Best time to visit

Crete is worth a visit all year round. Because of its 332 sunny days a year the weather will certainly be fine. At the south coast the temperature is usually 2 degrees higher than in Heraklio and in winter it rains less.
Prasoniro lies at a short distance of the most southern point of Europe, Cape Tripiti on Gavdos – the island you can see from the house. Because of this southern location you have shorter days in summer and longer days in winter, i.e. during the winter solstice on 21 December the daylight lasts 1,5 hour longer than in for example Frankfurt am Main.

The high tourist season in Crete is from July to September because of the school holidays everywhere in Europe. The holiday season is Greece is also in July and August. A lot of Greek tourists return home from 15 August on. So, from that date on there will be only visitors, mostly from the south of Germany where the holidays have just started.

In midsummer it is hot and dry. The temperature is usually higher than 30 degrees, the sea temperature is 25 degrees. It can be windy – a breeze or a stronger wind – so that you still feel comfortable. The cafés and tavernas are much loved by tourists from all over the world, nevertheless the south coast of Crete is never crowded.

The temperature in September is a few degrees lower, the nights are cooler and so you sleep more comfortably. There may be some dew in the morning. The fire danger is less, although it does not rain.

The first rain, which was long wished for, usually falls in October. The season ends after the first week of November.
The weather is still summery in the daytime, but it is like autumn in the evening. Throughout November and in the beginning of December the weather is fine. We only know that the summer is over because of the time change and because it is getting dark sooner.

The Cretan weather in autumn and winter can get very stormy with now and then heavy rainfall and summery days.
The winter is characterized by mountains enveloped in a red light at sunset, frequent rainbows,the first snow on the Psiloritis, an amazingly clear sky full of stars and the people picking olives. Snow falls rarely in Prasoniro and this makes it an exceptional experience.

The temperature can go as low as 0 degrees, most ot the time for only a couple of days. The sea temperature is never lower than 15 degrees. In the beginning of January a „very short summer“ is looked forward to. For two weeks the days are sunny and the sky is blue with temperatures of minimum 15 degrees.
In my experience I can’t say for certain that his will happen.
Many tavernas and all the restaurants on the beaches are closed in winter.

At the latest in February you start feeling that spring is in the air. Rainfall has allowed the land to become green, the wild greens grow, the first flowers and the almond trees blossom first and next the orchids. The slopes of the Lefka Ori and the Psiloritis and also sometimes of the Kedros are covered in snow , which is in wonderful contrast with the blue sky and the green fields with yellow and orange citrus fruit. The wild orchids are in flower from February till May.

In April when all the trees are green, the broom amd mimosa blossom and spring turns into summer. The last rainfall provides humidity for the vegetation and the snowmelt makes the streams flow. Easter is the most important festivity in Greece and the people know how to celebrate it. After Easter business slowly starts again in the cafés and tavernas. The rain stops in May and starts again in October. The oleander blossoms and the long summer begins.