Vacation Home Rentals Blog

Oh summer, we hardly knew ya.

Do you really have to go? Please grant us one more chance to build a sandcastle or walk on the beach. After the year we’ve had, don’t we deserve it?

If you haven’t taken that summer vacation, here’s your chance: Escape to the state where the season never really ends in a Florida vacation home.

While folks in other states hunt for trench coats and sweater sets, flip-flops and sundresses can be worn well into November in the Sunshine State. So if you missed out on planning a vacation for these last two weeks of August, have faith that you’ll still get to be sun-kissed in the fall.

The Port Charlotte vacation home featured above is one of the best deals seen yet, renting for just $600 a week through Oct. 3. After that, it jumps a mere $50 a week to $650 until Dec. 19. The figures don’t lie. A four-bedroom house–with a pool even–for less than a nightly rate at an upscale hotel.

There isn’t much to do in Port Charlotte but golf or hit the beach, but for those who haven’t taken vacation yet, that would probably suit them just fine.

Maybe your summer vacation begins when the kids are going back to school.

You don’t have any, and you prefer avoiding the crowds anyway. For you, September is the perfect time to go. Still hot enough to hang out on the beach, but without 5,000 bodies competing for that same stretch of sand or lounge chair.

Your Florida seasonal rental awaits in delightful Dunedin, an adorable Gulf Coast town blessed with perfect weather for most of the year, village charm and access to Dr. Beach’s No. 1 pick in his annual list of America’s top beaches: Caladesi Island. The pearly white beach is reachable by ferry by Honeymoon Island, another showcase of Mother Nature’s beauty with its stunning waters, shore birds, sea turtles and gulf breezes.

The home pictured lists for a reasonable $485 a week, an absolute deal considering some hotels charge that for a nightly rate. The rental offers a stove and full-sized fridge, more ways to keep your food costs down.

At that price, you’ll feel like you “stole” this getaway.

Your secret is safe here.

If you’re the type of executive whose work week involves multiple days away from your family, then the last place you want to retire after a tough meeting with clients is a lonely, generic hotel room. If you’re single, well then that’s another story.

If I was in my 20s, I’d be loving duties that would take me to cosmopolitan places like New York, Los Angeles and the king of nightlife: Miami.

You’ll spend the first part of the week wheeling and dealing in your BCBG suit, then extend your weekend sampling the spicy scenes South Beach has to offer. (Or do what I love: Shopping the stores along Lincoln Road.)

The Miami Beach vacation rental above sits prettily in the Sanctuary, a quiet boutique hotel that suits singletons and married professionals and is just two walking blocks from the Atlantic and Lincoln Road. You’ll be in awe of all its high-end amenities, from the steam shower with a rainfall head to the sleek kitchenette fitted with a wine cooler and espresso machine. So even if you are lonesome for your kids, a dip in the rooftop pool will help. And if it doesn’t, let the chefs at the on-site Ola restaurant seduce your taste buds with luscious Latin ceviche, garlicky crab and saffron-crab potato puree. There’s also a spa–What hotel name Sanctuary wouldn’t have one?–for freshening up that dehydrated skin.

Need a place closer to the action? Check out more South Beach condo rentals on our site.

This strip of beach landed in my vacation scrapbook–if only for one night.

My brother-in-law and his girlfriend planned a stay there for the whole fam: me, my husband and two girls. The adults sipped Coronas (Public drinking is allowed on the beach, but not in parking lots, per city ordinance.), sunbathed, ate fresh Florida grouper at Scully’s at John’s Pass and enjoyed fresh frozen custard on the “boardwalk.” The little ones swam for the first time in the Gulf and spotted a few dolphins.

On Friday morning, we hit the strip of souvenir shops across the street, where I picked up a teal maxi dress and bikini, along with an acrylic “Madeira Beach” magnet emblazoned with a purple pink sunset, dolphins and palm trees. Hey, you have to go home with some Florida kitsch.

My only regret: That we didn’t have more time to book a Florida vacation rental for the week.

Next time.

So I’m back from vacay four shades darker, my wallet a little emptier, my body a lot lighter from the 100 degree temps, but boy, I can’t wait to get back.

A week in Tampa Bay, Fort Myers Beach and Madeira Beach did the soul good. While I had the accommodation hookup with friends and relatives, next year we’re talking about renting a Fort Myers Beach vacation rental just to stay in one place. You know how it is. When people know you’re in town, the brewskies never stop flowing and the gas grill sizzles a lot of burgers. Couple that with a wedding, a kid’s birthday and Father’s Day and it was non-stop action.

I need a vacation from my vacation.

Among the highlights in Fort Myers Beach:

Pina coladas at my friend’s wedding reception.
Scallop scampi and grilled grouper sandwiches at the Yucatan.
Shopping for a tankini at San Carlos Boulevard.
Having the sense not to arrive early to join friends at SOB.

