Stalis, a resort on the north coast of Greeceâs largest island, Crete, enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate with long hot summers and warm to mild, rainy winters.
Summer in Stalis is baking hot with low humidity levels and seemingly endless sunshine: perfect. From May till October day time temperatures rise above 20°C. In May the average high temperature is already at 22°C, climbing to 26°C in June and peaking at a glorious 28°C in June and August. These high temperatures are moderated by a refreshing sea breeze and accompanied by a whopping twelve hours of brilliant sunshine each day. September is a lovely time to visit with similar temperatures to June but a warmer sea. By October the average high is back down to a pleasant 22°C. While the temperature in May and October is often very agreeable in the day, the evenings can call for extra layers with average night time lows of 14°C in May and 16°C in October. The sea is usually swim-able throughout these months, already at around 19°C in May. October also sees a slight increase in rainfall, though still only seeing around five days with rain in the month.
Spring and autumn are brief and mild affairs; the weather is better suited to walking holidays. This is not really the point of Stalis though; it is right next to the party resort of Malia and has its own helping of Irish bars, English pubs and six euro deck chairs. However, many do prefer to visit in March, April, October and early November to avoid the crowds of the summer months. The smaller towns Mohos and Krassi are nestled in the mountains behind Stalis and can provide more cultural distractions, and the rest of Crete is easily accessible. Visitors at this time of year are greeted by temperatures hovering between 15°C and 20°C during the day, with nights dropping off to between 10°C and 15°C, depending on proximity to winter months. Rainfall is not particularly high though higher than in summer months and highly unpredictable. In Autumn the sea is still warm enough to swim in at around 20°C. In the spring months the sea is still cold from the winter and at around 15°C requires some courage to enter.
Winter, from December to February, is mild but not suitable for sunbathing or even t-shirts. Daytime temperatures usually get up to around 14°C with night times getting down to around 8°C. It is also considerably wetter, with December seeing the most rain, and the sun is only reliable for around four hours a day.
Crete is a very mountainous island and so even in a small resort such as Stalis there are regional climatic variations. Higher elevations are always cooler with higher levels of rainfall, and peaks often see snow in the winter.
Creteâs location puts Stalis in the path of the northern, Etesian winds which moderate its heat in the summer. They also block the flow the Etesian winds to the south side of Crete, so that northern Crete, including Stalis is generally cloudier and cooler than the southern side of the island. Humid air, trapped on the north side of the mountains, often forms precipitation and so Stalis is on average wetter than resorts on the south side. Stalisâ location on the coast of Crete means it benefits from the warming effect of the Mediterranean in the winter.