This year you have decided to skip the usual motels and hotels and rent a vacation home for your family getaway. But how does one pack for a stay in a home away from home?
Given that it was you who made the decision, you already know that vacationing in a private vacation villa is nothing like staying in a hotel. Most villa rentals are outfitted like your home and you will most likely have access to a washing machine and dryer. This will help cut down the amount of luggage you bring with you.
Let’s look at what you really need to pack for a stay in your private vacation villa for your annual holidays, with some tips from our friends at “Location Villa Espagne” …
DOCUMENTATION You will obviously want to pack your plane tickets and the directions to your your vacation villa with you. Make sure your passport is up to date. It is recommended to make photocopies of all your documents, including passports, birth certificates, ID, plane tickets, itinerary and travel insurance.
TOWELS – Most rental villas will supply towels for both indoor use and outdoor use for the pool and beaches. Contact the private vacation villa owner to see what they offer. Beach towels can usually be purchased relatively cheap, so unless you have room for towels don’t bother packing them.
MEDICATION – Let’s state the obvious. It is critical to pack your medication when travelling. You’ll need to plan for any delays if something goes wrong with your scheduled flight and you have to wait a few extra days to return home. Make sure you not only pack all essential medications for you and your family, but also any allergy medications like Epi-Pens. It is a good idea to also pack the repeat prescription forms in case you run out or lose your medication. This way you can consult a local doctor to get more. It is also very important to pack your medication with the bags you bring on-board with you, just in case your checked luggage ends up in a different time zone.
CLOTHING – As mentioned, your vacation rental may come complete with a washer and dryer, in which case you can pack light. It is always advisable before packing to check with the owner of the vacation villa first to ensure that these facilities are available. The amount and type of clothing you pack will depend upon where you are traveling and what activities you are planning on doing while there, but remember, you’re a tourist after all and expectations are not going to be really that high, so pack for comfort, not for fashion.
TOILETRIES – A great way to save room in your luggage is to leave all non-essential toiletries behind. The area you are visiting has plenty of places where you can purchase such items as soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and whatever other essentials you require. If you have allergies to products and have your own specific brands you prefer, then of course bring them along.
HAIR DRYERS – Some people can’t live without their hair dryers. When it comes to a family vacation a hair dryer is not essential, and your hair dryer might not even work in the country you are travelling to without an adapter. Most vacation villas will supply hair dryers so just contact the vacation villa owner before you begin packing to ensure that they do.
MUNCHIES – Many countries have strict requirements when it comes to what food material is allowed through customs. Most things will not be allowed in to the country, so save the space in your luggage and leave your favourite treats behind. Any food you happen to bring onto the plane in your carry-on should stay on the plane if it is unfinished. It would be a terrible way to start a trip by being fined for accidentally forgetting that apple in your carry-on bag.
SPENDING MONEY – It’s a good idea to pack some local currency and coins in your carry-on luggage. After you get off the plane you and the kids may be hungry or thirsty and having some local currency in small dominations will help you refuel before you head off to your villa rental.
EARBUDS Most airlines charge a few dollars to purchase their earbuds to be able to watch the in-flight televisions and movies. Although they are usually no more than $5 it is advisable to bring along your own if you have them.
TOYS – Some flights can be very long and boring if you have nothing to occupy yourself and your kids with. Some vacations can be like that, too – especially if it rains and you can relax in the comfort of your vacation rental. Pack some books, puzzles, cards, travel sized board games and handheld devices. The last thing you want is a cranky kid on a four plus hour flight. Not only will it make your flight much more enjoyable, but it will also allow for some down-time relaxing in your villa.
Just remember, whether your plans are at Costa Blanca Villa Location or elsewhere, you are only going away for a small amount of time, so try not to over pack. As the semi-famous saying goes, pack light enough to travel.
You want to book the best villa for your summer vacation and you do not know where to start. There are so many choices but you can filter a lot of them by answering a few simple questions like is a swimming pool important? Do you want a golf course nearby? Are you interested in a beach holiday or a destination with a few activities? Does the heat of the sun play a big part in your decision making process?
