From the moment I saw Lena, Alexis Bledel’s character in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, traipsing the white, jagged hills of Santorini, I’ve had fantasies of a seaside summer in my very own Greek villa. Anyone with an Instagram feed has likely experienced the same twinge of jealousy seeing an acquaintance spending August sunbathing on Milos or Patmos or Crete , but the reality is that getting a little piece of that paradise for yourself is easier to come by than you might think.

There are countless villa rental services that can help you secure your island bliss at all different price points, but not all of them look like something out of a postcard.…