Greece in April?

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Posted by Soontobemarried

Has anyone been to the Greek islands in April? We would be going April 5th and staying for about 10 days- what is the weather like? Is everything open? TIA

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Weather will be similar to NY's...could be sunny, warm and beautiful (as it was in NY in April 2008) or it could be chilly, rainy and cloudy (as it was in NY in May 2008). But, no snow and most probably no heat waves. Beaches don't have an official open and close date like we have here since there are no lifeguards. But the water may be too cold to go into (or it could be a good temperature, really depends).

As far as when you're going, I just checked the Greek Orthodox Archdiosese's website, and you'll be there towards the end of Lent (Greek Easter will be Sunday, April 19, 2009, and Palm Sunday will be Sunday, April 12, 2009, so Holy Week will be in between those dates.

Easter is an official state holiday in Greece, so some businesses, museums, and archeological sites MIGHT be closed during part of your stay. A lot of people have off for all of Holy Week. Everything will pretty much be closed from April 16-19.

Also, there may not be a lot of ferry routes and flights to the islands because it's not tourist season just yet, so you may have long lay overs. More ferry routes should take effect in early May. Similarly, a lot of tavernas don't open until late April/early May since the tourist season starts at that time.

If I were you, and I had flexibility with my travel dates, I would go after Greek Easter, but that's just me.