One thing is for certain, if you want to have a holiday in a place where the weather is really good but not over hot most of the time then you should consider booking a silver coast villa which is situated on the Silver Coast of Portugal and as well as being close to all the best that the area has to offer, is also cheap enough to get you interested. The cost of eating out is not so bad either. Of course, if the whole point of booking a villa is to do self catering, then you could just use the fully equipped kitchen and cook all your meals at home. It is a silver coast holiday villa with a pool too, great for the whole family.
There are so many activities to excite you and all of them easy to get to by car, not more than 20 minutes away. There is a sailing school at Foz Do Arelho on the banks of the lagoon where there is always calmer waters for beginners and sometimes a good stiff breeze if you know what you are doing and like to push the limits a little. They have all sorts of vessel there, the best of which is probably the catamaran in several sail sizes.
The countryside near the villas is quiet and full of orchards and vineyards where if you want, you can stroll and ramble along the footpaths to your hearts content. The local people are warm and friendly and a lot of the younger ones speak English. You will find that the majority of restaurants and shops have someone who can speak English so communication is normally simple and your holiday more rewarding. It is not like the Algarve on the Silver Coast where everyone you meet is either English or speaks fluent English, but does that really matter? Surely a holiday abroad is to get away from all that!
Your choices for tourist attractions are varied and many. There are three excellent beaches within 25 minutes drive of the villas. Peniche and Baleal are just beautiful and all soft white or yellow sand. A walk between the two places along the beach takes an hour each way and cafés at either end of the beach will provide refreshments. Sao Martinho Do Porto has an almost totally enclosed clamshell shaped bay and so the waters are calm all the time. The beach there gets really busy in the summer. The lagoon entrance at Foz Do Arelho has pools for safe swimming and the road is lined with cafés and restaurants for a great choice in drinks and meals.
For a holiday with all the above and more visit the website for villa rental silver coast .
At our request, the organizers of Villa Costa Brava have innumerated six compelling reasons why a vacation rental should be your first choice for accommodation wherever you travel
1. If you travel with an entourage – friends, family, pets – a vacation villa rental allows you room for everyone. In fact, there might even be a room for each of you. No more fighting over who gets the pillow. Or who gets the bed. Or who sleeps on the floor with Rover. Everyone gets the bed! Everyone gets a room.
2. There is more than roominess to make a villa rental better for groups. You also share costs. Whereas a group of six would likely rent two hotel rooms (six people, two rooms – oh joy!), a vacation rental would come with 2 – 4 bedrooms, plus a living room, plus a kitchen, plus some other rooms. Yes, a villa is a real house. You don’t have to vacation in a closet. And you share the costs, so it’s actually less expensive
3. But the savings don’t end there. If the cost of transportation don’t lay you to waste, the cost of food probably will…at least, if you eat in a restaurant. Add up the food, the drinks, the tax and the tip and that equals…let me see….calculating…ah, yes – two empty pockets. It’s enough to bring tears to your eyes, which is not a good thing. Or a you can spend more reasonable $50 a day on groceries. You are in control. You select the ingredients you like. The ingredients that fit your diet. The ingredients you know aren’t sitting around spoiling while the cooks are waiting for someone to order item 27 off the menu. And you eat in peace and in privacy.
4. Did somebody mention privacy? Yes, there is much more privacy in a villa rental than in a tiny hotel room squished between two other rooms, where people knock on the door and sing in the hall, where the maid comes in and you just don’t know where to hide your purse or other valuables. A vacation villa is as private as your house.
5. The flip side of privacy is freedom. Queue the national anthem. Raise a cheer – Yay, freedom. Now that is what a vacation is all about. There is nobody blaring music until 3:00 am…unless you want there to be. Go ahead, you won’t be disturbing anybody. Just make sure the windows are all shut and play the TV, the stereo, the video games. It’s your vacation; have some fun.
6. Yes, I did say stereo and I did say TV and I did say video games. I might also mention that most villa rentals come with a private swimming pool. Feel like going skinny dipping? Who’s going to stop you? No hotel room comes with as many amenities as the typical vacation rental. That fight over who gets to use the hotel room bathroom last summer? The one that left you with a permanent limp? Let bygones be bygones – this year you can just use the other bathroom in your much-better-equipped vacation villa.
Pocket the savings…or re-invest them at another week of relaxation in your Location Villa Costa Brava getaway. Ah, the pure luxury of a villa rental makes a hotel look downright…barbaric.
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