It’s all YOURS
Villa holidays are set to boom in 2024
SAY goodbye to hotels, and rent a holiday villa for peace, privacy and room to spread out in the sun. Villa fans have been saying this for years, and this summer there’s more choice than n ever. The big villa holiday firms have spent the winter signing up new properties with pools across Europe ope and beyond. Many of the new choices i are already attracting early-bird bookers – but most still have lots of availability from late spring onwards.
WOW FACTOR
New to Vintage Travel is Villa Kastraki. It’s a modern property on Corfu that can sleep up to 10 in five en-suite bedrooms with a mix of coast and mountain views from its multiple balconies, terraces, garden and oversized pool. With rates starting at £1,748 plus flights in late spring, this wow-factor villa is great value if you fill every room. Book it and you’ll also be supported by Vintage Travel’s team of overseas representatives in popular areas are such as Greece, Spain, P Portugal, Italy and Turkey. Another great choice for larger groups is the clifftop Monte do Cacador on the Algarve in Portugal. New this season with CV Villas it’s not just ju got extensive grounds and a blockbuster bl pool – you’re also within with walking distance of two local beaches b and a fishing village with a selection of waterside cafés and restaurants. Up to eight guests can settle into the five-bedroom, fivebathroom villa, with daily maid service and regular towel and linen changes all part of the package. Weeks start at £1,283pp and CV Villas staff can also book flights and transfers.
SHINING STARS
A rooftop pool worthy of a Hollywood movie is the star of the show at Casa Aragonesi near Monopoli in Italy. From there you can gaze across fields of olive trees towards the sea. Fancy a lemon for your evening drink? Stroll through the villa’s private grounds and pick one fresh from the tree.
New this year with Oliver’s Travels, the villa is another great choice for larger families or groups of friends. It too has five bedrooms and five bathrooms and seven night stays start at £5,461 – surprisingly reasonable if you fill each room.
SMALLER VILLAS
Smaller villas for family holidays are also on offer this summer from Jet2. It’s beefing up its specialist villa holidays department, so you can combine a stay with direct flights from local airports around the UK, with no extra fees for hand baggage or suitcases. Car hire can also come as part of the same Jet2 deal. Take a look online to see a range that starts with standalone villas with pools and includes private villas in the grounds of resort hotels. With these you can relax in your property one day then take advantage of the pools, spa and other facilities in the hotel the next.
Great standalone villa choices on Jet2’s latest list include Can Berenguer, near Pollensa on Mallorca. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom villa is ultra-private and lost within mature gardens. There’s a private pool, of course, plus plenty of sun loungers. A covered terrace is perfect for lunch in the shade, and there’s a brick barbecue for al fresco meals. Early summer prices start at £562pp a week in May including flights to Palma.
EXTRA ADVICE
Need face-to-face advice choosing a villa? You can get guidance on the high street from firms such as Hays Travel. Want wow-factor luxury?
Look at Simpson Travel or scroll through the very upmarket offerings at Mr & Mrs Smith.
Or do you fancy a villa in a holiday hotspot such as Florida? Many families say that renting a property rather than staying in a hotel creates the perfect base for sightseeing and theme-park visits. Multi-generation holidays work best – grandparents can relax in the villa while youngsters head to a water park, for example. Then everyone gets together to share stories over a good value, home-cooked dinner by the pool.
Tempted? Take a look at Tui’s growing range of villas with pools near Orlando’s theme parks. It has a selection of three-, four-, five- and even six-bedroom villas with pools. An extra advantage is that in peak periods Tui guests bypass Orlando’s busy main airport and fly into Melbourne Orlando airport. Queues and delays here are rare – so Tui guests can get to their villas in the sun sooner than almost everyone else.