Santorini Greece Weather, Month by Month
The figures below are ours, computed from thirty years of daily records for the middle of the island rather than copied from a summary. What matters here is not the temperature. It is the wind.
What the weather actually does to a visit here
Three things, and only one of them is comfort. First, the wind moves boats: operators reroute round the sheltered side, shorten your swim stop, or call the day off, and every trip here refunds in full when they do. Second, the sunset is the product on a dozen of these listings, and it moves by three and a half hours across the year, which changes what time you are collected. Third, the cable car runs a five-season timetable, and from November to February it is open for about three hours a day.
Rain is barely a factor. The island averages 299 mm a year and July and August are effectively dry. If you want the decision rather than the conditions, the best-time page is the one to read.
The meltemi, measured
The wind that matters here is not the strongest, it is the most persistent. In July 75 per cent of days blow from the northern quadrant and in August 73, against 41 to 48 per cent in the winter months. Winter has more gales; summer has a wind that arrives and stays.
The number that decides a holiday is this one: across July and August, the mean longest unbroken northerly spell is seventeen days. It is not an afternoon you sit out. If your dates are tight, put your boat day early in the stay so there is room to rebook.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain | Days from the north | Days at Beaufort 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13.8 C | 10.9 C | 60 mm | 45% | 41% |
| February | 14.1 C | 11.0 C | 57 mm | 41% | 44% |
| March | 15.3 C | 12.0 C | 41 mm | 42% | 37% |
| April | 17.7 C | 14.0 C | 15 mm | 40% | 26% |
| May | 21.1 C | 17.3 C | 10 mm | 47% | 11% |
| June | 25.0 C | 21.2 C | 2 mm | 58% | 11% |
| July | 27.0 C | 23.4 C | 0 mm | 75% | 16% |
| August | 27.2 C | 23.9 C | 1 mm | 73% | 14% |
| September | 25.1 C | 21.9 C | 6 mm | 65% | 17% |
| October | 21.7 C | 18.6 C | 20 mm | 65% | 19% |
| November | 18.5 C | 15.4 C | 32 mm | 48% | 22% |
| December | 15.4 C | 12.6 C | 55 mm | 45% | 34% |
Santorini Greece month by month
January
The quietest month and the wettest. Around 60 mm of rain falls, and roughly two days in five blow at Beaufort 6 or above. The cable car drops to two short windows a day, 07:30 to 09:00 and 15:00 to 16:00. Sunset is at about 17:14 at the start of the month.
February
The windiest month of the year here, with 44 per cent of days reaching Beaufort 6. Rain is much the same as January at 57 mm. The cable car keeps the winter timetable until the end of the month, and sunset has moved out to about 17:44.
March
Rain eases to about 41 mm and the temperature starts to move. The cable car changes on 1 March to 07:30-10:30 and 14:30-18:00, with extra trips when maintenance allows. Sunset reaches 18:26 by the middle of the month, and the clocks go forward on the last Sunday.
April
The month the island reopens. Rain drops to about 15 mm, gales to a quarter of days, and the cable car goes to 07:00-21:00 every twenty minutes on 1 April. Sunset is 19:40 at the start of the month and 19:52 by the middle.
May
One of the two best months. About 10 mm of rain, Beaufort 6 on only one day in nine, and highs around 21 C. The cable car runs to 22:00 from 1 May with the last car down at 21:40, and sunset is 20:19 by mid-month.
June
Effectively dry at 2 mm, and the northerly starts to establish itself: 58 per cent of days now blow from the north, though only 11 per cent reach Beaufort 6. Sunset peaks at about 20:41 at the solstice, the latest of the year. The cable car runs to 23:00 from 1 June.
July
The meltemi month. Three days in four blow from the north, the mean unbroken northerly spell across July and August is seventeen days, and 16 per cent of days reach Beaufort 6. Rain is effectively nil and highs sit at 27 C. This is when boat trips get rerouted.
August
The hottest month by a whisker at 27.2 C, and nearly as windy as July with 73 per cent of days from the north. Sunset has already pulled back to 20:11 by mid-month, which moves the evening cruises earlier. The busiest month on the island by a distance.
September
The other best month. The heat eases to 25 C, the sea is at its warmest, the wind starts to loosen, and 6 mm of rain is nothing. Sunset falls fast, from 19:49 on the first to 19:28 by the middle.
October
Still warm at 21.7 C and still swimmable, with about 20 mm of rain arriving. The cable car keeps summer hours to 31 October and then drops sharply. The clocks go back on the last Sunday and sunset lands at about 18:44 mid-month.
November
The season closes. Rain returns at 32 mm, gales pick up to 22 per cent of days, and the cable car goes to two windows a day from 1 November. Sunset is back to 17:11 by the middle of the month.
December
Wet, windy and quiet: 55 mm of rain and a third of days at Beaufort 6. The cable car runs 07:30-09:00 and 15:00-16:00 from 1 December, with special trips in between if maintenance allows. Sunset is at 17:04 on the first, the earliest of the year.
The seasons, and which one you want
April to early June. The island is open, the wind is at its lightest, rain has stopped and the crowds have not arrived. The sea is cool.
Late June to August. Hot, dry, busy and windy. The boats still run most days and the reroutes happen here. Sunset is at its latest, which makes for very long evenings.
September and October. The best swimming of the year, the wind loosening, the light going gold, and the sunset pulling back by two minutes a day.
November to March. A different island. Wet, windy, quiet, cheap, and with a cable car open about three hours a day.
Best time of day
Mornings are calm and the rim is empty until about ten. The wind builds through the afternoon, which is why the sunset cruises leave in the early afternoon and come back in the dark rather than going out late. If you are walking the caldera path, start it before nine in July.
If you only have one day on the water, take the earlier departure. You get the calmer sea, the emptier swim stops and a better chance that your boat runs the full route rather than a shortened one.
Frequently asked questions
Will the meltemi cancel my boat?
Does it rain in summer?
Is the sea warm enough to swim?
How much does sunset move?
Where these figures come from
- Temperature, rainfall and wind: computed from 10,958 days of daily records for 36.393 N, 25.462 E, 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2024, drawn from the ERA5 reanalysis archive. Because this is a reanalysis grid over a small island in open sea, the daily range is narrower than a land station would show.
- Cable car seasons: the operator's own published timetable, read 5 September 2026.
- Sunset times: computed for Oia with the standard solar-position algorithm, in Greek local time.
Weather is an average, not a forecast. Check the week before you sail.
The trips this affects most are the Santorini boat tours, and what each one does when the wind is up is in its own listing. For the crowd calendar rather than the conditions, read when to visit. Everything you can book, with what each fare covers, is on the Santorini Greece Tours home page.