Condo and Villa Rentals Around the World

For Mexico

All About Vacation Rentals (800/321-3134) works mainly with villa rentals in Mexico and the Caribbean, though it rents some properties in Europe and the U.S. also.

Casa Helga Villas (800/418-3322, fax 203/372-6222), in business for over two decades, represents vacation villas in and near Puerto Vallarta and other spots on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. See its Web site at casahelga.com

For Spain and Portugal

Villa Plus is a specialist villa tour operator and has been arranging villa holidays in the Algarve, Portugal and Costa Del Sol, Spain since 1986. Call 011-44-172-783-6686 or visit villaplus.co.uk.

International Lodging Corporation (300 First Avenue, Suite 7C, New York 10009, phone 212/228-5900 or 800/SPAIN-44, fax 212/677-1815, Web address: ilcweb.com) is a major source of vacation home rentals in Spain, supplying everything from one-bedroom apartments to six-bedroom deluxe villas in dozens of cities and locations--and they've done so since 1983. For golfers in particular, it represents several properties alongside the Mijas Golf Course on the Costa del Sol. For travelers seeking kitchenette apartments in Barcelona, it represents the Duques de Bergara in the heart of the shopping and business district.

Interhome (305/940-2299 or 800/882-6864, interhome.com) is a major source for Spain, publishing a large catalogue of four-color photographs of individual properties. We've used its services, and find them reliable.

For the United States

Interhome has 20,000 homes, condos, and apartments for rent in Florida and 14 European countries. Check out interhome.com or call either 305/940-2299 or 800/882-6864.

Villa Net, a big firm of Seattle, Washington (phone 800/964-1891) claims to represent rental homes in Western Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States. For information online, go to rentavilla.com.

For renting a condo on popular Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the company to call is Resort Rentals of Hilton Head Island at 800/845-7017. With over 40 years of experience, it offers rentals of nearly 300 homes and villas in every part of Hilton Head. Visit its Web site at hhivacations.com. The Vacation Villa Referral Center offers rental vacation properties in several states, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. Visit ifb.com/vvrc/view.htm for details and pictures of the properties for rent. Alternately you can call  540/721-9915.

If you're looking for a listing of properties available all over the world (though primarily in the U.S. and the Caribbean), try one of the following Web-based companies: Reservations Direct (reservationsdirect.com or 727/738-1737) direct rentals from private owners worldwide); Condo Vacation World (condoworld.com or 888/391-6766; specializing in areas like Hawaii, Arizona, California, Florida, and Canada, but with additional global listings); and Condo Concepts (condoconcepts.com or 888/CONDO-53; global listing including a frequently updated "specials" page).

For almost everywhere 

The "E-bay" of condo rental sites, Vacation Rental by Owner, better known as VRBO (vrbo.com) has perhaps the most extensive list of properties of any site out there. Looking for an apartment in Recife, Brazil or Cape Town, South Africa? You'll find it at this site, as you will homes in all 50 US States, throught the Caribbean, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. The downside? As the name states, these are all being rented by the owner, so there is no outside agency to inspect properties or guarantee quality or even price.

Mike Thiel's Hideaways International 767 Islington Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801 (800/843-4433 or 603/430-4433 or visit its Web site at hideaways.com ) is a fascinating and popular organization, in business for many years, representing rental villas, apartments, condos, throughout the world, ranging from Cape Cod to Upper Captiva in Florida, from the California Coast to Provence and Tuscany. Instead of acting as a "broker," Mike operates a referral service. He issues a twice-a-year catalogue containing color photographs of hundreds of homes for rental, but without listing their street addresses and phones. If you see something that interests you, and if you have become a member of Hideaways, you phone them and they provide you with the details. You then contact the owner of the home or condo directly, and make your arrangements without involving (or paying a fee to) Hideaways. Membership is $185 a year for two issues per year of the 150-page "Hideaways Guide." Paying the membership fee enables you to rent, say, a private home in the Bahamas for four people for $1200 a week, a big, multi-bedded condo on the Florida coast for $900 a week in winter. You save, according to Thiel, by renting direct.

1001 Villas promises beautiful holiday villas and vacation rentals booked directly from their owners. It rents properties in 28 countries. Go to 1001-villa-holidaylets.com for a complete listing.

For apartment rentals in several major European cities, visit europeapartments.com or call 800/327-6097.

Rent-a-Villa, a big firm of Seattle, Washington (phone 800/488-RENT) claims to represent rental homes in Western Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States. For information online, go to rentavilla.com.

For vacation rentals and non-hosted lodging throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Mexico, and the Caribbean, visit virtualcities.com. The company has an extensive selection of properties to rent.

The Vacation Villa Referral Center offers rental vacation properties in several states, Canada, Hawaii, and the Caribbean. Visit ifb.com/vvrc/view.htm for details and pictures of the properties for rent. Alternately you can call 540/721-9915.

Holiday-rentals.com advertises over 10,000 private vacation homes to rent worldwide, including several properties across the U.S. Costs are reduced because you book directly from the owners via the Internet. Reach Holiday-rentals.com at e-mail feedback@holiday-rentals.com, phone 011-44-20 8743-5577, fax: 4 (0)20 8740-3863, mailing address 1st Floor, Westpoint, 33/34 Warple Way, Acton, London W3 0RG, United Kingdom.

The absurdly studious-sounding Canadian Condominium Institute is actually an independent, non-profit organization formed in 1982. It's the only national association that serves as a clearinghouse on condominium issues and activities across Canada. Phone 416/491-6216, Fax: 416/491-1670 or cci.ca. Mailing address: 2175 Sheppard Avenue East, Ste. 310, Toronto, ON M2J 1W8.