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Villas in Greece: 17 Real Villas by Island

Villas

Villas in Greece: 17 Real Villas by Island

By Triplarks Editorial Checked

Quick picks not a ranking · only villas in this guide

Choose the island first. Crete or Corfu for families, Santorini for views.

  1. Illustration of a villa in Corfu
    Illustration · see real photos on Booking.com

    Best for families

    Villa Bella Donna Corfu

    Corfu · 4 bedrooms · infinity pool

    Four bedrooms sleeping eight, with a garden and sea views, near Corfu Town.

    Check availability on Booking.com
  2. Illustration of a villa in Crete (Chania & Rethymno)
    Illustration · see real photos on Booking.com

    Best for couples

    Casa Vitae Villas

    Rethymno, Crete · private pool

    A private pool inside an old stone building, with Rethymno old town on the doorstep.

    Check availability on Booking.com
  3. Illustration of a villa in Santorini
    Illustration · see real photos on Booking.com

    Best sea view

    White Pearl Villas

    Oia, Santorini · caldera view

    Cave villas on the cliff at Oia, looking straight out over the caldera.

    Check availability on Booking.com
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices are shown live on Booking.com and Agoda.
On this page
  1. Seven villa areas
  2. Crete: Chania and Rethymno, the biggest choice
  3. See live prices for your dates
  4. Santorini: cave villas on the caldera
  5. Mykonos: luxury villas above the beaches
  6. Paros & Naxos: beaches and better value
  7. Rhodes: the quiet south-east coast
  8. Corfu: green hills and large family villas
  9. Peloponnese: the mainland, by car
  10. Villa or hotel in Greece?
  11. Before you book a villa in Greece
  12. When to book a villa in Greece
  13. More on Greece
  14. Villas in Greece: FAQ

A Greek villa holiday works best when the island fits the trip. Greece has thousands of villas, but a cliff-side cave house on Santorini and a four-bedroom family home in a Corfu olive grove are completely different holidays, and getting between islands takes a ferry or a flight. This guide sorts villas by area first, so you choose the island before you choose the pool. For each of the seven areas below you will find what it suits, how you get around, and two or three real villas listed on Booking.com, with the bedrooms, guest numbers and pool details as the listing gives them. Where a listing does not state something, we leave it out rather than guess. We do not rank the villas and we do not quote prices, which change by the day; the map lets you see live prices for your own dates. If you are still planning the route between Athens and the islands, start with the Greece itinerary.

Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. We do not rank hotels, and any prices on the map come live from the booking sites.

Step 1 · Pick the area

Seven villa areas

Schematic map of Greece with seven villa areas1234567Athens
Schematic · not to scale
  1. 1Crete (Chania & Rethymno)

    Families and long stays · car needed · Chania airport

    See 3 villas ↓Villas in Crete →
  2. 2Santorini

    Couples and views · no car needed on the rim · small island

    See 2 villas ↓Villas in Santorini →
  3. 3Mykonos

    Groups and luxury · car or quad helps · busy in July and August

    See 2 villas ↓Villas in Mykonos →
  4. 4Paros & Naxos

    Beaches and value · car helps · ferries between the two

    See 3 villas ↓Villas in Paros →
  5. 5Rhodes

    Long season and beaches · car needed · about 1 hr from the airport

    See 2 villas ↓Villas in Rhodes →
  6. 6Corfu

    Families and big groups · car needed · airport close to town

    See 3 villas ↓Villas in Corfu →
  7. 7Peloponnese

    Road trips and quiet · car needed · about 2 hrs from Athens to Nafplio

    See 2 villas ↓Villas in the Peloponnese →
Illustration of Crete (Chania & Rethymno)
Illustration · Crete (Chania & Rethymno)

Area 1 of 7

Crete: Chania and Rethymno, the biggest choice

Good for families and long staysCar neededFly to Chania or Heraklion

Crete has more villas than any other Greek island, and the west of the island, between Chania and Rethymno, is where most of them are. It is big enough to feel like a country of its own: two Venetian harbour towns, long sandy beaches on the north coast, gorges and mountain villages inland. Villas here are usually modern stone or rendered houses on a hillside above the sea, often in small groups of two to six that share a host but each have their own garden. The Apokoronas area east of Chania is popular with families who come back every year, because the villages are lived in all year round and the beaches at Kalyves and Almyrida are shallow. The season is long, with warm sea from June to October, and there are direct flights to Chania from much of Europe in summer. You will want a car: buses link the towns, but not the hillside lanes where the villas are. For the towns and beaches, our Crete where-to-stay guide and the Crete itinerary cover the rest of the island. If you would rather stay in a resort, see the best resorts in Crete, and for more villa choices read our villas in Crete guide.

Live prices

See live prices for your dates

Prices appear on the pins once dates are set. We pre-fill a week about a month ahead; change the dates on the map to see yours.

