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How
to have the perfect villa holiday
Debi Green from www.BabyGoes2.com
gives us her essential guide
to finding the right holiday villa for you and your family,
along with tips on how to have a great time when you get there.
Why choose
a villa holiday?
Villas are a great holiday choice. You get plenty of space
and privacy, you can come and go as you please, eat whatever
and whenever you want and you can really relax. There's no
stress over securing the best spot by the pool, or having
to look presentable first thing in the morning for the hotel
breakfast experience, and no fighting for space and sanity
with your little ones in a small, hot hotel room.
Where to
go
Location, location, location...is crucial to a stress-free
holiday.
Portugal: Real villa territory - either
countryside or in swish urbanisations close to the sea. Standards
usually very high, almost always have private pools. Portugal
has a Mediterranean climate but low humidity with cooling
breezes. Good variety of towns to visit, good facilities.
Plenty of sports options, riding etc. Food good too. Short
transfers from airport. Great summer holiday location - beach,
scenery, towns, restaurants.
Spain: High quality villas - either by
coast, in complexes
or in white mountain villages. Quite easy to find village/rural
properties if that's your thing. Spain has excellent facilities,
great food, very child-friendly. Some rural villas don't have
pools. Weather stays good into October. Great for exploring
- good for towns, beach and culture too.
Greece: There are plenty of luxury villas,
but it's also very easy to find small, simple dwellings, often
without private pools in Greece. Easy to find villas either
right on seafront or in the middle of towns or villages, so
very good if you're after a holiday where you can walk everywhere.
Greece has a long season: Crete, and Zakynthos are still good
bets for a warm holiday well into October. Great for beach
lovers.
Corsica: Most villas come without private
pools and tend to be quite simple. Great place for "back
to nature" residences (groups of cottages in often stunning
locations). Some luxury villas with pools too. Beautiful island
- very unspoilt. Weather is more variable in September, but
still very warm. Very good for beach/mountain/nature-lovers.
Excellent prehistoric sites and great towns too. Easy to cover
lots of different activities in a day. Great for those who
prefer their beaches unspoilt and like
to explore.
France: Huge variety of villa accommodation,
from lap of luxury, through farmhouses to simple gites and
cottages. It's a great place for rambling, rustic properties
full of character, or alternatively chateaux! Plenty of climate
variations to suit all tastes - lots to do, great food, scenery
and towns. Easy to please a group of people with differing
interests.
Italy: One of the best places for large,
converted farmhouses in stunning countryside. Usually high
quality conversions with plenty of mod cons and pools. Often
come complete with cook option. Some take large parties, others
offer apartments or rooms in a converted building. Easy to
find lovely places in deep countryside, yet still only 30
minutes drive from towns full of culture, history, facilities
and so on. Plenty of lovely coastline, but so much to do and
see, best if you're not looking for just a beach holiday.
Sardinia: A wide range of villas - usually
very high standard of décor and facilities. Private
pools not a given however. Many luxury and large properties
on the chic Costa Smerelda. Also plenty of "residences",
similar to those on Corsica - groups of simple cottages in
stunning locations with shared pools and facilities. Beautiful
beaches, good food, plenty to explore, short flight from UK.
Balearics: Excellent choice of villas
at all levels - many rural locations yet within easy reach
of towns and facilities. Great weather through September,
delightful towns, lovely scenery. Not totally unspoilt and
rarely deserted in season, but a really excellent base for
most people - unless you're keen on big city trips. Palma
is great, but it's the only major city.
UK: A wide range of self catering properties
from tiny apartments to castles. Perhaps best known for cosy
cottages - usually well equipped with gardens in lovely rural
or beachside locations. Many groups of cottages with pools
etc and plenty of stylish conversions. Generally very well
priced.
Caribbean: Excellent choice for luxury
villas - which don't necessarily cost the earth. Generally
close to beach and restaurants with excellent facilities -
often come complete with cook and maid. Great for winter or
summer luxury - very much a relaxation, sun and sea holiday,
although most islands offer plenty to explore.
USA: Excellent villa accommodation all
over the USA - of a very high quality but reasonable price.
You can find places to stay in most locations, and obviously
plenty by the beach. Our favourites are in Sanibel, or Naples,
Florida or on Hilton Head in South Carolina. Great for golf,
sailing, boating, fishing, tennis. Excellent facilities all
round.
South Africa, Africa, Bali, Malaysia,
Mauritius: There are some fabulous villas in these exotic
destinations - wonderful locations, fantastic décor
and facilities.
For more details on all of these locations,
log on to www.babygoes2.com
Just your
family?
