Beachfront villas in Greece

Beachfront means something specific on this page: the listing states a distance to the beach of 100 metres or less. Not "sea view", not "near the beach", but a villa you leave in flip-flops and reach the water before the sun cream dries. Our villas are hand-picked across Greece: Halkidiki and its three peninsulas an hour from Thessaloniki, Crete from Chania to Heraklion, Santorini and Mykonos in the Cyclades, the Ionian islands and the mainland coast. Every listing is one we have visited or vetted, booked directly with the owner and backed by a local concierge.

The beaches behind these villas are the shallow bays of Halkidiki, the west coast of Crete, the caldera of Santorini and the Ionian coves, mostly sand, shallow for a long way out and calm enough for young children. Some villas open straight onto the sand, others have a lane or a quiet coastal road to cross; each listing says which, and whether there is parking, sunbeds and a beach bar within reach.

What to check: whether the beach is sandy or pebbled; whether it is organised with sunbeds or wild; noise from beach bars in July and August if you are light sleepers; and whether the villa has outdoor showers and somewhere to rinse sand off. Beachfront villas in Greece are the first to sell out for the summer weeks, and the last to have availability in the shoulder months, when they are also at their best.

The islands run from May to October; Halkidiki peaks in July and August; Crete and Rhodes stay warm into late October. If you want a particular beach, tell us and we will shortlist the villas that sit on it.