Best Greek Islands in November: Weather, Sea & What's Open

The best Greek island in November is Crete. It is the one place where November feels like a season of its own rather than the tail end of summer: Heraklion, Chania and Rethymno are working cities with universities and year-round restaurants, afternoons still average around 20°C, the sea is about 21°C, and the olive harvest is in full swing. The runner-up is Rhodes, which has the warmest sea in the Aegean and a medieval Old Town that is a real town all year, but gets noticeably more rain.

Be clear about what November is. It is not a beach month. Expect afternoons of 19 to 21°C in the south, cool evenings, a handful of rainy days, and most small islands shut until spring. What you get in exchange is empty archaeological sites, villages busy with their own lives, and prices that have nothing to do with summer.

Quick answer

Crete — the most open island, among the warmest, and the only one with a real choice of international flights in winter.
Rhodes — the warmest sea in November and a medieval town that never closes.
Naxos — one of the driest islands in November, with a Chora that stays open and ferries all winter.
Lesbos — the olive harvest island, and one that simply stays open.
Hydra — car-free, close to Athens and home to about 2,500 people who keep it going all year.
Syros — the capital of the Cyclades, where Ermoupoli works as a normal town all winter.

November weather on the islands

In November the temperature gap between the islands narrows: almost everywhere sits at 19 to 21°C in the afternoon. What separates them is rain. The Ionian gets two to three times as much as the Aegean, and even on Crete, Chania in the west gets far more than Heraklion.

Island	Daytime high	Sea	Rain in November	Rainy days
Rhodes	21°C	21°C	100 mm	6
Crete (Heraklion)	20°C	21°C	56 mm	6
Crete (Chania)	19°C	20°C	87 mm	11
Santorini	19°C	20°C	70 mm	5
Naxos	19°C	19°C	60 mm	6
Syros	19°C	19°C	65 mm	7
Kos	19°C	20°C	90 mm	8
Corfu	19°C	19°C	175–187 mm	10–15
Zakynthos	19°C	20°C	about 155 mm	10–11
Skiathos	17°C	18°C	65 mm	10
Athens, for comparison	19°C	19°C	60 mm	8

The warmest water is in the far southeast: Rhodes averages about 21°C, and Kastellorizo, the tiny island off the Turkish coast, usually tops the national rankings at around 22°C. The sea cools about two degrees across the month, so if swimming matters, go early.

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 November

Flights. The airlines switch to their winter timetable on 25 October 2026, and from then on most island airports only have domestic flights, usually from Athens. Heraklion is the exception: Greek aviation press reports at least five international flights a day through the winter, including a year-round Transavia route from Paris. Chania, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos, Corfu, Zakynthos and Kefalonia effectively become Athens-only. Rhodes keeps a few winter routes, but check before you plan around them. Ryanair announced in May 2026 that it would suspend its Chania and Heraklion flights for winter 2026–27.

Ferries. The big conventional ferries run all winter. Blue Star sails from Piraeus to Paros, Naxos, Syros, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Kos and Heraklion, and ANEK sails nightly from Piraeus to Chania. Most fast catamarans stop around November. Storms cancel sailings more often than in summer, so follow our ferry rules and leave a spare night in Athens before your flight home.

Crete

Crete is the obvious choice because it does not depend on tourism. Heraklion’s archaeological museum and the palace at Knossos are open all winter and blissfully empty. Chania’s harbour and old town are full of students and locals on a weekday evening. The olive harvest runs from November into the new year, and in the villages you will see nets under the trees and the presses working.

On 8 November the Arkadi Monastery near Rethymno holds its main feast, the anniversary of the 1866 siege that became a symbol of the Cretan struggle for independence, with a religious ceremony at the monastery. The Samaria Gorge has closed for the season by then; it runs from 1 May to 31 October.

The catch is that the beach resorts on the north coast and most south-coast villages close for the winter, and the west is much wetter than the centre: Chania averages 87 mm of rain over 11 days in November, Heraklion 56 mm over 6. Stay in a town. Heraklion is the drier and better-connected base; Chania and Rethymno are the more atmospheric ones.

Rhodes

Rhodes Town is a living city all year, so its restaurants and sights stay open. The Palace of the Grand Master is open through the winter, though closed on Tuesdays, and the Street of the Knights is at its best without the summer crowds. The sea averages about 21°C, the warmest in the Aegean, and afternoons are about the same.

The catch is rain. Rhodes averages around 100 mm in November, almost twice Heraklion’s, although it falls on relatively few days. The resort strips at Faliraki and along the east coast are shut. Stay in the Old Town, and make Lindos a day trip for the acropolis, which stays open in winter.

