What's on in Halkidiki (Chalkidiki), Greece through the year

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

• Rule

  Mount Athos permits

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook earlyClosures

  The monastic peninsula admits a small fixed number of men a day on a permit arranged months ahead, and no women at all. Everyone else sees it from a boat out of Ouranoupoli. Source ↗

Still on: Out of season (15 Oct – 25 Apr)

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: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Out of season (15 Oct – 25 Apr)

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

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Out of season (15 Oct – 25 Apr)

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

• Holiday

  Orthodox Easter

  10–13 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosuresBook early

  Thessaloniki comes down for the long weekend and the villages fill with families; a good share of the tavernas open for the season on exactly this weekend and not before. Source ↗

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Out of season (15 Oct – 25 Apr)

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

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), 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 – 15 Oct · usually

  Three sheltered peninsulas mean the water warms early and there is always a lee shore. Sithonia's coves hold their heat longest into October.

• Hazard

  Wildfire season

  15 Jun – 30 SepSmoke season

  The pine forest that runs down to the beaches is what makes this coast and what burns on it. Fire-service risk maps go red on windy days and access roads close with them. Source ↗

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

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

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep)

Peak crowds — August peak, Summer holidays in Greece

• Holiday

  August peak

  1–31 AugSchool holidaysCrowdedBook early

  This is northern Greece's own beach, so August brings Thessaloniki, Serbia and Bulgaria by road at once. The single coast road on each peninsula is the bottleneck. Source ↗

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep)

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

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually)), Wildfire season (15 Jun – 30 Sep)

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

• Nature

  Olive harvest

  15 Oct – 31 Dec · usually

  The big green Halkidiki table olives come off first in early autumn, then the oil trees. The inland villages are busy exactly when the coast has emptied.

• Season

  Out of season

  15 Oct – 25 AprOff-season shutdownClosures

  Nearly everything on the three peninsulas closes for winter, hotels and beach tavernas alike, and the resorts revert to villages of a few hundred people.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sea warm enough to swim (1 Jun – 15 Oct (usually))

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

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Olive harvest (15 Oct – 31 Dec (usually)), Out of season (15 Oct – 25 Apr)

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

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Mount Athos permits (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Olive harvest (15 Oct – 31 Dec (usually)), Out of season (15 Oct – 25 Apr)