How to Choose the Best Beach House for Your Family Vacation

Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and this feature about How to Choose the Best Beach House for Your Family Vacation.

There’s nothing quite like a beachside vacation. Fun in the sun is the perfect palliative for kids who spend too much time staring at computer and cell phone screens and for weary, overworked parents. You can choose to find a beach house on your own via a number of online platforms, but you should know that you are always leaving open the possibility that the home you choose will not be as advertised. It might not even be as close to the beachfront as you were led to believe.

If you want to guarantee the house you rent will be as advertised, you need to see a reputable real estate agent who is an expert not only on the beach you wish to visit but also on the many rental units available there. Says the pros at North Carolina’s Sun Realty, a company that specializes in Outer Banks rentals, if you’re planning a beachside holiday, it’s important to choose a real estate agent who lives and works in your preferred destination.

For instance, if you wish to rent a big beach house for a family reunion that’s within walking distance of activities and restaurants, chances are they can handle it well. If you’re looking for an escape for your immediate family away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life inside the natural landscape, they can provide you with the perfect vacation rental. Plus, you have the benefit of dealing with local staff who can assist you immediately with any problems that arise during your beachside holiday.  

How to Choose the Best Beach House for Your Family Vacation

That said, how do you go about choosing the best beach house for your family vacation? According to a recent report by The Points Guy, maybe a holiday getaway to the beach seems like a great idea. But if you plan on squeezing the entire family into a 300-square-foot motel room at a beachside resort while competing with other vacationing families for free spots around the pool, you might be in for a whole lot of heartache. But there’s another, more relaxing way to go about a getaway to the beach. 

While vacation resort hotel rooms can be great for two people, they’re not so great when it comes to housing the whole family. However, a beach house can be an excellent way for the entire family to get together with room to spare. Since you have room to spread out, you will likely have the time of your life and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Here are some top tips for selecting the perfect beach house rental for your family vacation.   

1. Beach View and Beach Front Are Not the Same

When it comes to renting a house on the beach, location should be everything. After all, the location of your house will have a major effect on your holiday experience. It will also influence the price you pay for that prime location.

Real beachfront houses are convenient, but they cost far more than rentals located a short drive or even a few streets away. You need to make the decision far in advance of your vacation of how close you need to be to the surf and sand before you can have a good experience.   

For travelers who have mobility issues, toddlers, or babies, being located right on the sand might be of the utmost importance. But if you are traveling with energetic teens or adults who will be pitching into a cart around all the travel gear, it might make sense to save some money and rent a beach view place.

Some beachfront communities offer the use of golf carts, which allows you to have excellent mobility if your house is not located right on the beach. You can also rent bikes or even motor scooters too.

2. Not All Cancellation Policies are Equal

It’s important to check your prospective rental’s cancellation policy prior to clicking on the “book now” icon. For instance, you might be planning on what looks like the optimum beachfront rental. But if a hurricane decides to hit, you will have no choice but to cancel your trip.

In some cases, extreme weather events ARE NOT enough to allow for a refund or even to switch your dates without having to pay a penalty. This is why travel insurance was invented. It can pay for unanticipated emergencies like a hurricane or a sudden family sickness or injury that will prevent travel. Remember to always read the fine print before you decide to charge your credit card for that beautiful but expensive beach house.

3. Make Sure to Get the Exact Address

Online rental platforms will often display a cursory map of how far the beach home is from the water’s edge. These maps can be misleading. For instance, being located 900 feet from the beach might mean you can still see the water while accessing the easiest path to make it there on foot. But keep in mind that it might mean you can’t see the ocean at all.

On top of that, an easy, navigable path to the water might not exist at all. Despite the information offered by cursory maps on the rental website, the actual location of the vacation rental might, in reality, be miles away.

In the end, it’s a best practice to get the precise rental address from the property management company or the home’s owner. You can then utilize Google Maps’s “Street View” app to get a clear idea of where the rental home is located in relation to the beach.

4. A Pool is a Cool Plus

Says The Points Guy, once you find a private rental that’s got access to a private pool, you’ll likely never go back to a property that doesn’t have a pool again. The waves and the sun you get beachside are a heck of a lot of fun, but sometimes it’s just as much fun to hang around the pool all day without dragging all your stuff down to the beach. 

Pools are also a great way to entertain friends and relatives in the evening. Who doesn’t like a poolside party? Plus, if the weather permits, you can enjoy a post-dinner nighttime swim. Look for rental homes with hot tubs, too, for an even better vacation experience.

Final Thoughts on How to Choose the Best Beach House for Your Family Vacation

If you’re planning a beachside vacation, you can easily rent a beachfront or beach-view house on your own. But will you be getting exactly what’s advertised? In the final analysis, it’s a better idea to contact a reputable local real estate agent whom you can trust. Only then can you truly look forward to the beachside holiday of your life.

I hope you enjoyed this feature about How to Choose the Best Beach House for Your Family Vacation, and you can also have a look more of our travel features.

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