Check Cyclades villas on Booking.comCompare on Agoda
Illustration of Santorini
Illustration · Santorini

Area 2 of 7

Santorini: cave villas on the caldera

Good for couples and viewsCar optionalFlights and ferries from Athens

A Santorini villa is not a big house with a garden. It is usually a cave house, a home dug into the soft volcanic rock of the caldera rim, with whitewashed walls, a vaulted ceiling and a terrace hanging over the sea. Oia, Imerovigli and Firostefani have the famous views; Fira is the busiest town and the most practical base for buses and restaurants. Pools are small: a plunge pool or a hot tub on the terrace is normal, and a full private pool is a real luxury on the cliff. Inland villages such as Pyrgos and Megalochori are quieter and cheaper, with more space, but you trade the caldera for vineyard views. Expect steps, lots of them, and no car access to most cliff-side houses; that makes the rim hard work for young children or anyone with limited mobility. If the view is the point of the trip, this is the island. For how long to stay and which village suits you, see where to stay in Santorini and how many days in Santorini. Our Santorini villas guide goes deeper on villas village by village, the best hotels in Santorini cover the hotel side, and things to do in Santorini fills the days.

Illustration of Mykonos
Illustration · Mykonos

Area 3 of 7

Mykonos: luxury villas above the beaches

Good for groups and luxuryCar or quad helpsBusy July and August

Mykonos is the island most associated with luxury villas in Greece, and it has the widest choice of large houses with private pools. The island is small and dry, with cube-shaped white houses scattered over brown hills, and most villas sit on a slope above one of the south-coast beaches such as Ornos, Agios Ioannis, Psarou or Elia. Sunset views face west, towards Agios Ioannis and Delos; the north coast around Ftelia and Panormos is windier and quieter. Mykonos Town has the restaurants and the nightlife, and it is a short drive from almost anywhere. This is the most expensive island in this guide in high summer, and the busiest, so book the big villas early. Many villas offer extras such as a chef or transfers, but each one is a separate cost: read the listing. Our Mykonos where-to-stay guide explains the beach areas in more detail, and our Mykonos villas guide lists more houses by area.

Illustration of Paros & Naxos
Illustration · Paros & Naxos

Area 4 of 7

Paros & Naxos: beaches and better value

Good for beaches and valueCar helpsShort ferry between them

Paros and Naxos sit next to each other in the middle of the Cyclades, a short ferry ride apart, and they are the best all-round choice for a first Greek island villa. You get the same white villages and blue water as Mykonos and Santorini, with more space, more sand and calmer prices. Paros is the smaller and livelier of the two: Naoussa has a pretty harbour full of tavernas, and the west coast around Kampos faces the sunset. Naxos is bigger and greener, with mountain villages inland and the long, shallow beaches of Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna and Plaka on the west coast, which are some of the best in Greece for small children. Villas on both islands tend to be modern Cycladic houses, often in small groups with a shared or private pool. Both islands can be windy in July and August, when the meltemi blows from the north. For towns and beaches on Naxos, see where to stay in Naxos.

Illustration of Rhodes
Illustration · Rhodes

Area 5 of 7

Rhodes: the quiet south-east coast

Good for a long beach seasonCar neededAbout 1 hr from the airport

Rhodes is a large island in the Dodecanese, close to the Turkish coast, with a medieval walled old town in the north and long beaches down the east coast. For a villa, look south of Lindos, around Pefkos, Lardos, Kiotari and Gennadi. This is the quieter end of the island: wide sand and shingle beaches, small villages, and Lindos, with its acropolis above a white village, within a short drive for dinner. Villas here are often newer houses with private pools, built in small groups on the edge of a village or close to the beach. Rhodes has one of the longest swimming seasons in Greece, and the sea is usually still warm in October. The airport is in the north, so allow about an hour’s drive to the south-east coast, and hire a car; buses run along the main road but not to most villas. Our Rhodes where-to-stay guide covers the old town and the resorts.

Illustration of Corfu
Illustration · Corfu

Area 6 of 7

Corfu: green hills and large family villas

Good for families and big groupsCar neededAirport near Corfu Town

Corfu, off the north-west coast of the mainland in the Ionian Sea, looks nothing like the Cyclades. It is green, covered in olive and cypress trees, and its main town is Venetian and British in style, with arcades, a cricket ground and two fortresses. That greenery, plus a long tradition of British and Italian families renting houses here, means Corfu has some of the largest family villas in Greece, often with four or more bedrooms and a pool set in an olive grove. The north-east coast, facing Albania, is the classic villa coast; the hills around Corfu Town suit you if you want the town and the airport close. Summers are a little less windy than in the Aegean, and the island stays green into autumn. Roads are narrow and winding, so allow more time than the map suggests, and a car is essential.

Illustration of Peloponnese
Illustration · Peloponnese

Area 7 of 7

Peloponnese: the mainland, by car

Good for road trips and quietCar neededAbout 2 hrs from Athens

The Peloponnese is the large peninsula south-west of Athens, and it is the choice if you would rather drive than take ferries. Nafplio, the first capital of modern Greece, is a handsome harbour town about two hours from Athens, with the sandy beaches of Tolo and Asini nearby and the ancient sites of Mycenae and Epidaurus within an easy day out. Further south, the Mani is wilder: grey stone tower houses, olive terraces and pebble coves below the Taygetos mountains, with Kardamyli and Stoupa the main villages. Kalamata airport is the nearest for the Mani. Villas here are fewer and simpler than on the islands, often stone houses with a pool built by local families, and prices are usually lower. It suits people who like to explore, because the best of the region is spread out. Combine it with a few nights in the capital using our Athens where-to-stay guide.

