The 30 best holiday villas in Greece
More than 200 inhabited islands and the longest coastline in the Mediterranean – when it comes to spectacular settings, Greece is hard to beat. There’s no shortage of alluring accommodation either. From traditional stone houses with whitewashed walls and tiny, vine-covered courtyards, to spectacular contemporary villas with landscaped grounds and infinity pools, Greece has it all.
The difficulty lies in deciding exactly which spot to choose for a holiday.
The upside of so much choice is that the right retreat will be waiting for you somewhere, it’s just a question of finding it. To help you track it down, here’s a collection of 30 fabulous addresses offering something to suit everybody. You’ll find a romantic fisherman’s cottage for two in Alonissos and a sprawling estate with staff in the Peloponnese. A glamorous beach house in Paxos and a cliffside retreat in Mykonos. Still undecided? Then how about a quirky windmill in Santorini or a simple bolt-hole in Kefalonia.
From the affordable to the splash-out, hideaways to the high-octane, read on to discover your perfect Greek villa for this summer and beyond.
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Best budget-friendly villas
1. Villa Anna Maria
Kefalonia
Freelance Villas (01789 297705; freelancevillas.com) offers Villa Anna Maria, sleeping seven, a modern, two-storey in a spectacular coastal location near the village of Spartia on the island’s south coast, with a path to a small, rocky promontory equipped with sunbeds and swimming ladder. From £269 per night.
2. Villa Cossora Ena
Zakynthos
Solmar Villa Holidays (0808 134 6081; solmarvillas.com) offers Villa Cossoro Ena, sleeping six, in Vasilikos on the island’s east coast. Stone-built, with large windows filling rooms with plenty of natural light, there’s a choice of shady terraces and balconies with panoramic sea views across the wooded hillside. From £532 per person, including flights.
Plan the perfect holiday with our travel guide to Zakynthos.
3. Beyond the Dream
Lefkada
Jet2 Holidays (0800 408 5593; jet2holidays.com) offers Beyond the Dream, sleeping four, a contemporary villa built into the hillside with views over Lefkada Town and the sea beyond. In a cluster of three properties, big French windows open onto a sun terrace and infinity pool. From £675 per person, including flights and car hire.
4. Villa Rania
Skopelos
Ionian Island Holidays (020 8459 0777; ionianislandholidays.com) offers Villa Rania, sleeping six, a 25-minute walk to the island’s capital, Skopelos Town and beaches. Furnished in homely, local style, it offers an open-plan living area, flagstone floors and outdoor dining by the pool terrace. From £1,009 per person, including flights and car hire.
5. Velika
Messinia
Vintage Travel (01954261431; vintagetravel.co.uk) offers Velika, sleeping four, among a small cluster of identical villas overlooking the Messinian Riviera in the southern Peloponnese, which are newly introduced for 2024. All are low-lying, one-storey houses with views of the sea from shaded terraces and a private infinity-edged pool. From £1,314.
Best for families
6. The Folegandros Hideaways, Folegandros
Folegandros
Travel website i-escape (0117 946 7072; i-escape.com) offers a beautiful hideaway, sleeping four, one of a pair of restored cottages in the small hamlet of Ano Meria on this tiny Cycladic island linked by ferry to Santorini. Thick stone walls, oak beams, rustic furnishing and a compact, galley kitchen with a laid-back, bohemian vibe. From £229 per night.
7. Pistachio Windmill
Santorini
Plum Guide (020 4579 9309; plumguide.com) offers Pistachio Windmill, sleeping five, a circular retreat built in the style of the island’s traditional windmills, on the north-east coast. With white walls and pistachio-green woodwork, cheerful fabrics and pastel wall stencils for a fresh, nautical feel. From £805 per night.
8. Hestia
Rhodes
CV Villas (020 3993 8606; cvvillas.com) offers Hestia, sleeping four, a typical Rhodian villa with whitewashed walls in the western seaside village of Lindos. Homely interiors have wooden floors and wicker chairs, and a small courtyard, shaded by a grapevine, houses a hot tub and choice of sitting spaces. From £3,164.
Plan the perfect holiday with our travel guide to Rhodes.
