Winter in Crete

October sees the last charter flights going back to the UK and Europe and
from November to March Crete returns to its old rhythms of life. Hotels,
tavernas, cafes and bars all close down in the resorts.

Nightlife changes from the summer scene of beach bars and outdoor
tavernas to trendy indoor town cafes and restaurants, and cozy village
cafeneons and tavernas with wood-burning stoves or open fireplaces.

Cretans turn to their fields and gather their olive and orange harvests.
Nearly every Cretan family owns at least one olive grove on the island.
Weekends are often spent away from the towns as people head for their
'horio' (village) to gather their olives, or to visit relatives.

The towns are still very much alive and busy in the winter as the locals go
about their daily business. On the roads there are numerous pick-up trucks
loaded with olives, firewood or livestock as well as the usual traffic, but
with hardly a hire-car in sight.

The weather is changeable. November and December tend to be
reasonably mild, with January and February generally the coldest months.
Crete has some very heavy rainfall and spectacular storms during the
winter months, but invariably the sun always comes out at some point and
there are glorious warm sunny days too. Temperatures vary; at sea level it
can be as low as 4oC or as high as 20oC plus. There are regular snowfalls
in the mountain villages and the White Mountains are usually snow-
covered from November to April. If you are in Crete in winter a trip up to
the snow is a must.

Hotels in the towns stay open during the winter months, but there is little
winter tourism and beach resorts close down. There are no direct flights to
the island from Europe from November to March but there are regular
domestic flights from Athens.

Winter Festivals in Crete

A number of festivals take place during the winter season in Crete.

Christmas and New Year festivities The 12 days of Christmas are
celebrated between 24th December and 6th January.

Epiphany on the 6th January is the Holy Blessing of the Waters -
waterside ceremonies.

The Carnival period runs for three weeks, normally during February or
March – a party atmosphere, carnival parades and masked balls.

Clean Monday in February/ March – marked by Lenten picnics and kite flying

March 25th is Greek Independence Day as well as a major religious holiday
- marked by school and military parades throughout Greece

Getting to and from Crete In Winter

Flights
There are daily flights throughout the year to and from Athens with
Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines and Athens Air ways to both Heraklion and
Chania.

All offer cheaper fares if you book in advance, and online with their etickets.

Both Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines offer cheap add-on fares if you book
their through flights from/to another country, e.g. London/Athens/Chania.

Look out for special winter offers on off-peak winter dates - usually in
November and January/ February/March - when prices start from 21 Euros
one way, including all taxes, between Crete and Athens.

Ferry
Ferry services run daily to and from Piraeus to Chania and Heraklion
throughout the year. Rethymnon Service is 3 times per week during the
winter months.

ANEK lines run overnight services to and from Piraeus/Heraklion and
Piraeus/Chania daily (approx 9 hour sailings).

Lane Lines operate just once a week between Piraeus/Rethymno/Piraeus.

Minoan Lines run an overnight service to and from Piraeus/Heraklion daily
(approx 9 hour sailing)

Online booking is available via the above links.

All have large modern ships with comfortable lounges, bars and
restaurants.
At peak times - weekends and holidays throughout the winter (e.g.
Christmas, New Year, Apokries, Easter) as well as during the summer, the
ferries can be very crowded and advance booking is essential around peak
dates.

Ferry prices start at around 30 Euros per person one way for deck class.