When to Travel to Greece and Turkey?

When to travel to Greece and Turkey?

Timing your trip

When to travel to Greece and Turkey? Some people have flexible enough jobs and lifestyles to cherry-pick when to take their vacations, but many others have less choice. Fortunately, Greece and Turkey welcome visitors 365 days a year — and each season offers a different ambience and experience. In travel-industry jargon, the year is divided into three seasons: peak season (roughly mid-June through August), shoulder season (April through mid-June and September through October), and off-season (November through March). Each has its pros and cons. Regardless of when you go, if your objective is to “meet the people,” you’ll find Europe including Turkey and Greece filled with them any time of year.

Peak Season

Summer is a great time to travel — except for the crowds and high temperatures. Sunny weather, long days, and exuberant nightlife turn Turkey and Greece into a powerful magnet. Families with school-age children are usually locked into peak-season travel. Here are a few tips to help you keep your cool:

• Arrange your trip with crowd control in mind. Go to the busy places as early or late in peak season as you can.
• Spend the night. Popular day-trip destinations near big cities like Athens, Istanbul and  resorts such as Antalya, Bodrum, Santorini, Mykonos or Crete take on a more peaceful and enjoyable atmosphere at night, when the legions of day-trippers retreat to the predictable plumbing of their big-city or beach-resort hotels. Small towns normally lack hotels big enough for tour groups and are often inaccessible to large buses. So, at worst, they experience midday crowds. Likewise, popular cruise-ship destinations, such as Santorini, Mikonos and Kuşadası are hellishly packed during the day — but more bearable at night, when the cruise crowds sail off.
• Prepare for intense heat.

Shoulder Season

“Shoulder season” — generally April through mid-June, and September through October — combines the advantages of both peak- and off-season travel. In shoulder season, you’ll enjoy decent weather, long-enough daylight, fewer crowds, and a local tourist industry still ready to please and entertain.

• Shoulder season varies by destination. Because fall and spring bring cooler temperatures in Mediterranean Europe, shoulder season in much of Italy, southern France, Spain,Turkey and Greece can actually come with near peak-season crowds and prices. For example, except for beach resorts, Greece’s peak season is May, June, September, and October — not July and August.  Istanbul and Athens are surprisingly quiet in July and August.
• Spring or fall? If debating the merits of traveling before or after summer, consider your destination. Both weather and crowds are about the same in spring or fall. Mediterranean Europe is generally green in spring, but parched in fall. For hikers,photographers or birdwatchers Turkey is better in early fall, because many good spots are still covered with snow through the late spring.

Budget Note

Keep in mind that round-trip airfares are determined by your departure date. Therefore, if you fly over during peak season and return late in the fall (shoulder season), you may still pay peak-season round-trip fares.

Low Season

Every summer, Turkey and Greece greets a stampede of sightseers. Before jumping into the peak-season pig pile, consider a trip during the low-season — generally November through March.

• Expect to pay less (most of the time). Off-season airfares are often hundreds of dollars cheaper. With fewer crowds , you may find you can sleep for less: Many fine hotels drop their prices, and budget hotels will have plenty of vacancies. And while some smaller or rural accommodations may be closed, those still open are usually empty and, therefore, more comfortable. The opposite is true of big-city business centers, which are busiest with corporate travelers and most expensive off-season.
• Enjoy it. Off-season adventurers loiter undisturbed in Acropolis Museum,Topkapi Palace and negotiate better with Grand Bazaar souvenirs shops!.
• Off-season adventurers enjoy step-right-up service at shops and tourist offices, and experience a more typical Greece or Turkey with less tourists.
• Be prepared for any kind of weather. Because the winter days are short. It’s dark by 5 p.m. The weather can be miserable — cold, windy, and drizzly — and then turn worse.
• Pack for the cold and wet — layers of clothing, rainproof parka, gloves, wool hat, long johns, waterproof shoes, and an umbrella. Dress warmly. Cold weather is colder when you’re outdoors trying to enjoy yourself all day long, and cheap hotels can be cool and drafty in the off-season. But just as summer can be wet and gray, winter can be crisp and blue, and even into mid-November, hillsides blaze with colorful leaves.
• Beware of shorter hours. Make the most out of your limited daylight hours. Some sights operate on shorter hours, with sunset often determining the closing time. Winter sightseeing is fine in big cities, which bustle year-round, but it’s more frustrating in small tourist towns, which can be boringly quiet, with many sights and restaurants closed down. In December, most beach resorts shut up as tight as canned hams.