What's on in Chania (Crete), Greece through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Greece, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Olive harvest (1 Nov – 31 Jan (usually)), Winter: the coast closes (1 Nov – 31 Mar)

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Winter: the coast closes (1 Nov – 31 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Spring wildflowers and greens

  10 Mar – 10 May · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The hills behind the town go green and flowering for two months, and the horta the tavernas serve in spring is picked off them. It is the walking season the island does not advertise.

Still on: Winter: the coast closes (1 Nov – 31 Mar)

Peak crowds — Orthodox Easter, Easter holidays (Orthodox) in Greece

• Holiday

  Orthodox Easter

  10–13 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosuresBook early

  The biggest weekend of the Greek year: the villages fill with returning families, lamb goes on the spit on Sunday and shops shut for days around it. Domestic flights and ferries book out first. Source ↗

Still on: Spring wildflowers and greens (10 Mar – 10 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Opening

  Samaria Gorge open

  1 May – 31 Oct · usuallyTrail season

  The national park opens when the authority judges the riverbed safe, usually in the first half of May, and shuts around the end of October. Out of season you can only walk the last two kilometres from Agia Roumeli. Source ↗

Still on: Spring wildflowers and greens (10 Mar – 10 May (usually)), Orthodox Easter (10–13 Apr)

Busy — Summer holidays in Greece, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Sea warm enough to swim

  1 Jun – 5 Nov · usually

  Crete's water is usable a month either side of the Greek mainland's season, and the shallow lagoons at Balos and Elafonissi are warm well before the open coast.

Still on: Samaria Gorge open (1 May – 31 Oct (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Greece, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  The meltemi

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyWind seasonRisk

  The northerly blows down the Aegean into high summer and this is the coast it hits. It cancels the Balos boats and closes the north-facing beaches on its worst days; the south coast stays calm.

Still on: Samaria Gorge open (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — August peak, Summer holidays in Greece

• Holiday

  August peak

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  Greeks take their own holiday in the same weeks as northern Europe, so the old harbour, the west coast beaches and the road to Elafonissi are all at capacity around 15 August. Source ↗

Still on: Samaria Gorge open (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually)), The meltemi (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Greece, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Samaria Gorge open (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Samaria Gorge open (1 May – 31 Oct (usually)), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Olive harvest

  1 Nov – 31 Jan · usually

  Nets go down under the trees across the whole prefecture from November and the presses run through the winter. The new oil turns up in the markets green and cloudy.

• Season

  Winter: the coast closes

  1 Nov – 31 MarOff-season shutdownClosures

  Beach resorts, most charter flights and a good share of the harbour restaurants shut for the winter. Chania town itself keeps working, which is more than the villages around it do.

Still on: Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 5 Nov (usually))

Busy — Christmas holidays in Greece, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Olive harvest (1 Nov – 31 Jan (usually)), Winter: the coast closes (1 Nov – 31 Mar)