Imagine this: You. Your best mates. Sunshine. Some good local food. Some excellent local liquid. Some banter. Some chats. Plenty of laughs. For a whole week, in another country, away from the crowds and the stress of cramming in an insane itinerary into a few days. A genuine chance to relax and be on holiday
With flight prices becoming increasingly cheaper, there is a trend among British travellers to take short holidays. City Breaks. Weekend Getaways. Whirlwind Tours. Usually in pairs or in groups of 3 or 4. Of course, once you’ve added the accommodation, sightseeing and entertainment costs to the cheap flights, the final payout is a touch more than your bank account would like. I mean, it’s totally worth and the good times are had for sure, but usually we come back more exhausted than when we left.
Obviously, I’m going to suggest a solution to this problem and KAYAK is obviously going to save the day, or this would be one very short article.
And the solution is…………VILLAS. Let’s break it down:
PROS
– You choose if you want to be in the country, by the beach or up a mountain
– Sharing your holiday home with 6 or more friends keeps the price of accommodation right down
– You will be hanging out with 6 or more friends
– Hanging out and cooking together will greatly save on food costs
– Hanging out and drinking together will greatly save on food costs
– You have no excuse but to actually relax
– You choose how you spend your days: take a drive, a swim, a hike, sleep, play games, bubbles for brunch
– You can finally read that book
CONS
– …………
So, the task I set myself was simple. I conducted a few searches in a couple of different regions in 5 different countries. All the searches were made to see what’s still available in August – the most popular time of year – and all the places I found have to accommodate at least six people. The following examples are just a smidgeon of what I found:
France: Holiday Rentals in Montpellier and Brittany
Let’s start with this large country house just outside of Montpellier that sleeps nine people. With five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a private swimming pool and a spa, a weeks accommodation from £314 per person in the middle of August sounds pretty damn fine. The house itself is just 15 minutes away from both the city of Montpellier and the beach but feels completely isolated as it sits a top a hill in its landscaped gardens.
If Montpellier and it’s beaches appeal, but you don’t need all that luxury you could try something like this villa near the beaches of Carnon, which sleeps eight people and cost as little as £205 per person for the week. Don’t forget that this region, Languedoc-Roussillon, is as famous for its wine and its climate and natural beauty.
If it’s a region you want to stay in but fancy mixing in some Spanish groceries with your French and maybe asking a few more mates along, this spectacular house in Bourg-Madame sleeps twelve people and is right on the Spanish border. A steal from about £143 per person.
Maybe you’d prefer to be in the countryside, surrounded by forests and rolling hills. Josselin is known for its mix of 11th and 17th-century architecture, the medieval castle that overlooks the town and the density of so many great restaurants, cafes and markets in such a cosy town. This old, stone farmhouse has been tastefully converted to comfortably sleep six people, is located just outside of the town and, for a week in August costs as little as £110 per person for a weeks stay.
And if you want to wake up to the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, this 4-bedroom house facing the sea opposite the entrance to the Gulf of Morbihan will cost £238 for a weeks stay in August.
Denmark: Holiday Homes in the Lake District or By the Beach
The city of Silkeborg is located in an area widely regarded as the most beautiful part of Denmark, often referred to as the lake district. Six people can stay at the Hesselhøj ferielejlighed guest house for an incredible £87 for a week and take full advantage of the countryside. Hiking and kayaking opportunities are abundant, and the city itself has great places to eat, excellent galleries and museums and a theme park that consists entirely of labyrinths. A-maze-ing!
Skagen is Demark’s northernmost town and its surrounding area. Found on a peninsula, the beaches and rolling dunes are expansive and rugged in their beauty. If you want to spend a week right on the beach with the dunes at your doorstep, you and five friends could rent out the modern Holiday Apartment Havhuset Højengran for £193 each, which, with its floor to ceiling windows guarantees the best views.
The town of Skagen is famous for many things. From its cobbled streets and old yellow houses to its thriving artistic community which creates stunning pottery and glassware that is sold all throughout the town. This creativity is reflected in the town’s shops, bars and cafes. Also, being a fishing port, you can just imagine how good the seafood is here. If you fancy staying a bit closer to the action, 10 of you could spend a week at Skagen Holiday Home 3 for £172 each and spend your days at the beach, kicking around town or just hanging out on the house’s terrace.
Have you ever used KAYAK Explore to search for flights at the time you most want to travel?? Simply click on the ‘Dates’ field and filter by ‘Anytime’, by season or by month; add your maximum budget and Explore will show you the best flights worldwide for you. Click any price you like on the interactive map and start booking. Warning: there is an acute danger of wanderlust!
Italy: Tuscan Villas and Sicilian Apartments
The words Tuscan and Villa go together like wine and cheese. Or winery and rooftop terrace, which are just two of the reasons to stay at Agriturismo A. Bonacchi, a historic farmhouse (on a winery) just 2 hours drive away from Florence. A weeks stay for six people is going to cost around £242 each in August. Did I mention it’s a winery?
