Best Greek Islands in December (Weather & Christmas)

The best Greek island in December is Crete. Not because it is warm, although at about 17°C in the afternoon it is as warm as anywhere in Greece, but because it is the island where the most of normal life carries on, where the Christmas events are biggest, and where you can still fly in directly from abroad. For Christmas atmosphere, the pick is Corfu Town, if you can accept the rain. Rhodes has the warmest sea in December.

December is winter on the Greek islands, and it is worth being honest about that. Afternoons average 15 to 17°C, the sea is 17 to 19°C, and the islands in our table see rain on 8 to 16 days of the month. This is not a beach trip. It is a trip for towns, food, church feasts and archaeological sites with nobody else in them.

Quick answer

Crete — the most open island, the easiest to reach and the biggest Christmas programme.
Corfu — the best Christmas atmosphere in the islands, and the most rain.
Rhodes — the warmest sea and a medieval town that is lived in all year.
Syros — the capital of the Cyclades, with a working town and a theatre season.
Naxos — one of the driest islands in December, with a Chora that stays open.
Hydra — the island to add to a winter weekend in Athens.

December weather on the islands

In December the islands are all within a couple of degrees of each other, so the real differences are rain and sunshine. Heraklion and Rhodes average about three and a half hours of sunshine a day. Athens, at 60 mm, is drier than any island in the table, which is one more reason to combine a city break with an island rather than the other way round.

Island	Daytime high	Sea	Rain in December	Rainy days
Crete (Heraklion)	17°C	18°C	82 mm	9
Crete (Chania)	16°C	18°C	99 mm	16
Rhodes	17°C	19°C	140 mm	11
Santorini	16°C	18°C	100 mm	9
Naxos	16°C	17°C	75 mm	8
Syros	15°C	17°C	90 mm	10
Kos	15°C	18°C	135 mm	12
Corfu	15°C	17°C	190–195 mm	12–17
Zakynthos	16°C	18°C	170–200 mm	12–13
Skiathos	13°C	16°C	95 mm	12
Athens, for comparison	15°C	17°C	60 mm	11

Figures are long-term monthly averages from climatestotravel.com and Hellenic National Meteorological Service data, rounded to whole numbers. Where two sources differ, both ends of the range are shown.

Getting there in December

Flights. Through the winter most island airports only have domestic flights from Athens. Heraklion is the exception, with at least five international flights a day according to Greek aviation press, including a year-round Transavia route from Paris. Rhodes keeps a few winter routes; check before you plan around them. Ryanair has suspended its Chania and Heraklion flights for winter 2026–27.

Ferries. Conventional ferries from Piraeus run all winter to Crete, the main Cyclades and the Dodecanese: Blue Star to Heraklion, Rhodes, Kos, Syros, Paros, Naxos, Santorini and Mykonos, and ANEK nightly to Chania. The fast catamarans are mostly laid up. Around Christmas and New Year many Greeks travel home to the islands, so book cabins early, and leave a spare day before your flight home in case a storm cancels a sailing.

Crete

Heraklion and Chania are proper cities, and in December they behave like it. In recent years Heraklion has put a Christmas village in Eleftherias Square, with decorated squares, concerts and markets around the centre. Chania has run a free Christmas village, the Land of Wishes, at its National Stadium from mid-December to early January. Dates change each year, so check the city’s programme before you go.

Outside the cities, the olive harvest is at its peak and the year’s new oil reaches the tavernas. Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum are open on winter hours and nearly empty, apart from 25 and 26 December and 1 January, when all state sites close.

The catch is the west. Chania averages 16 rainy days in December; Heraklion has 9. If weather matters more than atmosphere, base yourself in Heraklion, which is also the airport with international flights.

Corfu

Corfu Town at Christmas is the most festive place in the Greek islands. On 12 December the town celebrates Saint Spyridon, its patron saint, and hands out tiganites, small fried doughnuts, in the streets. On Christmas Eve the philharmonic bands and carol singers gather at the town hall, the Venetian-era San Giacomo building, the Mantzaros Philharmonic gives a concert on 26 December, and there is a Christmas bazaar in town. Corfu Town is lively all year, and the island is at its greenest.

The catch is that Corfu and Zakynthos are the wettest islands in this guide, with Corfu averaging around 190 mm of rain in December, and all its international flights are seasonal, so in winter you fly via Athens or take the ferry from Igoumenitsa on the mainland. Go for the town and the feast days, not for the weather.