9. Avlaki Villa
Zakynthos
The Peligoni Club (0208 740 3001; peligoni.com) offers Avlaki Villa, sleeping six, on the island’s south-east coast. New for 2024, it has minimalist interiors and sea views from every room. The Young Peligoni Club, offering watersports, a créche and supervised activities for all ages, lies within a five-minute walk. From £2,750.
10. Turquoise Villas
Paros
F&P Travel (01306 264005; fandptravel.com) offers Turquoise Villas, sleeping four, a collection of six identical, stylish and minimally furnished stone-built properties on the island’s north-eastern coast near Naousa. Unadorned whitewashed walls create cool interiors with wicker dining chairs, uncluttered surfaces and polished floors. From £3,480.
11. Villa Barefoot
Kos
Oliver’s Travels (0333 888 0205; oliverstravels.com) offers Villa Barefoot, sleeping four, near Tigaki beach in the north of this Dodecanese island. Flat-roofed and whitewashed, this modern single-storey retreat offers indoor-outdoor living spaces with large French windows opening onto a small pool area and grassy grounds. From £5,111.
12. Piedra
Kea
The Thinking Traveller (0208 131 1533; thethinkingtraveller.com) offers Piedra, sleeping six, on a small, east coast promontory near Koundouros Bay. Punctuated by a circular, cone-topped bedroom, the otherwise flat-roofed interiors of this stylish, contemporary retreat have big, fold-back windows to maximise sea views and breezes. From £5,518.
13. Maison Bonbon
Patmos
Villa Collective (0203 950 1588; villacollective.com) offers Maison Bonbon, sleeping four plus two children, in the island’s ancient capital, Hora, in the northern Dodecanese. With original stone walls, beams and arches, it has plenty of medieval character, plus a high vantage point for spectacular sea views from an outdoor sitting area. From £8,480.
Best beach villas
14. Salvia Suites
Crete
Pure Crete (01444 880404; purecrete.com) offers Salvia Suites, sleeping two or four, a collection of four small, self-contained living spaces for an affordable stay in the south of the island, near Frangokastello, with direct access to sandy Lakka beach. Each has a private terrace and pool area. From £1,335.
Plan the perfect holiday with our travel guide to Crete.
15. Seashore House
Corfu
Trailfinders (020 7084 6500; trailfinders.com) offers Seashore House, sleeping eight, on the beachfront in the north-eastern resort of Kassiopi, with access to the pebble beach and a private jetty. There are two guest houses, each sleeping two, in the grounds. From £1,699 per person, including flights.
Plan the perfect holiday with our travel guide to Corfu.
16. Villa Akonita
Meganisi
Ionian Villas (01243 820928; ionian-villas.co.uk) offers Villa Akonita, sleeping six, lying above the pebble beaches on Meganisi’s north shore, with views of mountainous Lefkas across the sea. This square two-storey house has a pool surrounded by trees and a small chapel in its grounds. From £1,910.
17. Villa Gaia
Halkidiki
Le Collectionist (020 7131 0270; lecollectionist.com) offers Villa Gaia, sleeping 10, near a sandy beach and overlooking the Aegean on Halkidiki’s Sithonia peninsula in northern mainland Greece. Dramatically situated on a rocky buff, this modern, light-filled building has a curved pool, sauna, gym and plenty of relaxed sitting areas. From £18,060.
18. Paxos Beach House
Paxos
Scott Williams (01749 8127721; scottwilliams.co.uk) offers Paxos Beach House, sleeping 10, a new west coast addition for 2024, on the pebble beach of Kipiadi, a 160ft walk from the villa’s garden. Glamorous interiors are decorated with striking modern pictures and ceramics, and the price includes an in-house chef. From £28,836.
Best luxury villas
19. Villa Syros GK
Syros
Five Star Greece (020 8422 4885; fivestargreece.com) offers stays at Villa Syros GK, sleeping 10, near the tavernas and bakery in the small port of Finikas. The main house comes with guest suites, two on a lower level, and there’s additional staff accommodation if required. It can be rented with an adjacent house that sleeps eight. From £8,646.
