Best Time to Visit Alacati: Month by Month (2026)

The best time to visit Alacati is late May through June and the whole of September: warm days, a swimmable sea, and a town that feels alive without the August squeeze. We live here year round, and when friends ask us for one week, we point them at early June or the first half of September. July and August are hot, crowded and expensive, and roughly half the old town shuts down from November to March. Below is the honest month by month picture, with a table you can scan in ten seconds.

Alacati weather and crowds, month by month

Here is the whole year at a glance. The air temperatures are long term averages, and the sea always lags the air by about a month, which is why the water feels best in August and early September rather than in July when the air is hottest.

Month	Avg day high	Sea temp	Crowds	Prices	Wind	What is open
Jan	13 C	16 C	None	Lowest	Windy, wet	Little, weekends only
Feb	13 C	15 C	None	Lowest	Windiest	Little, weekends only
Mar	16 C	15 C	Low	Low	Breezy	Reopening late month
Apr	19 C	17 C	Building	Rising	Mild	Most open by mid-month
May	24 C	19 C	Moderate	Shoulder	Calmest	Fully open
Jun	28 C	22 C	Busy weekends	High	Meltemi building	Everything
Jul	31 C	24 C	Peak	Peak	Strong meltemi	Everything
Aug	30 C	25 C	Peak, max	Peak, max	Strong meltemi	Everything
Sep	27 C	24 C	Easing	High, dropping late	Steady early	Everything
Oct	22 C	21 C	Low	Shoulder	Mild	Closures begin
Nov	17 C	20 C	Very low	Low	Picking up, wet	Many close
Dec	14 C	18 C	None	Lowest	Windy, wettest	Mostly closed

One thing the table hides is how dry the summer is. From roughly late May to early October it barely rains at all: July and August are effectively rainless, so you can plan an outdoor trip in high summer without a single wet-weather backup. The rain arrives with the season change in November and stays through winter, with December the wettest month by a wide margin. If it does spit in July, it passes in an hour.

The wind matters here more than almost anywhere else on the coast, and the same north meltemi that windsurfers chase is what keeps the summer heat dry and bearable. If you want the wind side of the story in detail, see our wind and weather page.

Spring (April and May)

Spring is the town waking up. Most boutique hotels and restaurants reopen through April, the hills behind Alacati turn green, and the wild Aegean herbs that the local kitchen lives on come into season. The sea is still cool, around 17 to 19 degrees, so it is more a wetsuit swim than a lazy float until the very end of May.

The one date to circle is the Alacati Herb Festival (Ot Festivali), a week of herb walks, tastings and chef-led cooking. The 15th edition runs 20 to 26 April 2026. It is the busiest the town gets before summer, so book a room early if you want to be here for it.

May is the calmest month of the year for wind, which windsurfers find frustrating and everyone else finds lovely. Prices sit at shoulder levels, tables are easy, and the Saturday market is at its best with early produce. A local tip: the same golden hills you photograph in August are green and full of foragers in April, and it is a completely different town.

June: the sweet spot

June is our favourite month to send people. Days climb to around 28 degrees, the sea reaches a swimmable 22, the meltemi is building but not yet relentless, and everything is open. Crowds show up on weekends but weekdays stay calm, especially in the first two weeks.

This is the last window where you can be a little spontaneous. In early June you can still walk into a restaurant on Kemalpasa Caddesi on a weekday evening without a booking. By the third week the Istanbul weekenders start arriving in force and that window closes, so once you hit mid-June, treat reservations as essential for anywhere popular.

Prices are high but still below the August ceiling, and the light in the evenings is long and soft. For most travelers deciding how many days to spend, a June trip gives you warm-enough water plus an easy town, which is a rare combination here.

July and August: peak season, honestly

This is Alacati at full volume. July highs hit 31 degrees and August 30, humidity stays low, and it essentially does not rain. The sea is at its warmest, about 24 to 25 degrees, and the meltemi blows hard nearly every afternoon, which is exactly why the windsurf schools are packed and the bay is full of sails.

The honesty part: this is also the most crowded and most expensive Alacati gets. Kemalpasa Caddesi is shoulder to shoulder after 8pm, beach clubs run on minimum spends, popular restaurants need booking days ahead, and the airport transfer takes longer on summer weekends. A restored stone-house double that runs roughly 150 to 360 euros (about 8,100 to 19,400 TRY) in shoulder season jumps to about 400 to 550 euros (about 21,500 to 29,600 TRY) in August, breakfast included. Our full Alacati prices page breaks the season down properly.

The saving grace is that dry north wind. It drops the perceived heat, keeps mosquitoes down, and cools the nights so you actually sleep. Even so, plenty of locals quietly leave town for a week in August. If you can only travel in the school holidays, come, just book everything early and lower your expectations on space.

September: our favourite month

If June is the sweet spot before the rush, September is the reward after it. Air temperatures ease to a comfortable 27, but the sea is still at its warmest of the whole year, around 24 degrees, because the water spent all summer heating up. Early September swimming is genuinely warmer than June.

Once the school holidays end in the first week, families disappear and the crowds thin noticeably. Everything is still open, the wind stays steady enough for windsurfing into mid-month, and room rates start dropping in the second half of the month. It is the best all-rounder of the year.

The local marker of the change is the light and the evenings. By late September there is a cool edge after sunset, the fierce midday glare softens, and you can walk into the same restaurant that turned you away in August. If we had to book a stranger a week sight unseen, it would be the first two weeks of September.

October: the season winds down

October is quiet, mild and, for sightseeing, lovely. Highs sit around 22 degrees, the sea stays swimmable in the first half of the month at about 21, and the first proper rains return toward the end. This is the last of the shoulder pricing before winter.

The catch is that closures begin. Through October you watch the shutters go up week by week, and by late in the month a good share of Kemalpasa Caddesi is shut and daytime can feel sleepy. Early October still has enough open to feel like a real trip; late October is for people who actively want the town half empty. Windsurfing is tailing off and the water is cool enough to want a wetsuit.

Winter (November to March): what is open

We will be blunt, because nobody else is: from November to March, most boutique hotels and many restaurants either close entirely or open only at weekends. Days are cool (highs 13 to 17), December is the wettest month, February is the windiest, and the sea sits at 15 to 16 degrees, which is not swimming weather.

What stays open is a handful of bakeries and cafes, a few reliable restaurants, and the Saturday market, which never stops because it serves the people who actually live here. The dolmus to Ilica runs less often. Rates are at rock bottom, and the cobbled streets are entirely yours.

Alacati in winter suits a specific traveler: someone who wants a quiet off season weekend, photographers after empty streets, or anyone who finds the summer town too much. It does not suit beach, windsurf or nightlife trips. If you do come, book one of the few places to stay that stays open year round rather than assuming your first choice will be trading.

Best time for your kind of trip

The best month depends on why you are coming, so here is the quick sort:

• Windsurfers: July and August for the strongest, most reliable meltemi and the warmest water. June and September for lighter, friendlier wind and far fewer people, which most learners prefer. See our windsurfing guide.
• Beach and swimming: mid-July to late September, when the sea holds at 24 to 25 degrees. Early October still works for a quick dip.
• Sightseeing, food and photos: late May, June, September and early October. Comfortable to walk all day, everything open, and the light is softer than in high summer.
• Lowest prices with the town still alive: June and the second half of September.
• Rock bottom prices, empty town: November to March, as long as you accept the closures.

For most people, the answer is simple: aim for June or September, treat August as a compromise, and think twice about winter unless quiet is the whole point. For everything else about planning a trip here, start with our full Alacati guide.