The Best Holiday Apartments to Book on the Greek Island of Santorini

This collection of Santorini holiday apartments is just a 10-minute walk from Perissa Beach and its entourage of sea-view bars and tavernas. Room options include two- and three-bedroom apartments and a collection of maisonettes, studios and one-bedroom apartments with private hot tubs. Whichever you choose, you’ll get access to a shared swimming pool that’s circled by loungers and plump beanbags, and a plunge pool with hydromassage jets.

You get front row seats to the sunset when you book into one of these three holiday apartments in Santorini. The villas spill down the hillside in Thira, serving up wide-angle views of the island’s famous caldera, the Aegean Sea, and the place where the sun sinks into it at dusk. Every apartment comes with its own swimming space. The Noah and Mare villas have infinity pools, while Kivotos comes with one of Santorini’s iconic cave-style pools.

Nefeli Homes offers some of the highest holiday rentals in Santorini. The collection of apartments and suites is located 300m (984ft) above the sea, in the photogenic village of Imerovigli, so the views from the property – and its shared pool in particular – are eye-widening. For the best vistas, book a cave apartment or cave studio with a private outdoor hot tub, so you can look out over the caldera from the warm, frothy water.

The Voreina Gallery Suites are set on the hilltop amongst the cat’s cradle streets of the Medieval village Pyrgos. Each one of these Santorini holiday apartments is different: some come with private pools, others feature hot tubs, and they all have different bespoke artworks on the walls – the owners describe their place as a “habitable gallery”. Breakfast is served to the rooms every morning and the suites are ringed by cafes and restaurants for meals later in the day.

There are five villas and a cave house at this cluster of holiday apartments in Santorini. They sleep between two and seven people and – between them – feature elements like vaulted ceilings, mezzanine bedrooms, antique beds, family heirloom furniture and terraces with caldera and sea views. The setting, meanwhile, is Megalochori – it’s one of the most traditional villages on the island and has a timeline that stretches back to the 17th century.

Located a 10-minute stroll from the town of Thira, Aura Caves offers some of the coolest rooms without views on Santorini. The caves were originally excavated at the close of the 18th century as a refuge from the bubbling volcano but were severely damaged by the earthquake of 1956. A loving restoration in 2016 has resulted in two delightfully curvy apartments – one sleeping four, the other six – cut into the hillside, combining traditional design with four-star mod cons. Each has its own kitchen and stairs leading up to private terraces with pools, jacuzzis and sea views.

Self-catering accommodations at the Four Seasons Mansion are housed in an elegantly refurbished complex of caves and apartments that were part of a 19th-century winery. All come with their own fully equipped kitchens and terraces with sea views, and two (the Senior View and Grand Family apartments) have private outdoor Jacuzzis. The Mansion’s location is another key draw: situated in the tranquil village of Vothonas, away from the busy coastal resorts, it’s only a 10-minute drive to Thira, the island’s capital, and even less to Santorini’s international airport.

Sophia Oia View’s luxury caves are found in the popular tourist town of Oia, on Santorini’s northernmost point. Accommodations range in size from the two-person Cave Rooms to a three-bedroom villa that sleeps nine, but all have private terraces with plunge pools and views of the sea and Santorini’s volcanic landscape. Oia itself is one of the island’s most-visited destinations, sought out for its cinematic sunsets and whitewashed cave dwellings. It’s connected to the capital of Thira by a 13km (8mi) clifftop path (allow three hours to walk it).

Aegean Melody Suites provides romantic self-catering accommodations outside the quiet village of Exomitis, on Santorini’s southern tip. The soothing blues of sky and sea dominate its three suites, all of which have private balconies with fizzing tubs and limitless views. When you’re not enjoying these in-room luxuries, explore the nearby beaches: the small cove of Exomitis is the closest and quietest, but the more spacious and lively black sands of Perissa and Perivolos are only a 10-minute drive up the east coast.

Rimida Villas is situated just outside the touristic centre of Oia, so you’ll get a good night’s sleep but are still only a 10-minute walk from the town’s attractions and amenities. Its sea-view accommodations shun hard edges in favour of flowing Cycladic curves, and all but one have their own outdoor Jacuzzis (there’s still an indoor hot tub in the Cave Villa, though). Other perks of a stay at the Rimida include breakfast brought to your door every morning, boat excursions to the volcano and surrounding islands and on-site massages.

Villa Adriani clings to the cliffs amidst the whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches of Oia, offering some of the best sunset views on Santorini. All its self-catering accommodations are west-facing – guaranteeing premium seats for nature’s early-evening spectacular – and have private terraces overlooking the caldera formed by the volcanic cauldron that’s created these islands over the millennia. Don’t miss the medieval Castle of Oia, a crumbling clifftop fortification located less than a five-minute walk from reception.

It’s all about the water at Thira’s four-star Dana Villas, which offers a selection of pool-orientated caves and apartments overlooking the caldera. Treat yourself to an Infinity Suite, and you’ll have at least a couple of swimming and chilling spaces to yourself, such as a mood-lit indoor plunge pool, an outdoor Jacuzzi with unbroken views and a river pool ready to pour out over the cliffs. After a hard day’s soaking, sample vibrant Greek and Mediterranean dishes at Orkos or sip cocktails around the Lounge Grand Terrace’s crater-shaped pool.

Pasithea offers six self-catering suites in the village of Megalochori, in southwest Santorini. They’re rendered in the colourful Cycladic style, and most have furnished terraces with caldera views, hot tubs and/or indoor Jacuzzis. Megalochori is known for its stellar wineries, two of which – Boutari and Gavalas – are within easy walking distance and offer tours and tastings. The nearest beaches are only accessible by a half-hour hike, but it’s worth it: both Plaka and Thermes offer hot springs and unforgettable views of the surrounding volcanic cliffs.

Oia’s stylish Amaya Villas are clustered around a 200-year-old windmill, one of the only buildings on Santorini to emerge unscathed from both World Wars and the earthquake of 1956. One is in the original building itself, and all seven have wraparound views of the caldera, terraces with open-air Jacuzzis and kitchenettes in which to cook Greek classics, although you won’t have to worry about breakfast, which is brought to you every morning. Spots for incomparable sunset views and the centre of Oia are both minutes away on foot.