Helen Raine discovers the secret to travelling with relatives is to invite as many as possible to share the cost of a pad usually far out of your budget.
Once there was just you, a backpack and perhaps your significant other of the moment.
Now there’s you, your spouse, a parent-in-law or four, the 2.4 kids, the travel cot and the potential for a costly post-holiday divorce. Holidaying has become a hassle.
But help is at hand in the form of the perfect holiday home.
A bijoux apartment in Rome or New York just isn’t going to cut it anymore (trust me, I learned this the hard way).
You need to think big and if you’re bringing the extended family, you can afford to.
After a certain point, extra bedrooms don’t raise the cost of a holiday rental much more, so you can upgrade to the villa with a pool and preferably a large garden with a soundproof, lockable shed where you can go for a lie-down while the in-laws look after the little ones.
The challenge is finding this mythical villa; here are some options that might just save your holiday sanity.
The Old Rectory, Chulmleigh, North Devon, UK
This house has 12 bedrooms and sleeps 24 adults, with extra space for children, ensuring that you won’t get on top of each other.
Even better, there is an outdoor pool with a Grecian folly, a tennis court, a gym and extensive grounds with river meadows and landscaping – plenty of space!
Surrounded by the beautiful countryside of Dartmoor and Exmoor, you won’t be short of quaint villages and rustic pubs.
It’s not exactly cheap at around €6,000 for seven nights, but with the maximum number of adults, that breaks down to €250 each with free kids – not a bad price for a luxury escape. www.theoldrectorychulmleigh.co.uk
Erice Villa (Trapani), Sicily
This 15th century building with sea views sleeps 10 people over two storeys.
Climb the ancient staircase to find five double bedrooms, some with ensuite bathrooms.
There’s also a playroom, terraces and a courtyard garden.
Erice village itself is a medieval beauty in one of the most scenic parts of Sicily, with easy access to Segesta, Castellammare, Isole Egadi and Mozia. It’s just three minutes to Tramontana beach.
Prices start from €158 a night for four people with additional guests €15 a night, plus cleaning and service fee.
www.airbnb.com
Villa Mediterraneo, Calabria, Italy
A seven-bedroom villa with three floors, the Mediterraneo is perched high on a cliff near the historic town of Fuscaldo.
It has stunning ocean views plus a pool and deck that will be hard to tear yourself and the kids away from.
The garden has plenty of shade from the mature olive trees.
There’s air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, TV, a games room, billiards, a jacuzzi, a BBQ and an outdoor pizza oven.
A week costs around €2,450 (just €350 per room, cheaper than some Bugibba hotels).
www.vrbo.com/3320416ha
Erice Villa sleeps up to 10 people, while the restored Chateau de Charmois has space for up to eight guests. Photos: Airbnb.com/Homeaway.com
Chateau de Charmois, Chaumont-sur-Tharonne Chateau, France
Live like a king of France for a week in the Loire Valley at this private chateau with space for eight.
Its fenced grounds include fields, a forest, a lake and lots of walking and biking paths, meaning that you can lose the kids for a day relatively worry-free.
Close by is a village where the bakery dishes out tarte tatin. Send the older offspring down to pick up a fresh baguette and some pain au chocolate, or have an expedition yourself to forage for local groceries.
The Loire river flows through this castle-studded valley, a Unesco World Heritage site and the renaissance Chateau Chambord is a short car ride away, as are the Royal Town of Amboise and Chenonceau.
From €377 a night, it’s too luxurious to miss. One guest said: “Close your eyes and transcend time.”
www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p181900vb#summary
El Molino del Conde, Andalucia, Spain
El Molino del Conde is an Andalucian cortijo (farmhouse).
It used to be a working water mill and bakery that supplied bread by mule to the local farms and villages.
Now it has gorgeous grounds, a pool, tennis, volleyball and badminton courts, as well as 10 bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
It makes a great base to explore the surrounding area; Granada and the Alhambra Palace, Ronda, Grazalema Natural Park and El Tajo gorge with its arched bridge are all easy day trips away.
You could also make it to Malaga, Priego de Cordoba or Zuheros, or you could just hang out by the pool while the children exhaust themselves with tennis, perhaps rousing yourself to stagger into the local whitewashed village for a tapas and wine or to visit the eighth century Moorish Castle with its labyrinth of narrow streets.
A week-long stay at low season costs €3,450.
www.elmolinospain.com