Vacation Home Rentals Blog

Some of us are still in the iffy weather period, with summer lingering just a little bit longer with gorgeous 70-degree temps. For kids, it’s a cruel joke, Mother Nature’s way of taunting, “Haha, you have to be in school.”

But the rugrats don’t have to miss out if you can squeeze in a weekend trip; it’s a lovely time to plan a fall getaway to a Virginia vacation home.

Take Interstate 64 to Colonial Williamsburg, where the falling leaves lend to a timeless backdrop for 18th century America. The men don patriot hats and wigs, while the women wear petticoats, and the buildings transport visitors to the American Revolution era right down to the Governor’s Palace. You’ll hear how African-American slaves endured plantation life and gain a new appreciation of tradesmen and women and their tools, from the blacksmith’s iron to the weaver’s spool.

Nowadays, it’s a misguided notion that working with one’s hands is the job of “menial” laborers, but these were clever, skilled artisans who sweat over dirt and fire to create the cotton that would be turned into quilts, the wax that would become candlesticks and the metal that would be fashioned into tomahawks.

If there’s shame in learning a skill for survival, you wouldn’t know that from visiting here.

For $8.75 million, you can bid on the home that Ponzi built: Bernie Madoff’s former private beach residence on Long Island.

The David Webb-designed house is surprisingly unflashy–fitted with Formica counters and on the smaller side compared with other properties, according to Fortune–considering its ex-owner pirated $65 billion from the people who entrusted him with their life savings and retirements.

Yet the new owner may feel a sense of giving back while enjoying those heavenly ocean views. All the proceeds from the auction and sale will go toward a fund for Madoff’s victims.

The rest of us, meanwhile, will be saving up for our next summer vacation at a Montauk vacation rental like the one above, a relative bargain at $1,500 a week to $3,800 a week depending on the month. The owner gushes about the area’s secluded dunes and virtually uninhabited coastline.

No wonder Bernie felt at home there. It was a hiding place.

To many travelers, the term b&b brings to mind visions of colonial furniture, lace curtains and Grandfather clocks. That’s why you stay in a b&b, no? For the charm?

Well other versions of the b&b exist.

I found one in our Seattle vacation rentals.

This modern home dubbed Chelsea Station, which is split into four apartments, is the city’s answer to the more formal, historic b&bs you’re accustomed to. With its spa-like bathrooms with seamless glass doors, kitchenette with stainless steel touches and sleek patio (with nary a wicker lounge chair in sight), it’s the hipper, more stylized solution to your traveling needs.

One former renter noted that walking into the home was like “stepping into a magazine makeover.”

The spot’s proximity to downtown Seattle, Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market allows travelers to take advantage of Seattle’s reputation as a walking city. Don’t forget to take snapshots of the Rose Garden across the street, along with companions feeding giraffes at the adjacent Woodland Park Zoo.

And just in case you’re wondering, one mainstay of b&b remains: breakfast. It wouldn’t be a b&b otherwise, right?

It’s no secret that any chance a woman can get her face exfoliated and patted with expensive, fruit-smelling creams, she’ll jump on it. If her BFFs happen to join her on spa-cation, even better.

Getting any ideas?

At the Brian Head vacation rental above, one of many Utah vacation homes listed, guests are treated to head-to-toe pampering right on premises. The $77-a-night property sports its own day spa where your bones will get the relief they need and your skin a new glowing sheen. Don’t want to leave your room? Arrange for therapists to come to you.

Guys, there’s another reason to visit the resort: It’s a winter wonderland with 400 inches of Utah powder and hundreds of miles of downhill, cross-country and single-tract trails for skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and tubing. So if you and your lady are snow bunnies, this is the place to be.

During the fall, the Brian Head area explodes with color, from lovely wildflowers to postcard-perfect meadows close waterfalls, ponds and streams. Bring your mountain bike and fishing rod to play in Mother Nature all day.

And then retreat indoors to renew those bones in the hot tub.

Now that’s a distraction everyone can enjoy.

With two weeks left of summer, is it too early to be pushing for fall bookings?

Of course not.

While no one wants to be reminded that the season of sandcastles is slipping away, it’s the savvy marketer who understands the necessity to pounce weeks ahead. Case in point: The owner of the Vermont vacation home above knows his/her customer–a nature buff–and is offering 15 percent off for a weekly rental between Aug. 30 and Oct. 15.