If you’d like to mix your relaxation with day trips to UNESCO sites and art museums you and five friends could stay at Agriturismo Montassi E Bruscolaio, which is just an hours drive away from both Siena and Florence. Agriturismo Montassi E Bruscolaio is a converted farmhouse located on a steading that produces vegetables, olive oil and, yes, wine. Throw in gorgeous rooms, an excellent pool, five friends and a price tag of about £125 each for the week, and you’ll be wondering why you haven’t booked yet.
Maybe you want to holiday between mountains the and sea, living in the lap of luxury. Taormina is an upmarket hilltop town found close to Mt. Etna and bordered by cliffs that drop down to beautiful sandy beaches. The town is also famous for its ancient Greco-Roman theatre where plays are still performed to this day. In keeping with the artistic nature of the town, a group of 10 could visit Taormina and stay in the gorgeous Residence Terra RossaMazzarò, with its private terrace overlooking a beach that’s just 5 minutes away by foot, from the 14-21 of June for about £248 each when Taormina hosts its annual film festival. Sun, sea and celebrity spotting.
Poland: Mountain, Land and Sea. Holidays in Poland.
While Poland’s natural beauty is becoming better known in increments, most of it is still unknown to the average UK traveller. Located in the South, in the Tatra Mountains, close to the border with Slovakia are towns and villages known for fantastic skiing etc. in winter, but more importantly, mountaineering, hiking and rugged beauty in summer. For a fantastic holiday away, you and twelve friends, yip, thirteen in total, could spend a week at the incredible, hand-crafted, wooden-facade Dom Forest Prestige House. BBQ on the terrace, nap away the day in a hammock, hike the mountain trails and wake up every day to breath-taking views, for this accommodation, in this area from about £191 each, you really can’t go wrong.
What if the fresh mountain air doesn’t do it for you? Maybe, you need to be beside the seaside. If you’re after some beach action, top shopping, modern streets, historic architecture and great seafood (either freshly caught, bought and cooked or in a restaurant) staying in Poland’s tri-city metropolitan area could be the place for you. The fantastic Monte Cassino Apartment Witrażowy sleeps six, costs about £170 and is located in Sopot. Sopot is famous for its beaches and spas and is located halfway between Gdansk and Gdynia and is the third part of the tri-city area.
And what falls between the mountains and the sea? The rolling hills and green plains of Poland’s countryside. If you’re the kind of person who feels most relaxed when you’re surrounded by green as far as the eye can see, and have so many friends you don’t know what to do, here’s a solution. Why don’t you check-in to Native Resorts, which sleeps an incredible twenty-four people, is close enough to the town of Biskupiec for all your shopping needs and is surrounded by areas perfect for kayaking, hiking and cycling. If you have the organisational power to organise a trip away for twenty-four people, you’ll only pay around £40 each in accommodation for the week, but even if you want to reduce the size and head away with seven good friends a weeks stay in August is still only going to come in around £123 per person.
Try using KAYAK’s Flight+Hotel search. Enter your destination and then use the filters on the right-hand side of the page to see what kind of flight and hotel combos are right for you, and save money doing it.
Spain: Incredible 7-Day Holidays In Andalusia
Spain is the most popular destination among Brits on their holidays, but while many people are opting for the ease and comfort of a resort on Tenerife, a lot more people are wanting to avoid the sameness of such a holiday and are looking to create something unique for their chosen travel companions. With Spain having no end of amazing holiday homes, apartments and villas for rent the possibilities are seemingly endless. Here are just a few examples of what’s out there.
Let’s start in Andalucia. Granada specifically. The city is known for its incredible medieval architecture and amount of castles per capita, but the city’s chilled atmosphere and fantastic nightlife make for the perfect blend of relaxation and stimulation. If you fancy doing a week in Granada with a group of eight, you’ll feel right at home in this apartment in the city centre, and the accommodation is going to cost roughly £104 each. Bargain.
If you want the city to be just an hour away, but you want to wake up breathing fresh mountain air in a small spa village; the same eight people could choose to stay somewhere like this beautiful apartment up in the Sierra Nevadas in the town of Lanjarón with a price tag also starting from £104 per person.
And if its isolation mixed with your mountain air that you (and eleven friends) are after, check out La Alpujarra Luxury Holiday Country House where you could pay as little as £137 per person for a weeks stay.
If mountain air takes a back seat to sea air maybe, you should look towards Tarifa. Located at the southernmost point of Spain and world famous for its wind sports, the beaches of Tarifa are somewhere you can spend the entire day and remain content. Whether trying a spot of windsurfing, sunbathing, swimming or just watching the waves with Africa visible across the waters.
For a super-comfortable stay for eight people, check out Casa Kingsize, a stroll away from the beach and a spit away from Tarifa’s nightlife, a week here will cost around £183 a week.
If you want to go large, Casa Rústica Santuario de la Luz offers simple but comfortable accommodation for fifteen people. Spend all day at the beach and then all night on the house’s terrace eating, drinking and being merry for roughly £123 per person.
Note: These rates are based on search queries made on KAYAK.co.uk on April 1st, 2017. The prices are quoted in GBP. Flight prices are based on results for a return economy flight search. Rental prices are per person for a weeks stay and include taxes and fees. The total number of people varies per search but is always a minimum of 6 guests. Prices are subject to change, may vary, or no longer be available.
