Holiday Villas in Spain and Portugal: Six Top Tips


Over the past few years increasing numbers of holidaymakers to the Iberian Peninsula are eschewing traditional hotel-based breaks and instead opting for the peace and freedom of hiring one of the exquisite luxury villas in Portugal or Spain for the duration of their holiday.

If you are a planning a holiday in the sun sometime soon and fancy a break away from the noisy, cramped and tourist-packed hotel resorts, but are not sure how to go about finding the perfect place for you and your party to stay, then this article will hopefully give you plenty of great ideas on where to start. These simple tips are a great way to prepare for your holiday and by following them, you can relax knowing that you can enjoy one of the best self catering holidays available while residing in some of the most beautiful holiday villas in Spain or Portugal.

1. Identify what your party would need/like for a truly memorable self catering holiday.

A great place to start is to discuss with those in your travelling party what they feel would make their self catering holiday a great success. Some things to think about include:

How many bedrooms do you require?

How many bathrooms you feel would suit your party’s needs?

Do you need to a hire car?

Do you require much living space? You may need more living space if you intend to stay at the villa for long periods, as opposed to head out into the Spanish or Portuguese locality.

Where would you like the location of your villa to be? Near to a major city? A local attraction? The Beach? The mountains or hills?

Are you happy to dine at home or eat out? If you are going to dine at home extensively then it may be advisable to look at villas with larger kitchens and barbecues for alfresco dining.

Do you require use of a swimming pool? If you do, does the time of year you are travelling mean that the pool may need to be heated?

Are there any specific other facilities you may need; such as facilities for people with mobility difficulties or young children?

Once you have an idea of what your party would need to have in the villa to enjoy a relaxing and enjoyable holiday in Spain or Portugal, you are ready to start searching.

2. Find a reputable holiday villa provider and browse their list of available villas.

The best way to ensure that you are going to get one of the villas in Spain or Portugal that exceeds your expectations is to turn to the trusted expertise of an experienced travel company. The best companies will not only offer an extensive list of properties available for rent but they will also be able to provide detailed information, pictures and reviews from satisfied customers as to the veracity and popularity of the villas they hire out.

3. Browse and browse some more!

It is tempting to think that once you have found a villa that your party likes the look of and which fulfils your criteria, you should book the place immediately. Certainly, if this is a last minute break and you are severely pushed for time, then this is probably advisable. Alternatively, if you are planning your holiday well in advance and have time available to look around at the other villas to rent on the site, then it is indubitably worth doing so.

Quite often an additional half-hour spent browsing can turn up some wonderful places that you may not have considered for your holiday originally, but which can turn out to be even better than you had hoped for. Extensively browsing the villas to rent in Spain or Portugal is a good way to ensure you get a shortlist of the best villas possible at the best deal possible.

4. Discuss the available villa options with your group.

Once you have your shortlist, speak with all the members of your travel party and look at the pros and cons of each villa you have on the shortlist. Once you have a consensus on which is the best villa available, pick out which of the available villas is the next best suited to you as a back-up.

5. Now Book!

Once everyone in your group has agreed on the best villa for your party, now is the time to book. Head to the website and click on the option to book a villa. Many companies will accept a deposit to secure your booking for your chosen time period. The amount of this deposit may vary, so it is wise to ensure you have the funds readily available for this when you book. It is also worth noting that paying by credit card is also a good way of ensuring extra insurance on your booking. Once you have received your confirmation of your booking, make a large note of the date of final payment and ensure everyone in your party is aware of when this is.

6. Sit back, relax and plan how you intend to enjoy your holidays!

With the accommodation booked, flights sorted and any car hire (if needed) also resolved, now you can relax and start to plan your break. Head to the library if you are unfamiliar with the area and look up some of the many attractions that Spain and Portugal are home to. The Internet also contains a wealth of information about a myriad of local attractions which are perfect for those who are visiting the countries on self catering holidays.

These six top tips are simple to follow to ensure that everyone who may not be familiar with booking self catering holidays can do so with ease. Spain and Portugal offer some of the most outstanding countryside, beaches and attractions to see and viewing them from a base of your own private luxury villa is the best way to enjoy the charms, welcoming nature and unspoilt beauty of these two Iberian countries.