Villa or hotel in Greece?

A villa is not always the better choice on a Greek island. It is a different kind of holiday: one base, your own kitchen and pool, and a car to reach the beaches and tavernas. A hotel suits island-hopping, when you move every two or three nights and ferries set the timetable. Here is the honest split.

A villa makes sense if

  • You stay a week or more on one island, which is how many villas prefer to be booked
  • You are a family or a group sharing the cost, the kitchen and the pool
  • You want space and privacy rather than a busy hotel pool
  • You are happy to drive to the beach, the shops and dinner

A hotel makes more sense if

  • You are island-hopping and moving every few nights
  • You do not want to drive, or to drive steep island roads at night
  • You want breakfast, daily cleaning and a reception to ask
  • You are a couple on a short break, when a whole house is more than you need
Greece itinerary: plan the route first →

There is a middle way too. Many places in this guide are small villa complexes: a handful of separate houses that share a host, a garden and sometimes a pool. You get your own front door and kitchen with someone on hand when the air conditioning stops. That is why the cards say whether the pool is private, shared or simply on site. If you are combining a villa week with a city stay, two or three nights in Athens at the start or end works well; how many days in Athens helps you decide how long.

Before you book a villa in Greece

Villa listings vary far more than hotel rooms, and the details that spoil a holiday are usually in the small print. Check these eight things on the listing itself, because each owner sets their own terms.

  1. Minimum stayMany villas only take bookings of a set number of nights, often a week in July and August.
  2. Pool: private or shared“Pool on site” can mean a pool shared with other houses. Look for the words “private pool” in the room name.
  3. Pool heatingIsland pools can be cool in April, May and late October. Check whether heating is offered and whether it costs extra.
  4. Steps and accessCliff-side houses on Santorini and hillside villas everywhere can mean many steps and a steep drive. Check if you have young children or limited mobility.
  5. WindThe meltemi blows across the Aegean in July and August. A north-facing terrace on Mykonos, Paros or Naxos can be very breezy.
  6. Do you need a car?Check the distance to the nearest beach, shop and taverna, and whether the host recommends a car or a quad.
  7. Ferry and flight timesCheck how you reach the island and what time the last ferry or flight arrives, so your check-in time works.
  8. Deposit, cleaning and taxCheck the security deposit, any cleaning fee and the local accommodation tax paid on arrival.

When to book a villa in Greece

June and September are the sweet spot: the sea is warm, the islands are open and busy but not packed, and the strong summer winds are less frequent. July and August are the hottest and most expensive weeks, when Greeks are on holiday too, and the best large villas on Mykonos, Corfu and Crete are often booked by the winter before. May and October are lovely for walking and quiet beaches; the sea is cooler in May, and in October Crete and Rhodes are the warmest choices. From November to March many island villas close, and ferries run less often. To check prices for your own dates, use the map above or open any villa on Booking.com; we do not show prices here because they change daily.

Planning on Pinterest?

Save the seven areas for later

This card is the whole guide in one image: the villa islands and what each one suits. Save it now and come back to the villas when your dates are fixed.

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More on Greece

Villas in Greece: FAQ

Which Greek island is best for a villa holiday?

It depends on the trip. Crete and Corfu have the most family villas and the most to do, Santorini is for caldera views, Mykonos for luxury and groups, and Paros and Naxos for beaches at calmer prices. The Peloponnese suits people who would rather drive than take ferries.

Do you need a car for a villa in Greece?

On most islands, yes. Villas are usually on hillsides outside the towns, and buses do not reach them. Santorini cave houses on the caldera rim are the exception, because you walk between the villages, but you will still need taxis or a hire car for the beaches.

Are villas in Greece with a private pool easy to find?

Yes on Crete, Mykonos, Corfu and Rhodes, where many villas have their own pool. On Santorini, cliff-side houses usually have a plunge pool or hot tub instead. In small villa complexes the pool may be shared, so check for the words "private pool" on the listing.

When is the best time for a villa holiday in Greece?

June and September, when the sea is warm and the islands are less crowded than in July and August. Crete and Rhodes stay warm enough for swimming into October.

Are luxury villas in Greece only on Mykonos and Santorini?

No. Mykonos and Santorini have the best-known luxury villas, but Crete, Corfu and Paros also have large villas with private infinity pools and sea views, often with more space for the same budget.

How far ahead should I book a villa in Greece?

For July and August, and for villas that sleep eight or more, book as early as you can, often the winter before. For May, June, September and October a few months ahead usually leaves a good choice.

Keep planning Greece

Written and checked by

Triplarks Editorial

An editorial desk, not an invented persona: research, drafting and fact-checking are done by the same small team. Every number here carries the date it was read.

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