Probably best not to be in the middle of nowhere. Having a
quick, easy drive (or even better a short walk) into town,
to the shops, to the beach or to a restaurant, will make all
the difference. You'll have more opportunities for spontaneity
and you won't feel isolated. You can each do different things
and still be within a few minutes of meeting up. Try a shared
pool - great for people watching/chatting and easier on the
child monitoring front.
A few of
you?
The same applies, as a convenient location means you don't
have to make every trip into town or beach a major expedition
and can come and go as you please. Independence is essential
to avoid gripes. Are there plenty of restaurants within a
short walk or drive?
In a big
group?
Make sure that the villa is well positioned for everyone's
preferences: within easy reach of the beach, the countryside
and culture - if possible - so no-one feels hard done by.
Most importantly, be honest with yourselves and the people
you're travelling with. If you're not clear from the outset
about your respective priorities, no-one will get the holiday
they want.
Staying independent
If there are any more than 2 of you, then one of the keys
to a successful stay is enough transport. Make sure there's
a car per family - it ensures flexibility and control over
what you do with your time - there's no need for fixed daily
itineraries and no-one has to agree to majority rule. It might
cost a bit more, but it's really worth it. Don't expect to
do everything together - freedom from the tyranny of plans
and discussions is often a really important part of any holiday.
It can be a lot more fun if you each go off and do your own
thing from time to time, coming together later with plenty
of new experiences to share.
Other considerations:
all mod cons?
Investigate the facilities as fully as you can beforehand.
You may fondly imagine getting to grips with the good life,
but in many cases a few mod cons such as freezer, dishwasher
and washing machine can make life much easier. If you're going
off season - is there any heating? If you're going far afield,
is there air-conditioning in the bedrooms? If there's a pool,
is it heated? If not, does it get the sun or is it always
in the shade (shady pools can stay icy cold even in very high
temperatures, which can be really disappointing if everyone's
looking forward to a daily splash). You might prefer rustic
and full of character OR you might want to wallow in the lap
of luxury with plenty of home comforts - TVs, VCRs, hi-fi
systems etc
Food and
drink
Shopping
However well you think you know someone, you'll still end
up moaning about the way they choose to apportion the weekly
villa food budget. Yes, they really DO drink that much and
yes, they really MUST have that particular type of extra expensive
olive oil.
A big part of holiday fun is sampling foreign food and shops,
and if you limit this too much you'll have niggles which can
spoil the hols. Decide on a reasonable kitty to cover essentials
(agree them too), buy a basic stock of wine or beer for the
duration, then just buy what takes your fancy and be prepared
to share it.
If you're self-catering in your own country,
and driving to your destination, most people take some staples
with them.
If you're holidaying with friends or family, it makes sense
to ensure that you don't all bring the same stuff.
Eating
If you're in a group, don't plan on eating together all the
time - this can introduce a rigid timetable for cooking or
going out. Easier to agree at the beginning of each day. Some
villas even come complete with cook, or with the option of
engaging a cook for a few evenings. If you do have this facility
use it - it's bliss! This means you can concentrate on the
kids bedtime routine or relaxing, while a delicious dinner
is prepared and waiting for you whenever you want it - with
no worries about choice of restaurant or who will drive, and
so on.
BabyGoes2...
And far, (far) be it for anyone to suggest that holidaying
with a baby might have the odd disadvantage, but... if you've
got a tiny baby who's in the tears before, during and after
bedtime stage, then it makes sense to make sure you're in
the most far flung bedroom, even if it's not the ensuite with
the four poster and the fetching rug. And speaking of bedrooms
- it's almost a given that your villa will come with one (or
two or three) spacious, bright and airy bed-rooms, and one
small, cramped, gloomy affair. Agreeing to swap half way through
might sound like a hassle, but can make for a much happier
stay all round.
Childcare
Having your children around you, happy, relaxed and with plenty
of room to run and play (or crawl, cry or gurgle) and no worries
about anyone else's disapproval, is one of the big bonuses
of villa holidays. And if you're in a group, then it makes
sense to share some of the supervision and let each of you
get out and about to do your own thing from time to time.
It's not a good idea to rely on it too much though, since
you won't always be together and whilst grandparents or friends
may profess to love your little darling(s) dearly, spending
days looking after may not be their holiday cup of tea.
So, consider villas which offer some sort
of childcare - your children can still be around you, but
someone else can take care of the fun and games for a couple
of hours each day. Properties offering this sort of service
get snapped up incredibly quickly though, so you should be
thinking well ahead if you want to make sure of childcare.
Please see www.babygoes2.com
for a worldwide selection of recommended properties along
with lots of tips and advice.
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