January is always a popular time to book a holiday and that’s no different for holiday villas in Spain, especially in popular resorts such as the Costa del Sol. In fact this January we’ve seen a larger than expected increase in enquiries being sent directly to the owners of the fabulous holiday homes you’ll find on Costadelvillas. With this in mind we’ve decided to offer five quick tips to finding the perfect holiday villa in Spain…

When traveling one is often drawn to renting an apartment as a self catered rental as this bears clear advantages. Other travelers choose to stay at country or city hotels as their preferred stay. The choice is up to you, but keep in mind that each type has its pros and cons. Use the following criteria to make your choice.

How many travel with you?
It is obvious that hotels are increasingly expensive for extended groups of people. A family of four will call for dear hotel bills even though the hotel may be just a three star. On the other side, apartments can often accommodate 4 people, making this your most cost effective solution.

If you’re planning to drive to Spain, or drive a hire car in Spain it’s worth checking out the Spanish driving laws before heading to the Costa del Sol to ensure you don’t get caught out. There are one or two rules that might take you by surprise and a recent survey carried out by Sainsbury’s Finance found out that as many as one in three Brits could be breaking the law when driving in Spain.

One rule that is often overlooked is the importance of carrying a warning triangle in your car at all times in case of a breakdown. Another unusual rule affects drivers that wear spectacles, who must have a spare with them in their car at all times in case the original pair become damaged.

If you were contacted by a good friend who was stuck in a hotel in Spain because they couldn’t settle the final bill as they’d lost their wallet would you be willing to help them out? Well the chances are that if they contacted you by email alarm bells would probably start to ring, for a start it’s hardly the fastest way to contact someone in an emergency. If that wasn’t enough to doubt the authenticity of the claim then perhaps the fact that the ‘good friend’ was actually stuck in Real Madrid rather than Madrid would give it away!

It seems that one resort on Spain’s sunny coastline has had enough of scantly clad British teenagers walking the streets and have now vowed to clamp down on such behaviour.  Salou on the Costa Daurada to the south of Barcelona has issued a new law that means anyone walking the streets or visiting bars and restaurants, other than those on the beachfront, deemed to be inappropriately dressed could face a fine of up to £245!

The new ruling comes after locals complained about the rowdy behaviour of British students that attended the Saloufest festival during  the Easter holidays. It appears that Spaniards are becoming increasingly frustrated that British holidaymakers think it’s appropriate to walk around the town centre wearing nothing but beachwear.

When it comes to taking your annual summer holiday it’s important that you make the most of every value pound you spend. As with every market there’s always someone out there trying to get their hands on your hard-earned cash so make sure you don’t get caught out and follow our top tips to avoid being fleeced when you get away this summer…

Marbella is one of the Costa del Sol’s most popular holiday destinations. Highly regarded as the ‘luxury’ town on the Costa del Sol Marbella is famous for attracting the rich and famous who flock to bask in the Sun and hang out in the VIP bars and nightclubs of the town’s marina – Puerto Banus,

As one of the Costa’s most popular holiday regions Marbella has a great variety of luxury villas and apartments, ensuring that there is something special on offer for all groups of holidaymakers. At Costa del villas we are pleased to offer some of Marbella’s finest villas, all available to rent directly from the owner allowing you to get the best possible price.

Here’s our top tips for choosing the right holiday villa in the Marbella.

Location

Marbella is one of the Costa del Sol’s largest urbanised areas and holiday villas are available in most of the surrounding areas so it’s important that you choose a property that’s close to the places you want to visit whilst on your holiday. If you’re looking for a party pad then you may want to consider Puerto Banus as it’s close to many of the finest bars and clubs on the Costa del Sol.

Can you think of a worse end to a successful holiday then arriving back at the airport only to find that your car was not waiting for you as promised by the valet parking firm? OK, so it could be worse, but then when you call the company to let them know you’ve arrived and get a message saying that “the voice mailbox for this phone is full” you have a right to panic.

Unfortunately this is the position that one family recently found themselves in when returning from a family holiday in Turkey. They did eventually get their car back… five days later!

Most holidaymakers flying to Malaga Airport choose to fly with a budget airline, and with good reason, the prices are low, the flights are frequent and the service is usually satisfactory. But for visitors to the Costa del Sol looking for something a little more luxurious there are several standard airlines offering a good service from UK airports to Malaga.

Holidaymakers looking to rent a car in the Costa del Sol this summer could soon face a crisis as supply of cars falls everyday. But don’t panic just yet, we’ve compiled a few tips to help ensure you don’t miss out. Here are our top tips to beating the car rental crunch…