Our not-so-western European summers tend to be a tad unpredictable – you either get three months of mild to unthinkable heat or you watch storms from the cosy inside of your flat. If you’re going to Crete, will you find the same? What’s the heat like? Let’s take a look at that today.
Should you go to Crete in summer?
Crete is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the very largest one in Greece. It’s located about a hundred miles away from mainland Greece, on a crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia.
As such, Crete has both the Mediterranean and a tint of the African climate – if that sounds like a recipe for very extreme heat, that’s because it is. In general, Crete has mildly warm and rainy winters and very hot and dry summers. Of course, this changes a bit depending on which side of the island we’re looking at, with the eastern part being a bit hotter and drier than its sibling.
As such, if you were wondering why Crete is such a popular tourist destination in summer, that’s basically why. People want scorching heat for beach holidays and Crete delivers. Thanks to the breeze from the sea, it’s not as bad to actually experience that heat and you can certainly stay on the beach all day (and evening) long. But just how much heat are we talking about?
June weather in Crete
While May and June is generally the time when you can feel the incoming summer on your skin, it’s usually not as pronounced for us as it is on Crete. You can already expect air temperature throughout the day to sit around 27°C average – in other words, you’ll likely see a few days above 30°C. Nights are also very warm already, at 21°C.
You’ll also be able to enjoy the sea right off the bat, as June already sees about 22°C average of water temperature. It’s already perfectly ideal for longer baths. Days are very long, at 14 hours of daylight, 12 of which are of pure sunshine on average. And as for rain? Merely a lingering memory.
July weather in Crete
But we’re merely warming up. In July, the average day temperatures rise to about 29°C, meaning you’ll regularly see 30-35°C. Nights reach 24°C, meaning the temperatures you may see at home during the day. The sea, too, reaches its optimal summer temperature of 24°C.
Days are just as long as in June and, while in June you could faintly recall something called rain, July scrapes that memory right off your drive. It’s hot. It’s dry. It’s summer.
August weather in Crete
Perhaps thankfully, August is simply more of the same. It doesn’t get much hotter, perhaps a one degree increase in temperatures all across the board, but it’s simply a heatwave. You may also feel it a bit more, as August will certainly put a lot of equally hot crowds all around you on the popular beaches. Thankfully, Crete also has a lot of hidden secluded spots, so look for those. Thankfully, you can find some respite in the refreshing Meltemi wind which tends to blow in summer.
We hope you didn’t expect anything else from Crete, for it’s as paradisiacal as they paint it. Do be aware that this degree of heat may be a lot for some, and Crete offers plenty of wonderful weather all throughout the year. As such, while we recommend summer for those of you who know that you love heat, we’d also urge you to think about the rest of the year as sometimes even more ideal for a trip. Summer is always going to be more crowded and expensive while autumn, for instance, is still warm but a bit more manageable on all fronts.
If you do go in summer, please, do remember to use sunscreen, seek shade and all that jazz. And, most importantly, have a good one.
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