Guide To Holiday Rentals In Brittany France
One of France’s most rugged regions, Brittany is a fascinating blend of spectacular coastline, ancient towns, magical islands and inland woods. When you journey through this western peninsula you will discover a people whose language, customs and dress remain a vivid homage of their past.
So it is no wonder that Brittany is one of France’s most popular self catering holiday destinations for both the French and foreigners alike. 3 million French and 700,000 foreigners flock there every summer!
It is easy to see why so many Brits book holiday rentals there because it is well connected to the UK via ports at Roscoff and St-Malo in Brittany and Cherbourg, Caen or Le Havre in the neighbouring region of Normandy. Airports at Brest ,Nantes and Dinard link Brittany to Paris and London and trains from Paris take between two and four hours to reach the main towns of Brittany.
Brittany was a separate country created when Cornish people fled there to escape invasions by the Anglo Saxons. It wasn’t until 1532 that it became a part of France. Nowadays Brittany celebrates its Celtic differences in food, drink, architecture and culture and you can also still hear the Breton language used.
1,875 miles of Atlantic coastline can be found in Brittany, that’s 25 percent of Frances total coastline! The north coast comprises of chocolate box harbours and secret coves; the south coast has stretches of sandy beaches and wide estuaries and the west coast is all rocks and striking cliffs.
Finistere, on the west coast, has a large number of lighthouses and Brittany as a whole has a third of all French lighthouses. The inland areas of Brittany are made up of lakes, moors, woodlands and fields.
The area is popular with walkers, campers and camper vans, plus of course, cyclists. Brittany is a low lying country with no road tolls and little if any traffic congestions. Also you can partake in all manner of water sports, sailing, canoeing, canal boating and fishing.
The town of Rennes, with its well established university is the capital of Brittany and also its largest city, with Brest coming a close second.
Cote D’emeraude, Saint Malo is a very popular destination. Built in granite rock in the English channel, the bathing resort of Saint Malo is known for its castle, the cathedral of Saint Vincent and its 14th century ramparts which overlook the sea. Saint Malo is the birthplace of famous French writer and statesman, Chateaubriand.
Pink Granite Coast, sunset is the best time to explore the headland of Arcouest and the island of Brehat and admire the expanse of sandy beaches and the rusty rock formations in splendid hues of pink which give this coast its name.
The Parish Closes of Thegonnec, Guimiliau and Lampaul - Guimiliau, which were built as early as 1532 are symbols of Brittany’s Catholic and Celtic heritage. These granite religious structures are an intimate mesh of skilled craftsmanship and imagery. Churches, altarpieces and crosses are adorned with elves, Gods and fairies carved in wood.
Quimper/ Pont-Aven - Located in the heart of traditional Brittany and flanked by the Odet and Steir rivers Quimper is famous for its Faience ceramics which have been produced by skilled craftsmen since the 17th Century. The gothic cathedral of Saint Corentin has exceptional 15th Century stained glass windows.
Carnac, Gulf of Morbian, one of the foremost prehistoric centres, the second seaside resort of Carnac is famed for its Megalistic remains from the Neolithic period. In addition to 2792 Menhirs, massive stones erected by tribes who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Gauls, the area is studded with burial places, semi circles and tumuli.
Belle Ile ( ” Beautiful Island” ) is Brittany’s largest and it is located ten miles off the southern coast. Buffeted by storms and fringed by rocky cliffs, it is an isolated natural paradise whose inhabitants are known for their hospitality. The medieval city of Vannes at the head of the Gulf Morbihan is a perfect base from which to explore this magical inland sea and its many islands.
With so much to see and do, it is no wonder Brittany is a very popular holiday destination for private holiday rentals. Its moderate climate attracts people from the UK and Ireland because it is warmer, people from Paris because it is more bracing and people from the south in summer escaping the excessive heat.
As you can see, Brittany has so much to offer.
No commentsMotorhome Rentals For A Different Approach
Motorhome rentals are now a very popular alternative to the conventional holiday packages on offer. Motorhome Rentals give you a great deal of flexibility and freedom and enable you to view many different areas and regions of a country instead of being tied to one area.
Motorhome hire is relatively cheap when you consider that their is room for six adults in many motorhome vehicles which means that the rental of the motorhomes can be shared among a number of people driving down the cost of your holiday.
