Specialty: Homes, apartments, flats and condo’s worldwide that you can rent for your vacation.
Website: www.vrbo.com
We’ve used VRBO several times, both for domestic and international vacation rentals. We’ve had great luck each and every time. Renting houses or flats make sense for longer stays and for larger groups. It also allows you to “live like a local” and have a much better travel experience. VRBO is simply a listing service, so for the actual rental transaction, you’ll be dealing directly with the owners of the property. Searches are easy. You can search by country, region or city. Each property listing usually has a few photos of each property, the price per stay and a calendar of availability.
Many places on VRBO have minimum rental periods. Some also charge cleaning fees, so make sure you factor in all of the charges into your planning. Reviews can be hard to find for some properties, so double check with search engines to see if you can find feedback on the properties your considering. Remember, you’re dealing direct with property owners, so always make sure listings are legitimate before sending money.
Upside: Renting a house or flat gives you more room to spread out and enjoy living like a local.
Downside: Longer rental periods than hotels and it may be more difficult to find reviews.
Last modified: February 25, 2011