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Vacation on the Beach
the Smart Way - Beachfront Houses and Trips
February 23rd 2006
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Beach House |
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Almost everyone
agrees; there is no more relaxing way to vacation than to take it to
the beach. For the vacationer/traveler who hasn't considered a beach
house rental before, they represent an affordable and fun family
oriented alternative.
There is an
intelligent way to plan your vacation on the beach. It all starts
with thorough good planning, research and flexibility. This guide
will give you a few pointers for vacationing on the beach the smart
way.
First off, start
planning your trip as early as possible. This is the key to
experiencing the best possible relaxation. If you want to vacation
in August, you really have to start planning as early as September
or October. Planning ahead is the best way to ensure you get the
exact dates you’re looking for.
This is
especially true for beachfront houses. At the very least, make
reservations BEFORE Christmas because prime booking time for beach
houses starts on December 26th. This date begins the heightened
pursuit of people wanting to book beach houses and continues all the
way up until May.
Research your
trip thoroughly. The Internet is an excellent tool for doing this.
To get the right location and best accommodations to suit your
preferences, there is no substitute for being informed and fully
aware of what is available. In the information age, there are huge
amounts of travel information available on the World Wide Web. If
you are looking for beach vacation rentals, the most comprehensive
site, and largest directory I found was
http://www.beachhouse.com. If you're making a decision about a
destination you are not familiar with, you should do research on the
Internet about the specific location with a particular focus on the
weather. It can vary from place to place depending on the time of
year. You’ll want to consider travel insurance in case anything goes
wrong. Examples of why you’d need travel insurance include
hurricanes, sickness, cancelled/delayed flights and lost luggage.
Get Everything in
Writing. Get a list of amenities from the house owner. One big
reason for this is you need to know what to bring, and what not to
bring. For example, you may need to bring linens. Some rentals will
provide them, but most do not. You need to know check-in/check-out
times, and if you don't want to lose your deposit, leave the place
as close to the condition as when you arrived.
Make sure the
person you are asking the questions to is the beach house owner or
manager. Review the details of the rental agreement. Things to
consider are security deposits, damage deposits, who to call in case
of emergency. Ask for references of people who have rented the house
before. Make sure you have contact numbers for the owner or on-site
manager on hand.
Look for
off-season and last minute deals. If you are looking for a deal and
can be flexible, off-season rates drop dramatically. Some beach
house owners who charge $5,000 a week during peak season are willing
to go as low as $800 per week in the winter. Additionally, if you’re
looking to vacation before Memorial Day or after Labor Day, it can’t
hurt to ask for a 10% discount.
Keep in mind
though that during peak season it’s highly unlikely rates will be
negotiable. You can also save money by not getting beachfront
property, say by renting houses not directly on the beach but maybe
one to three houses back. These houses are generally going to be a
bit cheaper.
Beach House
rentals are great for larger reunion or family groups. One of the
benefits of renting a beach house is having your own kitchen and
saving funds on cooking for the family. Hotels generally have
restaurants, maybe kitchenettes for extra. For a family of 4 this
may cost a bit, but still be affordable. However, for an extended
family, you would have to book a set of rooms. If this isn’t expense
enough, a large family eating in restaurants three times a day, plus
the cost of all the things they need that isn’t supplied by the
hotel, and WHEW! That can cost a bundle. Hotels don’t lend
themselves as well to a larger group of people as beach houses do.
To vacation on
the beach the smart way, start planning your trip as early as
possible. Research your trip thoroughly and get everything in
writing. Look for, and ask for, off-season or last minute deals, but
be flexible. And for the most memorable and best possible vacation
on the beach, do it in a beach house.
F.
Penn
This article was
written by F. R. Penn sponsored by
http://www.stubhub.com/. Searching for those hard to find
theater tickets? Look no further than StubHub where fans buy and
sell the hottest theater, sports and event tickets. Reproductions of
this article are encouraged but must include a link back to
http://www.stubhub.com/
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