Rhodes

Rhodes Town is a living city, so its restaurants and sights stay open. The Palace of the Grand Master is open through the winter, though closed on Tuesdays, and the Old Town is decorated for Christmas. The sea averages about 19°C, the warmest in the Aegean.

The catch is that Rhodes is one of the wettest islands in the Aegean in December, with around 140 mm over 11 days, and the resort coast is shut. Stay in the Old Town.

Syros

Syros is the administrative capital of the Cyclades, so Ermoupoli works as a normal town all winter, and the 19th-century Apollon Theatre runs a winter opera season. Blue Star ferries run from Piraeus all year. If you want a Cycladic island in December that does not feel like an out-of-season resort, this is it.

Naxos

Naxos Chora and the big inland villages keep their tavernas and cafés open. With about 75 mm of rain over eight days, Naxos is one of the drier islands in December, and the Blue Star ferries from Piraeus run all year. The beaches are closed and empty, so spend your days in the Tragea valley villages instead.

Hydra and Aegina

Hydra has around 2,500 permanent residents and never really closes, and Aegina has daily ferries from Piraeus and tavernas open all year. Both work as an add-on to a few days in Athens, which is the driest place in this guide in December. Winter sailings are fewer and more weather-dependent than in summer.

Greek Christmas customs worth knowing

6 December, Agios Nikolaos. The patron saint of sailors. Boats are blessed in harbours, and many towns put up a karavaki, a lit and decorated boat, which stays up until Epiphany.
The karavaki. The traditional Greek alternative to the Christmas tree, and still common on the islands.
Kalanta. On Christmas Eve children go door to door singing carols to the sound of a metal triangle.
Vasilopita. On 1 January every family cuts a New Year cake with a coin hidden inside; whoever finds it has luck for the year.
Epiphany, 6 January. In harbours across the country a priest blesses the water and throws a cross into the sea, and swimmers dive in to bring it back. It is worth staying on for, and in 2027 it falls on a Wednesday.

Practical notes for December

State sites and museums close on 25 and 26 December and on 1 January, and are on shorter winter hours the rest of the month.
Free entry. Under the rules for the past winter, state sites and museums are free on the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March, which would be 6 and 20 December in 2026. The Ministry of Culture publishes each winter’s decision in late October, so check before you plan around it.
Daylight is short, with sunset around five in the afternoon. Start early.

Islands to skip in December

Santorini has more closures in December than in November; Fira is the only fully working town. Mykonos is mostly closed. Folegandros, Milos, Sifnos and Amorgos are shut until spring. Kos, Zakynthos and Kefalonia are resort islands reached only via Athens in winter. Skiathos and the Sporades are the coldest islands in this guide, at about 13°C.

Travelling earlier? See the best Greek islands in October and in November, or take the island quiz.

Frequently asked questions

Is December a good time to visit the Greek islands?

For towns, food and festivals, yes. For beaches, no. Afternoons average 15 to 17°C, the sea is 17 to 19°C, and most islands see rain on 8 to 16 days of the month. Choose an island with a year-round town, such as Crete, Rhodes, Corfu or Syros, and treat it as a city break with the sea alongside.

What is the warmest Greek island in December?

Crete and Rhodes are joint warmest in the air, at about 17°C in the afternoon. Rhodes has the warmer sea at about 19°C, against 18°C off Heraklion, but it is also one of the wettest islands in the Aegean in December. Heraklion is drier, and on balance the better choice.

Can you swim in Greece in December?

Only if you like cold water. The sea averages 17 to 19°C around Crete, Rhodes and the Dodecanese and 16 to 17°C further north. Plenty of Greeks swim all winter, and on Epiphany, 6 January, swimmers dive into harbours across the country to retrieve a cross thrown in by the priest.

Where is the best place to spend Christmas on a Greek island?

Corfu Town has the most atmosphere: the feast of Saint Spyridon on 12 December, philharmonic bands and carols on Christmas Eve and concerts over the holidays. Heraklion and Chania on Crete put on the biggest Christmas events, and Crete has the best weather and flight connections. Rhodes Town and Ermoupoli on Syros are quieter alternatives.

Which Greek islands are open in December?

Islands with real towns stay open all winter: Crete, Rhodes Town, Corfu Town, Syros, Naxos Chora, Lesbos, Chios, Hydra and Aegina. On Santorini only Fira works fully, Mykonos is mostly closed, and the small Cyclades and the resort islands are shut until spring.

Are archaeological sites open at Christmas in Greece?

Most of December, yes, on shorter winter hours. State sites and museums, including Knossos, close on 25 and 26 December and 1 January, and reopen as normal on 6 January.