Villa holiday

[Change2banon]

I’ve never been on a villa holiday. We’re looking to maybe go on one, need advice on what it’s like. We’re a family of all adults. Ones I’ve looked at say car hire is included .. do we have to use that? What’s it like driving abroad? Can we just get a taxi to the villa? Very unsure.

Car hire depends on where the villa is and whether its close to anything. You can upgrade the car for an extra cost e.g. we get a bigger one as we take 4 big cases.

Our villa this year had barely any provisions so we had to do a big shop almost immediately as there was nothing to even make a cup of tea/coffee or to wash your hands with.

We’ve been doing villa holidays every year since 2014, even during the Covid years. We’re a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 DCs) and I just love having the space and everyone having their own room rather than trying to squash into a hotel room. We always get a villa with a pool and I love that there’s no worrying about getting a lounger or what you look like in your swimwear! We have always hired a car. DH is happy to drive abroad and I don’t mind either. We’ve stayed in places where you have to drive to get to the nearest town and other places where you can walk to the town. I can honestly say we have never had a bad experience & I’d happily go back to any of the ones I have rented. I usually go through booking.com, Vrbo, AirBnB etc and then book separate flights and car hire. Prices vary greatly depending on the country I find.

Why not give it a go?

If you aren’t in the centre of somewhere you will probably need use of a car. I can’t comment on the driving because DH does that on holiday but it doesn’t seem to faze him. Wrt the villas - I love a villa holiday. Much better than a hotel. We often rent the same villa because we know we like the location. You can just do whatever you want, whenever you want. No rushing down so you don’t miss breakfast like at a hotel. Also having a pool to yourself means you never want to share one at a hotel ever again. Also if the villa is in a private area you can save on luggage and not get any tan lines! 😉

Do you mean like renting an AirBnB sort of thing, but a package?

My main concern would be, is a package including car hire good value? Generally if you put it together yourself it will be more economical. I wouldn’t personally want car hire with a random company provided as part of a package. I’d prefer to book it myself based on reviews.

We've been on several villa holidays. I'm a bit surprised that car hire hire is included - that isn't my experience. If you don't want to drive (we don't mind it) then you can organise a transfer to the villa.

We had a villa in Kalkan Turkey. Fab! The supermarket was a 15 min walk (bloody hot and a bit up/down)… perfect. Didn’t get a taxi or bus all week. Had teen boys to carry the watermelon (and beer/wine).

Driving abroad is generally fine - there are some places I would not, including Bulgaria and Albania but I doubt you’re aiming at those places!

Houses and apartments are sometimes not near towns or villages, and you will be either self-catering or eating out, so need a means of getting food to your place, or getting to eateries.

I don’t mind houses/appartments, they have a lot of advantages including less rigidity in terms of meal times and you often get either your own or a less overrun pool.

It’s just a question of what you like/ are looking for.

Thank you so much everyone! I’ve literally only looked at jet2 villas. So very early stages of looking. I too love the idea of private pool, not having to be up at certain times for breakfast, no hunting for sun loungers. None of us are very sociable so that aspect suits us too. Good shout about groceries/hand wash etc - that didn’t even cross my mind!

With the car hire-do check what cover is included. Upgraded to insurance can be pricey but sometime they are worth it.

i think Italy was the only time we took out full insurance coverage and it was necessary, they drive like crazy and roads are narrow where we were.

Seqrch Mumsnet, there are plenty of threads about what people take with them for a villa holiday. My personal favourites are tea bags, Tupperware containers and pocketknife.

we always do a food shop on the way from the airport and I have small containers with hand wash with me in case the villa has no provisions and I do a small shop for anything missing on day 2 but we are normally out each day so it’s not a chore.

We take some of dhs sharp knives (wrapped in tea towels in the case). Always take clothes pegs too. And extension cables. I have a list saved that I add to/subtract from each year.

We like a wee trip to a supermarket abroad. Went most days tbh

I think with Jet2 villas while car hire is included as standard, you can decline it as you progress through the booking.

With lots of sites you can filter out 'car required' and go for villas close to amenities. But 'what's it like driving abroad' doesn't have one answer - navigating the roads around Cinque Terre in Italy is a VERY different experience to driving in Lanzarote!

You could book flights and the separately rather than as a package. Maybe narrow down where you'd like to go. What country, beach/countryside/town, how hot etc and take it from there?

We also love a villa holiday (currently on one now) but book everything separately.

Dh always drives (has worked abroad for many years so used to it). We take a few basics - tea bags, foil for picnics & a few dishwasher & laundry tablets, other than that, will do a small shop on the way to the villa to tide us over.

I love the freedom a sc holiday gives-I don’t always want to eat out/in the hotel, fight for a sunbed etc. Any food we have in the villa is easy to put together as neither of us want to be ‘cooking’ - take a punt @Change2banon & go for it

TBH I'd be suspicious of the value of an included hired car. It's quite likely to be a small car with very basic insurance, such that you'll need to pay a lot to upgrade it to a family size car that you can get all your luggage in and the insurance will be a rip off. I'm very particular about where I hire a car from overseas because there's so many ways for them to trick you into spending money you didn't plan to. They're likely to be saying 'here's £50 for free but you have to pay £250 on something you might not want to get it'.

I don't rent holiday accommodation that's not walking distance from restaurants and the beach at least and want easy access to a proper supermarket whether that's walking distance or a bus/cheap taxi ride if not so a car is rarely an essential part of a holiday for me anyway. It's nice to not have to drive and think about parking for once.

It might also be worth googling to see if the villa on offer is available booking elsewhere outside the jet2 package, they often are and could well be cheaper.

Thank you so much everyone! You’ve all made very valid and thoughtful points. I don’t really want to drive abroad so can’t see the point of a hire car - didn’t realise I could decline this, so that’s good to know.

I love villa holidays for all the reasons mentioned above but hate driving so I always pick villas within walking distance to a town. Bonus points for an area with good uber coverage.

I don’t mind the actual driving abroad but I hate having to find a place to park or researching parking options before setting off. The hassle of it stresses me out. Maybe I was unlucky but parking was an issue in all the places I’ve ever rented a car. I find it so much easier to just walk or take a cab.

Jet 2, Tui etc tend to be quite expensive. Try looking at Airbnb and if you choose wisely you can be within walking distance of great beaches and restaurants.
Menorca is a great place to go and we found taxis pretty reasonable. Also before booking check out local buses or trains as a means of exploring the country. I love villas with pools - my favourite type of holiday.

I can really recommend Palma Mallorca for a great place to get a villa with no need for a hire car. Ubers are dirt cheap and avoids huge parking charges in the city centre. Loads of places on VRBO in nice beach side suburbs, bikeable into the city if you are into that, close to supermarkets etc.

I am sitting on a lounger at a villa in Menorca as I type. So far it’s been great, we do have a hire car and DH has driven a bit no problem. We chose one that we can walk to a couple of shops/places to eat but have car if we want to go further afield. No sunbed wars has been such a blessing