If you are planning to go to Florida for your holiday this year a villa is a great option rather than a traditional hotel or motel. In a villa you can have space luxury and privacy at a surprisingly affordable price, and is becoming the option of choice by many Brits travelling to Florida.

Florida Villa Holidays are easy to arrange with a number of options of how you book, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Book via your tour operator

This is a quick and easy method of booking your villa from a recognised tour operator, but unfortunately the reality is you don’t really know what you have booked!  Often you have a long wait at the airport to establish your exact villa address etc. You usually do not have the chance to choose the exact facilities or location either. Frequently you are paying a Premium to the tour operator who often charges under occupancy rates, so this can work out as relatively expensive option with the tour operator gaining and not the villa owner.

Book with a Management Company Directly

 99% of Florida Villa Owners employ a Management Company to look after their villa. The Management companies promote these villas by websites and other forms of advertising.  Again a  the Management Company takes their cut of the rental fees you pay so you usually end up paying some sort of premium.  You do however get, local knowledge, the choice of home, location and you should know the facilities prior to arrival.

3. Book Direct with the Florida Villa Owner

 There are many websites and magazines available which list properties available for your Florida Villa Holidays. On many rental websites such as Wannavilla you can search using your required date range, location and bedroom to mores specific requirements such as do you want a games room, a cot, an internet connection, a spa etc.

By booking directly with the owner, there are often some fabulous deals to benefit from, as the owner is more able to negotiate on price as they are directly incentivised to rent the villa, having mortgage and utility bills to pay.

Start the search process by sending some enquiries from websites to owners for a free no obligation quote. It may also assist to phone the owner directly and discuss their home for a truly personal insight into the accommodation you want to book. Remember there are few things a Florida Villa Holiday home owner likes better then to talk about their home and Florida!

Thinking a Flight to Florida just isn’t on the cards this year? Think again.

The current economic climate may have us all keeping an extra eye on the budget, but businesses are in exactly the same position with constant thought of tight budget control and sales maximisation and non more so than the airline companies.

Despite oil prices dropping, consumer confidence is low, so airlines are keener than ever for our custom.

There are great deals to be had but you just have to find them, with the internet being your best friend, it is the prepared traveller who is the one who will get the best bargains.

First step is to go online and check the airline sites for the deals, being flexible with your requirement will pay the greatest dividends.

Consider schedule flights as well as charter flights, surprising these can some times be more cost effective.

Consider non direct routes, connections may involve a little sitting around but can save you many £’s/$’s. The added benefit of a non direct route is that you can stop over a couple of days at your connecting airport and have a multi centre vacation, this is especially possible when following on to a villa with flexible start dates and duration of stays. With so many villas to chose from Its easy to search for a villa meeting your exact requirements.

If you can,  be date flexible, a day earlier or day later than your planned outward or return date can save you £’s/$’s and the internet makes it so easy to identify these differences.

Your departure airport can save you £’s/$’s, for example if leaving the UK, flights in August are generally cheaper from Glasgow Scotland than from England. This is because children have returned to school in Scotland and it is therefore no longer peak season.

Fly drives don’t always work out cheaper than booking a flight and car separately, check it out. For car rentals check in advance what is exactly in the package, and check the rates of the car rental companies. From personal experience we once rented via the web a car from “Thirfty” which is part the Dollar Car Rental, as the rate was much cheaper than the “Dollar” website, only to collect the car from the same “Dollar” car compound!

Your arrival airport can also impact on flight price; try alternatives arrival airports such as Sanford International, Orlando International, Tampa International or even Miami International. With villas throughout Florida you are bound to be able to find accommodation near your desired location and airport. Tampa is also only around 1 hours drive back to the Disney area – this is about the same distance as Sanford airport to the main villa areas around Disney.

Don’t get caught out with excess luggage charges read the ticket small print and get yourself a set of luggage scales so that you can be confident when you check your baggage in at the airport that you won’t have to pay excess fees.

Finally as with any online transaction check out the cash back opportunities- Quidco is my personal favourite. At the time of writing this article via the Quidco site for example Expedia were offering 1% back for flight sales and Virgin Atlantic 3%. Other great cash back deals can be had on airport parking, car rentals, airport hotels etc and don’t forget to put it on a cash back credit card as well!

 So you can save some money with a little investigation and planning, enjoy your vacation.

Restaurants Away From Florida Theme Parks

Here are a few of ours to start off the list and reasons why ;-

Columbia Restaurant – Located at Celebration – Relax while you dine in elegance at Columbia Restaurant which overlooks Celebration’s picturesque lake and offers classic elegance in a Mediterranean style setting where diners can enjoy fine Spanish/Cuban cuisine in an old-world-style dining rooms or outdoor cafe. My favourite is the famous “1905″ Salad particularly as they prepare it freshly at your table. There are many fabulous restaurants and Celebration however this one is our favourite.

Manny’s Chop House- Located at 35496 Highway 27 is a very popular restaurant with some magnificent deals. Kids eat Free every Monday and Tuesday. They also have an early bird special Mon-Thursday 4pm-6pm. Fantastic food at great prices – great atmosphere.

Chili’s Restaurant and Bar at Championsgate – A firm family favourite offering a wide variety of excellent appetisers, fajitas, steaks, burgers – something for everyone  - at great prices.

Applebee’s on Highway 27 located at 33897 – Delicious food in this family restaurant and bar – great steaks of all types and sizes, salads, pasta dishes. We particularly liked at our last visit that they did very small desserts for $1. Just right to finish off a meal.

Finally – The Outback Steakhouse Restaurant  - located on the 192 close to marker 4. Cheesy chips and “Bloomin Onion” petals are a favourite of our’s as appetisers and just are hard to beat. Fabulous steaks, burgers and fajitas.

Send us your comments with details of your favourite restaurants and eating places outside the parks.