20. Villa Paralia
Porto Heli
The Luxury Travel Book (0207 586 5342; theluxurytravelbook.com) offers Villa Paralia, sleeping 14, on the Argolis peninsula, in the north-east Peloponnese, with light and spacious interiors boasting floor-to-ceiling windows, two independent guesthouses sleeping two, a tennis court and direct access to a stretch of pebble beach. From £16,222.
21. Villa Nemo
Antiparos
Unique Properties and Events (020 7788 7815; uniquepropertiesandevents.com) offers Villa Nemo, sleeping 12, an architecturally-striking, staffed house built of local stone on the west coast of the island. A roof-top seating area strewn with cushions provides panoramic views. Interiors are equally stylish in neutral colours. From £29,500.
Best villas for couples
22. Fisherman’s Cottage
Alonissos
GIC The Villa Collection (020 8232 9780; gicthevillacollection.com) offers Fisherman’s Cottage, sleeping two, by the sea on the island’s east coast, with views to the shores of Peristera. Its simple interior has a nautical twist (blue-striped fabrics, lamps made of twisted rope), with a small galley kitchen. From £1,015 per person, including flights and car hire.
23. Arethusa Cottage
Ithaca
Simpson Travel (020 8003 6557; simpsontravel.com) offers Arethusa Cottage, sleeping two, in a wooded valley near the west coast capital, Vathy. With a private pool, open-plan living and a mezzanine bedroom, it can be booked on its own or together with the neighbouring Amalthea Cottage, also sleeping two. From £1,026 per person, including flights and car hire.
24. Caldera I
Nisyros
Hipaway Villas (0030 6932906377; hipawayvillas.com) offers Caldera I and II, each sleeping two, in a sensitively restored two-storey retreat full of original features on this tiny Dodecanese island. Built of local volcanic rock, these can be rented separately or together, as each has a private entrance and courtyard with shady sitting area. From £884.
25. Esmeralda
Kefalonia
Scott Williams (01749 8127721; scottwilliams.co.uk) offers Esmeralda, sleeping two, part of a collection of five villas of varying sizes that can be taken as a group (to sleep up to 18) or individually. Near Fiskardo, this studio-style house has open-plan living with a four-poster bed and private pool area. From £1,602.
Best villas for large groups
26. Villa Nectar
Serifos
Welcome Beyond (0049 163 737250; welcomebeyond.com) offers Villa Nectar, sleeping eight, near Serifos Port in the south of the island. On two levels, and with sweeping sea views, it has uncluttered interiors and a wrap-around terrace with a variety of sitting areas. Nearby beaches include Kalo Ampeli and Ganema. From £3,359.
27. Villa Pathos
Mykonos
Abercrombie & Kent (0845 618 2205; akvillas.com) offers Villa Pathos, sleeping eight plus two children, near Mykonos Town on the island’s south coast. The soft, curvy lines of its lagoon-shaped pool are mirrored in its stone walls and interior plasterwork, with comfy scatter cushions throughout. A standalone pool house sleeps four. From £8,262.
Plan the perfect holiday with our travel guide to Mykonos.
28. Villa Mirkella
Hydra
The Thinking Traveller (020 8131 1533; thethinkingtraveller.com) offers Mirkella, sleeping 12, on the island’s north coast, three miles west of Hydra Port (accessed by sea taxi), this secluded, century-old villa has superb views from its spacious sun terrace. Rooms are furnished in traditional style, with an onsite owner-manager to provide meals. From £9,706.
29. Lemon Tree House
Corfu
Red Savannah (01242 787800, redsavannah.com) offers Lemon Tree House, sleeping eight, a modern, hillside villa with long views over cultivated gardens to Kassiopi village on the island’s north-west coast. It houses an eclectic modern art collection and offers airy, indoor-outdoor living with large pull-back windows. From £14,000.
30. Villa Nomios
Kea
SJ Villas (020 7351 3596; sjvillas.co.uk) offers Villa Nomios, sleeping eight plus four children, on the island’s north coast. Newly built, with a tennis court, gym and table tennis, it has a beach-style pool and plenty of natural materials, including exposed stone walls and wooden furniture. The price includes a chef. From £14,156.
Unless stated otherwise, rates quoted are the starting price for a week’s self-catering for the entire property based on full occupancy, excluding flights and transfers and are subject to availability.