Four words: Double shots of Patron.

No thank you. I’m proud of my wimp status.

It’s advice I’m always dishing out but never taking: Go on vacation.

So for once, I’m doing it. I’m checking out. For a week, I’ll be sunning on Clearwater Beach and scoping out the Florida vacation rentals of my dreams from the top down in a Chrysler Sebring convertible. Maybe I’ll coerce my friend to take me on her boat. Because that’s what folks do in the Sunshine State.

And while it may be tempting, I will not tweet or update my Facebook status while enjoying said activities.

Now that would just be rude.

My husband and I disagree on which Pinellas County beach is better: Clearwater or Pass-A-Grille in St. Petersburg Beach.

I favor the residential, old Florida feel of the latter, hold a tender spot in my heart for Hurricane’s rooftop deck (where many a frozen adult beverage was imbibed) and the fact that it was walking distance from my friend’s apartment. Oh, and just seeing that cotton candy pink palace at the foot of Gulf Boulevard–the Don CeSar–gets me all sentimental about my days as a carefree singleton.

My hubs argues that Clearwater Beach has better quality sand, and feel free to chime in on this, that it’s actually softer than the sand at Pass-A-Grille. He also prefers the atmosphere–more buzz, a little bit more touristy. When the kids are all tuckered out from burying dad in the sand, parents can walk along the promenade that is Beach Walk, a 2.5-mile stroll that winds past Pier 60, live music acts, parasailers and arts and crafts fairs.

And how’s this for bragging rights? Clearwater Beach earned TripAdvisor’s honor as one of the top 10 beaches in 2009 for Fort De Soto (No. 1) and Honeymoon Island State Park (No. 9).

OK, Damien, you won. Stop gloating and reserve our Clearwater Beach vacation rental already.

Lagoon-style pools. Manicured grounds with palm trees and exotic flora and fauna. Pearly white beaches. Golf courses, tennis courts and oh, the conveniences of home, in the forms of full-sized kitchens and Starbucks.

In a nutshell, those are the many virtues of Destin condo rentals, where families, couples and singles co-vacay in spaces nestled on resort-like settings. Sure, you can always default to Orlando vacation homes for Mickey Mouse, but Panhandle vacation rentals are just-as-affordable and nice breaks from hearing “It’s a Small World” 5 million times and the $15 lunches inside Magic Kingdom.

Fares to Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS), the closest airport to Destin at just 20 miles, are especially thrifty from Wisconsin right now, according to AirfareWatchDog.com. Fly from Appleton or Green Bay on Northwest Airlines for only $158 roundtrip.

If you’re willing to drive a little, search flights to Pensacola and Panama City Bay County International Airports–60 miles east or west of Destin, respectively–on airlines like America West, American, Delta, United and more.

One final piece of trivia: Before the reigning pop queen became Bald Britney became Comeback Britney, she vacationed in Destin with ex-husband Kevin Federline. She had a home there.

What are the chances you’ll run into her this summer? Not likely, because she’ll be on tour in Europe, but still a cool story to tell when you’re bragging about the blast you had in the Panhandle.

We hope that Florida vacation home you booked for July is still in the works, but a new poll suggests that folks have canceled at least one of their planned trips.

A survey by AP-Gfk claims that 42 percent of Americans will be going on summer vacation, compared with 49 percent who said in a 2005 AP-Ipsos poll that they would be taking one. And most notable: While 43 percent of 30-49-year-olds will be vacationing, only 39 percent of 65 and older Americans plan to do so.

Can’t say I’m surprised.

The entitlement generation is used to Starbucks, Louis Vuitton purses and high-end denim. Personally, those are luxuries I can live without, but a vacation? No way.

If your company is teetering on the edge of layoffs or you’re living paycheck to paycheck, I can understand why you’d want to bypass the holiday in a Maui vacation rental, but an abbreviated excursion, even an extended weekend, can do wonders. Just choose carefully and don’t be stupid. If a road trip to Colorado is more feasible than a splashy European adventure, more power to you. And don’t rule out the savings and space benefits of renting a vacation home.

What’s the truth, though, America? We want to hear from you. Are you sticking by or scrapping your summer vacation? Leave a comment here or follow us (and speak to us) on Twitter @checkincheckout.

The words summer vacation home and biz traveler don’t belong in the same sentence–unless of course you’ve maxed out all but one or two of your vacation days.

The solution: Mixing business with pleasure.

From Manhattan vacation homes to Los Angeles vacation rentals, VacationHomeRentals.com is stockpiled with condominiums, studios and resort-style options to stretch out your client meeting into a full-on extended weekend. Feeling guilty about not spending enough time with the wife and kids much lately? Fly them in after the conference is over.

There you go. Guilty conscience saved and heroism seized.

Especially if your spouse finds out that the vacation rental–part of it anyway–will be on the company’s tab.