year and needed to find some peace and quiet we accepted an invitation to visit friends for eight days on Mykonos. <BR><BR>We spent one day in Athens (which was fantastic as there were so few crowds and no stifling weather to cope with) and flew out to the island the next morning on the only Olympic flight of the day to Mykonos.<BR><BR>My husband and I had visited the island many times over the years but only ever in June or September. It seemed strange to arrive that morning to clear weather, no clouds, and a slight touch of frost.<BR><BR>Fortunately, we were being met at the island’s airport which is just as well as there didn’t appear to be any taxi’s waiting – again, maybe that’s perhaps a ‘winter’ thing. Maybe something for you to note though as could be the same on Santorini.<BR><BR>Mykonos town was strangely beautiful out of season. Many (or most) of the shops and hotels were closed but there were a number of small tavernas that had remained open including one of our favourite coffee shops. We loved the peacefulness of the place, something so new to us.<BR><BR>We have always found the local folks friendly there but in wintertime, they seemed even more so. A few expressed surprise that anyone wanted to be there at that time of year.<BR><BR>We had a mixture of weather from that first cold and frosty morning to clouds and rain. Thankfully, we had some sunshine too. I’d say the temperature was in the mid to high 50’s most days.<BR><BR>If I can give you any advice it would be to make sure you book your flights early. I’m not sure what the winter schedule will be for Santorini from Athens but for Mykonos there is only one flight to and from the island per day. We were forever grateful though that we had chosen to fly as the seas almost every day looked very rough and, for us, most definitely not for sailing on! <BR><BR>Let us know what you decide to do.<BR><BR>Angie<BR>

Hi there:<BR>My husband and I visited Santorini 3 years ago in late October.<BR>It was low season so there were less tourists, which was great.<BR><BR>We got to talking with an American expat who moved to Santorini and started a new life there and opened a shop.<BR><BR>He said that occassionally in December, there was too much rain. Flights did not come in due to rain and fog and ferries were delayed since the seas got very rough. The town would practically shut down (shops, restaurants, hotels).<BR><BR>However, there were years when December was gloroius!<BR><BR>So there - fickle weather and all, I think if you have booked tickets, you should go.<BR>Santorini is absolutely stunning.

The International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT) world climate chart (based on several years of statistics) gives the following information for Santorini in December:<BR>Average high temperature - 14 Celsius or 57 Fahrenheit<BR>Average low temperature - 10 Celsius or 50 Fahrenheit<BR>Mean relative humidity - 71%<BR>Average number of days in the month with a measurable amount of precipation - 20<BR><BR>I have used these charts for many places, and they tend to be fairly accurate, though there are always exceptions. Santorini is a lovely island. Though not there over Christmas, I was there in the off-season (February and March) and it was very quiet and peaceful.

Do visit Greece in Christmas but not Santorini Believe me it is not a place to visit in the winter. I've been there too many times and I've seen the island through all seasons. Most of the hotels- if not all- are closed and shops and restaurants also. Even the locals leave for Athens or other islands. Try Athens or Thessaloniki or even any chateux in the mountains. Parnassos mountain with the villages around is a very good destination for winter holidays or even the lake of Kastoria.

Jill hi, i have to agree with Rena above! I'm greek and i have to tell you that if you visit Santorini for the first time, Christmas shouldn't be that time! You won't like it and you won't see the beauty of the island! Almost everything is closed!! If you don't like crowds, May or September is ok...but not winter! I can also tell you that Greece has AMAZING places for winter but no tourist seems to care, as most come for summer holidays here!