Top Tips For Villa Holidays

Top Tips For Villa Holidays

In the current difficult economic climate when every penny counts, renting a holiday home can be a cost effective solution for large parties or families so it’s certainly worth looking into renting a villa for your next vacation.

You’ll have to do your own cooking (unless you can afford to hire a chef as well…) or pop out to local restaurants and cafes when you are hungry, but you’ll probably find the money you’ve saved will more than cover it.

If you’ve not looked into holiday rentals before, here are my top tips to help make the process that little bit smoother:

Decide on a budget

Villas are usually booked on a weekly basis and you’ll need to factor in the cost of the flights and a hire car if necessary; although many tour operators will package all of this together for you.

It’s a good idea to think how many bedrooms and bathrooms you’ll need as this will dictate the price you pay once you select a resort.  Don’t forget, you’ll be paying over the odds if you hire a villa that can sleep 6 if there are only 3 of you and you could be charged an under occupancy fee.

Choose your destination

If you have a favourite destination then it’s worth checking out what vacation rentals are on offer in that country.  Popular villa rental destinations are; Florida, Spain, Portugal’s Algarve region and the Balearic islands (Majorca & Menorca).

Once you’ve picked the destination, it’s a good idea to consider the location; do you want to be close to a beach, want easy access to shops & restaurants, will you be hiring a car, or do you need everything to be in walking distance of your villa?

Finally, you should consider any language barriers; if staying in a less touristy location, you may find you need to brush up on your language skills or purchase a phrase book before you jet off.

Get the size right

When booking a villa, you’ll usually find it pretty easy to work out how many it sleeps as this will be listed in the brochures, but you’ll sometimes find that a property sleeping 8 may only have beds to sleep 6 and a fold out sofa bed; will it be practical for 2 people to have to sleep in the lounge for 1-2 weeks?

Don’t forget to check how many bathrooms the villa has too, this is especially important when travelling in a large group or family.  Do you want to have to share 1 bathroom?

What about the pool?

A holiday can be ruined by a pool that’s too cold or too small – especially when travelling with children – so it’s important to check the size, whether it will be heated (and will there be a charge for using the heating) and is it child friendly?  You may also find that you have to share a pool with other villas so you should check to see if it’s private, will there be enough sun loungers, will it be overlooked, etc.

Think of the children

It’s important to make sure the children are catered for when booking a villa; think about the facilities on offer; will there be a TV, DVD, satellite, etc, also, are cots and highchairs available if you have small children?

How long will you stay?

You may find that you have to check-in on a specific day (for example, the week will run Saturday to Saturday), so you’ll be limited in terms of when you can travel and how long for.  If you want to stay for 10 days but can only book the villa in week long periods, it may be worth booking a hotel for the final 3 days (you may find that villa owners are flexible depending on who you are booking your holiday through).

This Villa holidays tips article was written & supplied by Money Supermarket.com, the UK price comparison website.Image by by letorrivacation

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