Booking a Beach Holiday: What Accommodation is best

By Keely Capel

If you’re planning a beach break this summer you may be meet with a huge amount of choice when it comes to the holiday properties on offer. Sometimes advertised as beach rentals, rental holidays that are based near a beach can really return a mixed bag leaving you scratching you head as to which to choose.

The most luxurious beach holiday properties will be those located directly on the beach with some form of direct access. However these will come with a price tag to reflect their dream location, so you need to be prepared for rental rates that could run into the several thousand for the week.  Yet if you are looking for a high end rental holiday with stunning sea views, the sound of waves crashing at your window and no commute to the beach this is definitely the holiday rental for you.

If you not able to extend your budget to encompass a high end luxury beach front rental, do not fear there are also several great alternatives. Holiday villas based within a coastal resort, will give you the space, freedom and privacy just like a beachfront property will. But you may need to compromise on the distance to the beach. Some holiday properties will still be within a 5 – 10 minute walking distance, but if you really want to see value for money with a villa rental, than look at holiday properties located a 5 – 10 minute drive from the beach. 

Villa rental holidays are great if you are planning a family beach holiday, as they will give you plenty of room for everyone, so the kids can run around whilst mum and dad relax. The added benefit is that many will come with a private pool, so when your back from a long day at the beach sunning yourself, you can cool off and unwind undisturbed perhaps even with a cold beer or glass of wine.

For those wanting to be closer to the action and near to the beach, then a holiday apartment would be the perfect holiday rental to choose. You will easily find a great selection of holiday apartments within any beach resort that will be within walking distance to the beach and the all local amenities. Great for couples, apartments can also work well for families. Most will offer a communal pool, which will allow the kids to continue to play once you return from your beach day.

As a couple you will find a holiday rental apartment can work well, there are plenty of spacious options so you are not trip one another up, but will allow you to enjoy one-an-others company whilst mixing and mingling with others. 

Which every holiday accommodation you choose for your beach holiday, be sure to check that it is actually near to the beach. The last thing anyone on a beach holiday really wants is to spend half an hour each day in a hot sticky car to reach it!

For more information of the various types of beach holiday rentals our holiday properties guides will help you choose which will work for you.

Protect yourself from Holiday Cancellation

By Keely Capel
 

When booking a holiday rental, you need to factor in that each element of your holiday is separate; therefore if you miss your flight due to an air controller strike, you are unlikely to get your accommodation refunded or your dates shifted.

There are so many things that can go wrong even if you were booking a package holiday that you need to ensure you have yourself covered in the event of cancellation.  Whether it’s due to personal sickness, accident, emergency or down to events outside of your control such as airline strikes, freak acts of nature or companies going bust.

Ensuring you protect yourself from holiday cancellation is like being able to predict the unseen. 

Whilst most travel agents and tour operators in the UK protect their passengers by bonding themselves with ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or ATOL (Air Travel organisers licensing) not all do, and if you are booking each element of your holiday independently you may find that there are gaps in which you may not be covered.

This is why you should always take up a travel insurance policy in addition to any coverage offered by the companies you use to book, as it will offer you protection for areas that you may not be covered for. However opting for the cheapest policy going, may not give you the level of protection you are expecting so always be sure to check the small print.

The key areas you need to ensure you holiday insurance policy covers to ensure you protect yourself from holiday cancellations are:

Flight Protection – ensuring you are covered if the airline you are traveling with should fail.

Delay and Cancellation – meaning that if you find your trip cancelled or delayed that you will receive compensation. You should also ensure this covers you if you miss your flight due to your own fault.

These two elements are essential to help you avoid incurring additional costs, or loss of money due to an unexpected cancellation.

It is also wise to take out this insurance as soon as you have made your travel arrangements, so ensure you are covered from that moment on. If you wait to activate your insurance policy until a later day, you will not be covered for events that take place between the booking for your holiday and the when the policy starts. So there is no point in waiting until an air strike is scheduled as the insurance companies will not pay out if this impacts your trip if you waited until it happened to take the policy.

To find  you next holiday, search our Holiday Auctions which feature a number last minute holiday cancellations