Eastern Med-which month best?

[heidik]

Is there a quieter month to cruise? I am looking for less crowds, nice warm weather but not too hot - your experience?

[tom_uk]

We've just done the 11-night Solstice cruise that started on 28 September, and we had wonderful weather. Blue skies, warm temperatures (mid 70s to low/mid 80s) every day, no rain except for a few minutes at sea - brilliant.

 

That said, I understand that the cruise before ours (the one starting on 18 September) was not so good, with colder, windier weather and some rain. Also the days are not long in late September or early October and as soon as the sun goes down the temperatures drop quite a bit. Several times it was quite chilly by sailaway time as that was also pretty close to sunset.

 

Anything outside July and August will be quieter, of course.

[Onessa]

We've never done the Med in spring (other than a land trip in Northern Italy one May), but really like it in the fall.

 

You'll find a good cross-section of cruise options in September and October with things dropping off a bit through November. If you are looking at primarily southernmost Italian ports, Greece and Turkey, even into November you'll get mostly mid to high 60s (F) during the day (perfect weather if you are a like me in trying to "do" stuff in ports rather than looking forward to beaches)

 

Mid-September is likely going to be the best compromise and get you the best opportunity for moderate temps and sun, but late October and November are great times for bargins (both the cruise and to arrange trips at your ports).

[Sun-Cruisers]

We did the Med in mid-May. All ports were very comfortable, never hot. Athens and Santorini were wonderfully beautiful and the crowds had not yet arrived. Plan to do it again, hopefully in the same time frame. :)

[TRacanoUK]

We just got back from living in Europe for 2 years. I would highly recommend avoiding the May-August time frame if you don't want to deal with crowds. It seems that you get a lot of backpackers at that time.

 

We were just on a Eastern Med Cruise on Solstice May 26-June 5 and found that it was a bit crowded. The weather was great...hot on some port days, but really nice. Never any rain!

[LINGBER]

Early June is a wonderful time for the weather. Crowds are much lighter than July and August when school is out and many vacation. We have always had lovely weather in June and never felt overwhelmed with the crowds.

[seatraveler24]

We just returned from a 12-night cruise that started on September 29th on the Legend of the Seas. The weather was spectacular! It was around 80 degrees and sunny every day. However, I did hear that their rainy season comes in around late October and November. There was no problem with crowds at this time as well!

[allheart1111]

without doubt being from the Uk, if you want mid 70s weather the best time where you dont have to many crowds ia when the kids are still at school, best time in my mind is mid May or 2nd week in September/October

[Doughnut Dolly]

The cruise was absolutely wonderful, but it was Sooooooooo hot I thought we were going to die from heat exhaustion, Woul recommen Spring or Fall, I'm so glad we took the cruise, but cooler weather would have been great

[Loracpin2]

We have take two Med cruises. One was the first 2 weeks of October and the other, the last week of September throught the first week of October. Both times weather was perfect, and there were no crowds. We are taking another cruise to the eastern Med and Holy Land next October on the Equinox. In my opinion, fall is the best time of the year to visit that part of the world.