The five-bedroom home sprawls on 50 acres and connects to the Kingdom Trails network in the Northeastern part of the state. Visitors can bike, hike and watch for the random deer or moose. (Yes, moose.) And if the words fall foliage excite you like a cup of warm cider, you’ll most certainly have to make the most of your camera to capture Mother Nature in all her amber, gold and brown splendor.

Winter rates jump to $1,800 a week from Dec. 15 to April 15–so it does in fact pay to be the early bird.

Just don’t market Christmas in July. Now that’s a real turn-off.

If your vacation style is somewhere between rural and city, then a Nashville vacation rental may be your best bet for a getaway.

Take the romance of the country and the raw talent of America’s country music capital and you have this city that combines, um, the best of both worlds. (Yes, Miley Cyrus was born in Tennessee.)

The owners of Blue Moon Farm, the vacation home featured, describe their haven like this: “Surrounded by nothing but views of pastoral bliss, rolling hills, gentle hillsides, and antique barns in the vista, all enjoyed from the convenience of your private wrap-around porches, balconies, and pond-side shade patio.”

The house–which has a full kitchen, spa shower and extended movie collection–sits three miles from the highway on a private country lane in Franklin, Tenn. And when you’ve had your fill of serenity, you’re only 30 minutes from Nashville.

Because a stop at the Grand Ole Opry is a foregone conclusion.

If you have a grade school child like me, the back-to-school shopping is the first thing on your agenda. I don’t know about you, but the whole process has made me a little envious (OK, a lot) for a new fall wardrobe.

Parents, I say we resurrect the tradition for ourselves. Why should we let ourselves go? Don’t we deserve a new pair of boots, too?

And what better place than the capital of fashion? Manhattan, baby.

Consider it your reward for being frugal this summer and wearing last year’s maxi dresses with Target flip-flops, which have holes in them after daily use. Grab your gaggle of girlfriends and find New York City vacation rentals on our site.

Every fashionista knows of the strength in numbers, and traveling with a group will only translate to cheaper housing costs (if there is such a thing in NYC) like the East Village loft pictured. $275 a night won’t seem so bad when five of your BFFs are divvying up the tab.

Just make sure you designate an area of that dining room (I’d take the table–screw sit-down meals; you can eat standing up) for all your loot. And pack an empty suitcase for that fab new fall coat, Chloe handbag and J Brand denim.

Think of them as investments you’ll be able to pass down to your daughter.

At least that’s how I see it.

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.

The Obamas–Bo included–will be vacationing in a Martha’s Vineyard rental at the end of August. The 28-acre farm rents for $50,000 a week and sports a pool, beach, underground movie theater, golf practice tee and–good thing for Barack–a basketball court.

Am just a wee bit jealous, but aren’t we all?

The president made a good point, though. Just because these are trying times for Americans doesn’t mean he shouldn’t take out quality time to spend with his daughters. In fact, we should all be doing that if we can–slowing down, getting back to each other–and it doesn’t have to involve a $20-million estate.

My vote goes to New York vacation rentals in the Adirondacks. A dip in the database surfaced this  Chateaugay Lake vacation home, which sits right on the water and spoils guests with glimpses of eagles, heron, osprey and moose, lists for a manageable $650 a week through the end of September.

In quiet moments, you’ll sizzle steaks on the grill, drink beer on the deck or fish. Hate sitting down? Get your heart rate going while kayaking or hiking one of the many trails nearby. Another plus: For an additional fee, you’ll be able to take your own pooch on vacation, too.

Just like the Obamas.

See, you’re more like them after all.

“If there is a heaven on earth, I think I was there today,” wrote a friend on her Facebook status of her stay in St. John, Virgin Islands.

Such cooing has been a daily, sometimes twice-a-day, habit of the girl since she moved to the VI two weeks ago. If I wasn’t writing about paradises all the time, I would probably want to smash her mobile phone’s camera into a thousand little pieces. But today’s update was kinda nice–none of the “Gina is island bound in 10 days” business. It actually had soul. It sounds like her surroundings truly moved her.

Lucky girl.

A Caribbean house rental still ranks No. 1 on my list of vacation destinations. The ease of access (no passport necessary), affordable airfares (I found a trip for $492 roundtrip for next week on Delta.), U.S.  dollar currency and airy, cliffside homes would suit my getaway needs down to a tee.

Homes like the one pictured are commonplace in the VI, decked out with sprawling verandas, open fire pits, wet bars and outdoor/indoor living rooms to enjoy the sea breezes. You, the surf and the sunset. What could be better than that?

I’ll tell you what: Actually being there.

Tell my friend Gina I said hello.