The world is your oyster when taking a motorhome holiday, eat when you like, go where you like and escape from the rowdy larger lout crowd and hit the open road.
Most modern motorhomes come fully equiped with cooking facilities, heating, toilets and showers and can sleep up to 6 adults making it the perfect choice for a family break.
No comments3 New portal sites
We have now added 3 new portal sites to the directholidaylets.com holiday rentals network. These 3 sites serve a number of purposes such as gaining more exposure to our owners of holiday homes in France, Spain and Florida by having their properties viewable on the portal sites. There is no extra charge for this service and will provide the owners with lots more exposure for their properties.
The sites also provide lots of information the respective countries inlcuding news, articles and books. Each site will be updated more in the coming weeks.
Below are the links to the 3 new sites:-
Holiday rentals in France
Holiday rentals in Spain
Holiday rentals in Florida
How to advertise your holiday or vacation rental using the internet
So, you have a holiday home or vacation rental and you need to advertise it in order to increase your rental revenues? Where do you start and what is the most effective way of achieving this?
By far the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to advertise your holiday home is by utilising the power of the internet. In todays modern high tech world you have the ability to advertise your holiday home to thousands if not millions of people from all corners of the globe in a matter of seconds. It has many advantages over the older style methods of advertising such as magazines, shop windows, and newspapers.
Firstly, printing costs are extremely high and this all adds up to incredibly high prices for even the smallest of lineage adverts in your local newspapers and magazines. Secondly, try changing your images or text at short notice. Not a chance. Once that ad has gone to the printers its to late. You then have to wait for days if not weeks before your advert is published only to find out that you have made a mistake with your weekly rates, photo´s or property description. The result is potentially a loss of enquiries and ultimately this leads to a loss of bookings and rental income.
There are literally hundreds of holiday home advertising websites on the internet charging anything from nothing to a couple of hundred pounds a year for the pleasure of putting your holiday home advert out there in front of millions of web users just looking to find their next holiday home rental.
But which ones are the best to list your holiday home on? With so many around, the choice is difficult but there are some tips and pointers that you should look for before taking the plunge.
Firstly there are 3 main types of holiday rental listing websites. Paid, commission based and free. All have their own advantages and disadvantages which we will now take a look at.
Paid Listings- These are the holiday rental listing sites that charge a yearly or monthly fee to advertise one or more of your properties on their website. Prices can range from as little as ₤25 to ₤150 per year with extra reductions for every subsequent property that you add. Features include the ability to control your ads 24hrs a day, ability to upload numerous digital pictures to your ad, and availability calendars to keep track of bookings. A good example of an excellent paid holiday rental listing site is www.directholidaylets.com
Most holiday home owners who use these paid sites normally use a number of them to advertise their properties as these on average produce the majority of their bookings throughout the year. Holiday home owners generally use around 3 listing websites in order to produce as many bookings as possible.
Commission based - These are the holiday home listing sites that charge around 10% for each booking that is made via the website. There is not normally a subscription or sign-up fee charged but in the long term these can prove to not be so cost effective as every time you make a booking you are losing 10% of your rental revenue.
Free sites – These as the name implies are free for you to list your holiday homes on. No commission or percentage of commission is normally charged. Sometimes these sites offer a free service with the option to upgrade to a paid account which will include extra facilities and benefits. Free sites sometimes make money through advertising and affiliate programs, arrangements in which an online merchant Web site pays affiliate Web sites a commission to send them traffic. Around 80% of holiday home owners use free sites as well as paid as part of their advertising campaign and in my opinion this is a good approach as it wont cost you anything other than a few minutes of your time.
Conclusion
If you are the owner of a holiday home or vacation rental and are looking to maximise your rental income by using the internet there is no doubt that using at least 3 paid and as many free holiday home listing sites as possible is the best route to take in order to generate enough exposure to gain maximum return. To advertise on 3 paid listing sites may cost around ₤300 per year but when you consider that just one booking will probably exceed this amount, your yearly advertising is covered automatically. Everything else is profit. Which is what we all want at the end of the day. Happy renting!
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Robert Griggs is the founder of the Direct Holiday Lets holiday home advertising website which has rental properties listed worldwide. For further information please visit http://www.directholidaylets.com |