Greece
Who each neighbourhood suits, and who it doesn’t, from Where to Stay in Greece 2026: An Island-by-Island Base Guide.
Neighbourhood · 24 places
Spend a night or two in Athens at the start or end of the trip, or skip it and fly straight to an island. It’s worth a night even if the trip is about the islands: the Acropolis at golden hour justifies the detour.
Best for first-timers · culture-first trips · anyone flying in and out of Athens
Neighbourhood · 22 places
Mykonos is the party island, built around its beach clubs: Scorpios on Paraga beach, Nammos on Psarou, Principote at Panormos and Branco on Platys Gialos.
Best for groups whose trip is the scene: beach clubs, long lunches, late nights.
Neighbourhood · 30 places
Santorini is two or three nights of caldera views, not a week of beach holiday. Its villages sit on the rim of the caldera, and its beaches are volcanic, with black and red sand.
Best for couples · photographers · a two- or three-night stop on a longer trip
Neighbourhood · 6 places
Crete is the largest Greek island, and the one most travellers should consider for a real island holiday.
Best for week-long trips · families · anyone who wants one base and a hire car
Neighbourhood · 14 places
Paros lies at the centre of the Cyclades, says GNTO, and Naxos is the largest and most fertile island in the group. Both have the white-and-blue Cycladic look, long sandy beaches, and less hype than Mykonos and Santorini.
Best for travellers who want the Cycladic look with less hype · couples · families on a multi-island trip
Neighbourhood · 7 places
Rhodes (in the Dodecanese) and Corfu (in the Ionian) feel very different from the Cyclades. Rhodes has its Medieval Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the village of Lindos with its acropolis.
Best for families · anyone who wants an old town and a resort on the same island
Neighbourhood · 3 places
The Saronic islands make an easy weekend from Athens, and a good extra-night option if you’d otherwise lose a day flying to a more distant island.
Best for an extra night or two from Athens · anyone who’d rather not lose a day flying