Holiday rentals and lettings in Greece

• Whole islands to choose from: Self-catering studios, apartments and villas sit across Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, the Ionian islands and the mainland, so you can match the setting to your trip.
• Regions with distinct characters: Santorini for caldera views, Crete for long family stays, Corfu and Zakynthos for greenery and beaches, Athens for ancient sights.
• Guests rate the small places highest: Family-run studios and villas on Kalymnos, Crete and Ithaca hold near-perfect scores for warm hosts, sea views and spotless rooms.
• May, June and September shine: High summer is hot and busy, the shoulder months bring warm seas with thinner crowds, and winter suits city and mountain breaks.
• More than beaches: The Acropolis, the Samaria Gorge, the monasteries of Meteora and island-hopping by ferry fill a fortnight easily.

Greece covers a mainland and thousands of islands, and its self-catering stock is just as varied. Whitewashed studios sit above harbours, spacious villas spread across olive terraces, town-centre holiday apartments put you a walk from the tavernas, and seafront houses open straight onto the sand. Most are small, family-run and priced in euros. A few features make the difference in a Greek summer:

• A private pool or a shaded courtyard for the hottest afternoons
• Air conditioning in every bedroom, not only the living room
• A terrace or balcony with a sea view for long evening meals
• Off-street parking if you plan to hire a car for the mountain roads
• Luxury touches such as a hot tub, a chef's kitchen or a private jetty

Book early for July and August — the best-placed properties on the smaller islands go fast!

What are the best areas to stay in Greece?

It depends on the holiday you want: Crete suits first-timers and families because it packs beaches, mountains and ancient sites into one island. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Greek hosts collect some of the warmest reviews on Holidu, and the pattern is consistent: guests praise the welcome, the cleanliness and the sea views far more often than the fittings. Small studios and family houses regularly hold ratings of 9.5+ over dozens of stays, and the comments usually mention a host who met the ferry, left home-made preserves or pointed out the taverna the locals actually use.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Next to the wave - 10.0+: A studio for three on Kalymnos in the Dodecanese, praised for the waterside setting and the easy walk to the harbour tavernas.
2. Erofili Rooms - 10.0+: A balcony-and-garden stay in Agia Galini on the south coast of Crete, singled out for the generous breakfasts and the sea views.
3. Levantes Houses - 10.0+: A family apartment in Vathy on Ithaca in the Ionian islands, with a garden, a balcony and a five-minute stroll to the waterfront.

Greece sits at the southern tip of the Balkans, wrapped by the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean seas, with a mountainous mainland and around 6,000 islands.

✈️What is the best way to get to Greece?

For UK travellers, flying is almost always the quickest option. Here are the most common ways to get to the country:

• Direct flights from the UK: Athens is served year-round from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Bristol, and Thessaloniki has regular direct services too. From spring to autumn the island airports open up: Heraklion and Chania on Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Mykonos and Santorini all take direct UK flights, so you can often land within an hour of your holiday letting.
• Domestic flights and ferries: If your island has no direct service, connect through Athens. Domestic flights from Athens reach most island airports in under an hour. Otherwise, ferries leave Piraeus and Rafina for the Cyclades, the Dodecanese and Crete, while Ionian islands are reached from Patras, Kyllini and Igoumenitsa on the west coast. Fast catamarans cost more than conventional ferries but roughly halve the crossing time.

🥗Where to eat in Greece?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Peskesi is the best rated restaurant in Greece. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends the To Psaraki in Greece: perched above the marina at Vlychada on Santorini, it serves the day's catch with a view of the fishing boats and takes bookings weeks ahead in August.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

There is no bad season, only different ones. May, June and September are the sweet spot: the sea is warm, the light is soft and the islands are busy without being overwhelmed. July and August bring the heat, the meltemi wind and the highest prices, while October to April suits Athens, the Peloponnese and the mountains.

Spring and early summer (April to June)

• Best for: Walkers, culture trips and couples who want beaches without the queues.
• Weather: Warm and mostly dry, climbing from the high teens in April to the high twenties by June.
• Atmosphere: Wildflowers on the hillsides, tavernas reopening and ferries filling up gradually.

High summer (July and August)

• Best for: Families tied to the school holidays and anyone chasing guaranteed beach weather.
• Weather: Hot and reliably sunny, often above 33°C, cooled on the Aegean islands by the meltemi.
• Atmosphere: Festivals, late dinners and full ferries; book accommodation and crossings well in advance.

Autumn and winter (October to March)

• Best for: City breaks, ancient sites and skiing on Parnassos or in the Pindus mountains.
• Weather: Mild and changeable, with sunny spells in Athens and Crete and rain further north.
• Atmosphere: Quiet and local, with lower prices and some island businesses closed for the season.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Greece local expert, Erofili of Erofili Rooms recommends coming to visit the south coast of Crete beyond Agia Galini. Follow the coast road east towards Preveli, where a palm-lined gorge meets the sea, then double back for the beaches at Triopetra and Agios Pavlos, which stay quiet even in August. Go early, take water, and eat late in the village. You can read more about local tips on Erofili's page.

1. Climb the Acropolis in Athens
2. Island-hop across the Cyclades
3. Walk the Samaria Gorge on Crete
4. Stand among the monasteries of Meteora
5. Swim off the Ionian coast

1. Climb the Acropolis in Athens

   Start early, before the heat and the coaches arrive. The path winds up past the Theatre of Dionysus to the Propylaea, then opens onto the Parthenon and the Erechtheion with its caryatids. Below, the whole city spreads out to the sea at Piraeus. Finish at the Acropolis Museum, where the sculptures are displayed at the same orientation as the temple itself, then walk down into Plaka or Monastiraki for lunch among the market stalls.

2. Island-hop across the Cyclades

   Ferries from Piraeus and Rafina turn the Aegean into a network you can improvise across. Pair the caldera villages of Santorini with the beaches and mountain villages of Naxos, the old harbour of Paros or the windmills of Mykonos. Crossings take between one and five hours depending on the boat, and deck seats are cheap. Book vehicle spaces in advance in August, and allow a spare day at the end in case wind cancels a sailing.

3. Walk the Samaria Gorge on Crete

   One of Europe's longest gorges cuts 16 kilometres down through the White Mountains to the Libyan Sea. The trail starts at Xyloskalo, drops through pine forest and squeezes through the Iron Gates, where the walls narrow to a few metres. It takes most walkers five to seven hours, ending at Agia Roumeli, from where a boat carries you to Sougia or Chora Sfakion. Take proper shoes and plenty of water; the route opens from May to October.

4. Stand among the monasteries of Meteora

   In central Thessaly, monasteries sit on top of sheer sandstone pillars, built when the only way up was a rope ladder. Six are still active and open to visitors, with Great Meteoron the largest and Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas the most atmospheric. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage listing and reachable by train from Athens or Thessaloniki to Kalambaka. Go at sunset, when the rock towers turn amber and the coach parties have left.

5. Swim off the Ionian coast

   The western islands are greener and their water is startlingly clear. On Zakynthos, Navagio Beach sits in a cove reached only by boat, while the south coast is a nesting ground for loggerhead turtles. Corfu adds Venetian harbours and quiet bays around Paleokastritsa, and Kefalonia has Myrtos Beach below its white cliffs. Hire a small boat for a day, take a picnic and stop wherever the water looks right.