On 8 November the monastery of Panormitis on Symi, a short hop from Rhodes, holds its great feast day and draws pilgrims from across the Dodecanese. If you want to go, check the winter ferry times from Rhodes well ahead.

Naxos

Naxos Chora and the big inland villages keep their tavernas and cafés open in winter, and the island has enough of a farming economy to feel lived in rather than abandoned. Blue Star ferries from Piraeus run all year and the airport has flights from Athens. With about 60 mm of rain in November it is one of the drier islands in this guide.

The catch is that the beach strip south of Chora, including Plaka, is closed, and at 19°C it is cardigan weather by late afternoon. Stay in Chora and spend the days in the villages of the Tragea valley.

Lesbos

Lesbos is one of the few islands where, in the words of one winter guide, everything simply stays open. Mytilene is the capital of the North Aegean region, and November is the heart of the olive harvest, when the island’s olive presses are working. It has year-round flights from Athens, about 50 minutes, and overnight ferries from Piraeus.

The catch is distance: it is a long way from the rest of the islands, so it is a trip in itself rather than a stop on a hop.

Hydra and Aegina

If you are spending time in Athens, these are the islands that work as an add-on. Hydra has around 2,500 permanent residents and never really closes; winter is when its car-free lanes and stone mansions are at their quietest. Aegina is closer still, with daily ferries from Piraeus and tavernas and cafés open all year. Winter sailings to both are fewer and more weather-dependent than in summer.

Syros

Syros is the administrative capital of the Cyclades, so life in Ermoupoli carries on normally in November: the shops, the neoclassical squares and the Apollon Theatre, which runs a winter season, are all working. Blue Star ferries from Piraeus run all year. It is the best choice if you want a Cycladic island that feels like a town rather than an out-of-season resort.

Practical notes for November

Archaeological sites switch to winter hours on 1 November, with shorter days. Under the rules for the past winter, entry to state sites and museums is free on the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March, which would be 1 and 15 November in 2026. The Ministry of Culture publishes each winter’s decision in late October, so check before you plan around it.
Daylight is short. Plan outdoor days to start early.
Pack layers and a rain jacket. Even on Crete, evenings drop into the low teens.

Islands to skip in November

Santorini is not closed, but Fira is the only fully working town; Oia has a limited number of hotels and restaurants open, and the beach villages of Perissa and Kamari are almost entirely shut. Mykonos closes most of its hotels and much of its Chora, and the boats to Delos stopped on 31 October. Folegandros, Milos, Sifnos and Amorgos have largely shut down since late October. Kos is a resort island with no international flights in winter. Corfu and Zakynthos are the wettest islands in Greece in November, although Corfu Town itself stays lively. The Sporades are the coolest islands in this guide and very quiet.

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

Frequently asked questions

Is November a good time to visit the Greek islands?

Yes, if you choose the right island and do not expect a beach holiday. Afternoons average 19 to 21°C in the south, the archaeological sites are empty, the olive harvest is under way and prices are nothing like summer. The catch is that most small islands have closed for the winter, so stick to islands where people live all year, such as Crete, Rhodes, Syros, Naxos and Lesbos.

Can you swim in Greece in November?

Some people do. The sea averages about 21°C off Rhodes and Heraklion and 19 to 20°C in the Cyclades, which is cool but swimmable if you are used to northern seas. Early November is noticeably better than late November.

What is the warmest Greek island in November?

Rhodes, narrowly. Long-term averages give it about 21°C in both air and sea. Heraklion on Crete is a degree behind in the air and level in the water, and gets about half of Rhodes' November rainfall. The warmest single spot for sea temperature is usually Kastellorizo, off the Turkish coast in the far southeast.

Are there flights to the Greek islands in November?

Fewer. The airlines' winter timetable starts on 25 October 2026, and after that most island airports only have domestic flights from Athens. Heraklion on Crete is the main exception and keeps a handful of year-round international routes. Ryanair has said it will not fly to Crete in winter 2026–27.

Do ferries run to the Greek islands in November?

Yes. Conventional ferries from Piraeus run all winter to Crete, the main Cyclades such as Paros, Naxos, Syros, Santorini and Mykonos, and the Dodecanese including Rhodes and Kos. Most of the fast catamarans stop around November. Storms cancel sailings more often than in summer, so leave a spare day before your flight home.

Which Greek islands are open in November?

The ones with real towns: Crete (Heraklion, Chania and Rethymno), Rhodes Town, Syros, Naxos Chora, Lesbos, Chios, Corfu Town, Hydra and Aegina. On Santorini, Fira is the only town that works fully, and most of Mykonos, the small Cyclades and the resort islands close from late October until spring.