VillasMykonos
Renting a Villa in Mykonos: Pick the Side Before You Pick the House
A villa is not a bigger hotel room. Different decisions, different failure modes, and on Mykonos the wind and the access road matter more than the photographs.
Luxury Villas for Rent in Greece
Twelve islands and coasts, the areas worth renting in on each, and the practical rules nobody tells you until the booking is made.
Every destination we cover
12 guides
VillasParos
Paros Villas: How Far You Are Willing to Drive
Paros is flatter, wider and less vertical than its neighbours, so the real question is not which view you want but how long you are prepared to sit in a car to reach dinner.
VillasSantorini
Santorini Barely Rents Villas. Here Is Where It Actually Does
The island sells suites, not houses. Understanding why changes where you look - and usually saves you a great deal of money.
VillasCrete
Crete Villas: You Are Choosing a Third of the Island, Not a House
On most Greek islands the wrong area costs you a drive to dinner. On Crete it can cost you two and a half hours from the airport before the holiday starts.
VillasCorfu
Corfu Villas: Why Everyone Wants the Same Twenty Kilometres
Corfu is the greenest Greek island and the only one with a genuine estate tradition. It is also the one where a twenty-kilometre drive can take an hour.
VillasLefkada
Lefkada Villas: The Cliff Side or the Channel Side
One island, two entirely different holidays, separated by a mountain ridge and about forty minutes of driving.
VillasZakynthos
Zakynthos Villas: How Far From Laganas Is Far Enough
The island's reputation comes from about two kilometres of it. The rest is farmland, cliffs and a protected bay where building stopped decades ago.
VillasNaxos
Naxos Villas: How Far Down the Beach Strip to Go
One long west-facing beach, a working town at the top of it, and a mountain interior almost nobody rents in. Choosing between them is simpler than it looks.
VillasKefalonia
Kefalonia Villas: The North Is Two Hours From the Airport
A mountain in the middle, four coasts that barely talk to each other, and one village the 1953 earthquake left standing.
VillasPorto Heli
Porto Heli Villas: Driving Distance, and the Island With No Cars
No ferry, no flight, no island logistics - and a yacht harbour at the end of the motorway. This is where Athens keeps its second house.
VillasHalkidiki
Halkidiki Villas: Three Legs, and Only Two You Can Stay On
The only part of mainland Greece that competes with the islands on water, and the only one you can reach from a city in an hour and a half.
VillasAthens Riviera
Athens Riviera Villas: A City Coast, Not an Island
Organised beaches, a tram, year-round restaurants and a marina - this coast is run as a city, and renting here only makes sense if that is what you want.
How renting a villa in Greece actually works
Renting a house here is not a bigger hotel room, and the things that go wrong are the same things every time: the week is fixed to a changeover day you did not choose, the access road is steeper than the photographs suggest, the pool loses the sun earlier than you expected, and the staff you assumed were included are not.
Changeover days decide your dates
Through July and August most of the Greek villa market runs Saturday to Saturday. If your flights are midweek you will either pay for nights you do not use or choose from a much shorter list. Fix the Saturday before you fall in love with a house. Outside peak season the islands loosen up, and the mainland - Halkidiki, the Argolid - runs on weekends rather than weeks all year.
The five questions worth asking in writing
Which way the pool faces and when it loses the sun; what the access road is made of and how steep; exactly what staff is included; how the water is supplied and how often; and the real walking time to the nearest beach and taverna. Owners answer these readily. The answers, in writing, are what you have if the week does not match the listing.
Book earlier than feels necessary
August stock on the popular islands is taken between November and February. By April you are choosing from what is left. Late May, June and September are better weather than their reputation, materially cheaper, and still open.