Vacation rentals are perfect choice for you to experience local lifestyle if you plan to stay in the same place for about a week. if you travel with children, especially younger kids or even toddlers, you cook the food they like and eat whenever you and kids want to eat instead of gong to restaurants everyday. Staying in a condos or apartment could also safe your money.

The secrets to a relaxing and fun vacation rental is preparation - do your homework a few months before the anticipated travel.

Find Right Vacation Rental

The variety of vacation rental properties are at all price levels - Villas, Condos, Apartments and Log Cabins. You can find almost anything you can hope for - swimming pools, fireplaces and certain number of bathrooms. You start your research on the Web, of course.

If you plan to relax in Florida, typing "Florida vacation rentals" in major search engines will give you a long list of places where you can explore further. If you're excited about winter fun in Vermont, keyword "Vermont Vacation Winter Rentals" will lead you to many sites that have beautiful pictures of winter Vermont.

Learn about Local

Traveling in foreign countries is even more rewarding and sometimes erotic if you're fully prepared. Besides learning the basics of local culture and possibly new languages, you need to learn how to survive in a totally new environment - how to shop for groceries, how transportation works and what kind of food is available. Unlike staying in commercial hotels, their front desks understand English and can help you arrange transportation, you're on your own while staying in vacation rental properties. What's also where the excitement is for travel - to experience a different culture and lifestyle.

Pack your Stuff

Besides all necessary things that you'll need for a vacation, you'll also need to pack the things you'll normally find in and get from hotels - a portable alarm clock, a can opener, bandages etc.

Backup Plan

It's also important to have a back-up plan for your travel - what are you going to do if you'd lost you luggage at airports or the reservation isn't available for unexpected reasons, what are you going to do if the attraction you have planned for is closed for a day or two, and what are you going to do if one of your kids were sick.

The more you plan, the more room there is to have fun. Your vacation goal is to about to explore and experience new culture and new lifestyle, not just to see as many people and places in as few days as possible.

About the Author

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She writes about family, health, Travel and Business experience