Heraklion weather by month & the best time to visit
🇬🇷 Greece · beach resort · Mediterranean climate
The best time to visit Heraklion is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 96/100), with August and June close behind. Heraklion averages about 2,929 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 28°C / 82°F and roughly 2 mm of rain in July.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,929
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 96/100
- Rain / year
- 463 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 9 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 28°C / 82°F
- Population
- 137k
- Elevation
- 24 m
When is the best time to visit Heraklion?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Heraklion is July, then August and June. The dullest month is January (47/100, 88 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Heraklion?
Heraklion gets a lot of sun: around 2,929 hours a year. 49 Sunshine Score points separate July (96) from January (47), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #16 of 40 destinations in Greece for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,896 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around January, carries about 54% of the annual 463 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47 | 15° / 59°F | 12° / 54°F | 88 mm | 2 | 17° / 63°F |
| February | 48 | 15° / 59°F | 12° / 54°F | 75 mm | 3 | 17° / 63°F |
| March | 66 | 17° / 63°F | 13° / 55°F | 42 mm | 5 | 17° / 63°F |
| April | 84 | 19° / 66°F | 15° / 59°F | 23 mm | 6 | 18° / 64°F |
| May | 94 | 23° / 73°F | 18° / 64°F | 15 mm | 8 | 20° / 68°F |
| June | 95 | 26° / 79°F | 22° / 72°F | 5 mm | 9 | 24° / 75°F |
| July | 96 | 28° / 82°F | 24° / 75°F | 2 mm | 9 | 27° / 81°F |
| August | 96 | 29° / 84°F | 25° / 77°F | 4 mm | 8 | 28° / 82°F |
| September | 93 | 27° / 81°F | 23° / 73°F | 18 mm | 7 | 26° / 79°F |
| October | 88 | 23° / 73°F | 20° / 68°F | 46 mm | 5 | 24° / 75°F |
| November | 86 | 20° / 68°F | 17° / 63°F | 59 mm | 3 | 21° / 70°F |
| December | 60 | 17° / 63°F | 14° / 57°F | 86 mm | 2 | 19° / 66°F |
Sea temperature in Heraklion by month
The sea off Heraklion is warmest in August at around 28°C / 82°F, and coolest in January at 17°C / 63°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 6 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Heraklion on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Chaniá Greece · 96 km · best in Jul · 2,895 h sun/yr
- Santorini Greece · 121 km · best in Jun · 3,012 h sun/yr
- Karpathos Greece · 178 km · best in Jul · 3,177 h sun/yr
- Mykonos Greece · 233 km · best in Jul · 2,897 h sun/yr
- Kos Greece · 236 km · best in Jul · 3,218 h sun/yr
- Rhodes Greece · 287 km · best in Jul · 3,201 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Sitia Greece · 85 km · 3,084 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Kasos Greece · 157 km · 3,085 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Milos Greece · 164 km · 3,031 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Astypalaia Greece · 175 km · 3,100 h sun/yr · best in Jun
Head-to-head
How Heraklion compares month by month: Heraklion vs Palma de Mallorca · Heraklion vs Chaniá · Heraklion vs Paphos · Heraklion vs Karpathos · all comparisons
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