Top Ten Vacation Rental Locations You’ve Never Heard Of

The vacation rental industry in America is finally living up to the term ‘industry.’ In recent years the economic value, privacy and customizable ‘at home’ feeling of a vacation rental has spurned the apartment, home and villa rental segment to become the fastest growing travel arena. Strangely, as Rick Fisher – president of the Vacation Home Expo – put it, “Vacation rentals are the travel industry’s best kept secret.” More and more people book every year. Returning from their vacations they report the property they stayed at was as much a feature as the destination itself, and that’s saying a lot considering the top rental areas are places like Tuscany, Paris and New York.

So how is it that a product family whose satisfaction rating is so high and whose sales have recently doubled is remaining a mystery?

It might have something to do with the American’s obsession with branding. We don’t consider something to be a consumer product until it’s got a special name and matching price-tag. How much would you pay for coffee with milk? How about for a Laté? You see my point. Perhaps what needs to happen here is a serious wording makeover for the vacation rental industry.

You’re not renting a gorgeous villa, you’re calendar-piece-owning a luxury dwelling (perhaps a luxerdwel?). And that brings us to our second point, cost. The people to whom a vacation rental is a well known option often believe it is only for the wealthy. This is not so, a group of college kids on vacation would find a better value at a rented apartment or home than at some youth hostels, not to mention the privacy to do what you want at the hours you want.

Whatever the reason, even though the growth of the vacation rental industry is growing more rapidly than any other travel segment, there are still plenty of places you might not have even realized had the option of a rental home. Here they are, and why they are the

Top Ten Places you Never Thought of for a Vacation Rental:

10) Costa Brava, Spain. The “Wild Coast” is a gorgeous stretch of land that lives up to its name. Known for sunbathing, a powerful tide perfect for surfing and an abundance of rugged land that drew the attention of artists like Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.

9) Central Dalmatia, Croatia. You may only know of Dalmatia for the spotted dogs we like to think ride on every fire-truck, but your history professor knows them for many other reasons. Heir to rich legacies of centuries old histories, with the architecture to match, Dalmatia is a beautiful destination for the traveler looking for a genuine, unspoiled experience.

8 ) Prague, Czech Republic. Prague is very, very well known for its beauty. The inspiration for native photography super-star Jan Saudek, Prague is a collage of cobblestone, mist-clung rivers, heaven grasping spires and gothic buildings all quietly quarreling over the bragging rights for ‘most picturesque.’ At night the clear winner is Prague Castle, lit up like a landing strip for errant angels.

Pragure by Night:

Pragure by Day:

7) Budapest, Hungary. Budapest is one of those rare cities that is at once cosmopolitan and ancient, reserved and wild. Budapest is… Budapest, and there is no single adjective that can describe it better. Indeed, returning from Budapest, were you to see an adorable baby vampire eating a frozen chili pepper on a peppermint stick, you might say, “That is so Budapest.”

6) Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen might be the reason why the Danes are no longer riding longboats from port to port hurling axes and stealing wives. The renowned British magazine Monocle rated Copenhagen as the #1 city to live in… in the world. As in Earth. The people are friendly, the beer is plentiful and the city is designed to make everything as easy and convenient as possible. The entire place possesses a refined and hushed beauty, interrupted mainly by the clacking of bicycle tires on cobble.

5) Graz, Austria. It’s rare to find a place out of place that seems to fit in just perfectly. Graz is such a city. Distinctly Austrian, enjoying innovative new architecture and avant-garde theater and music, Graz also cultivates a Mediterranean feel that has earned it the local nickname “Little Italy.”

4) Sardinia, Italy. The Island off the coast of Italy is largely rustic and entirely untamed. The towns and cities are full of friendly people and a sense of community and the local food is like what you would expect at a backyard barbecue in Wonderland. Simple ingredients with complex spices make up the staples of traditional Sardinian food. By far the greatest attraction of this land is the proximity of the ‘wilderness’ to the city. Not far from any settled area are rolling hills and unmolested landscapes.

3) Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Amsterdam is a very popular and perennially trendy vacation spot, but most people heading to the liberal capital of Europe consider a hotel or house boat before a vacation rental apartment. In a city famed for its urban setting, being able to walk out your front door and setting eyes immediately upon brick and wood then walking around the corner to a coffee shop really puts you right into the experience.

2) Tyrol, Austria. The second Austrian destination on our list is Tyrol. This area hosts such resort towns as Innsbruck and Kitsbühel-tourist meccas both. Tyrol is known not only for the skiing, art and culture but also the pastries and desserts. Tyrol might be the only mountainous area known for comfort and luxury, and there’s really no better way to become a part of that comfort than through a vacation rental home. Each town and city in Tyrol (or Tirol, in Austrian) offers something different but they all offer the kindness of people who live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

1) Istria, Croatia. Istria is the most popular foreign destination in Croatia. Sadly, Croatia is still largely undiscovered by American tourists. Istria doesn’t have any direct flights, but getting there via Venice is a simple trick. Each town in Istria is charming. Umag is home to cobbled streets and miniature bays as well as plentiful camping sites. Porec – the most popular holiday resort in Istria – owes much of its fame to the 2,000 year old ‘old town’ and its 6th century Euphrasian Basilica, replete with gold mosaics, is the redefinition of a spiritual experience.