My husband and I will be traveling to Spain and Portugal this Fall. We would like to rent "long term" apartments (1 month or longer) in Lisbon, Sevilla and Barcelona. Where is the best site to locate comfortable, but reasonably priced apartments?
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10607 posts
Hello fellow Sacramentan - I use vrbo.com (Vacation Rental By Owner) to rent apartments. Because the apartments are individually owned you will find a wide variety of prices.
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
We usually use VRBO for most of our apt rentals in the EU (and US!). When we were in Portugal we used VRBO, and Homelidays.com. Don't forget to check Homeaway.com also. All three are related. As with any Hotel or rental, make sure that the unit has lots of good reviews, and that everything is covered; ie good pics, good description of the location, facilities, etc. Use Google Earth to check out the neighborhood...you don't want to be on a noisy street. Ensure that the neighborhood has close transportation connections, or nearby grocerie/shops. Make sure that it is a "safe" one. We rented a great unit in Lisbon one time, but it was on the ground floor, and you had to insure that you closed the bars on the windows before you left, at any time, or when you went to bed at night. One very important thing in the EU, is to confirm exactly what floor your unit is on, and if they have an elevator....that functions! You don't want to be lugging groceries up to the 4th floor each day...... Cooking facilities very from one rental to another. Make sure that you check out the size of the shower...I don't know how many units that I have rented which required you to open the shower door to retreive the soap when you dropped it!
Posted by
Pantego, NC, USA
1014 posts
We had good luck using this company. http://www.homelidays.co.uk/
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
712 posts
I have used homelidays.com, vrbo.com and homeaway.com, all with success. I too am going to Portugal in the fall and this time I found a fantastic property on airbnb.com. It's very user-friendly and personally, narrowing down specific locations is easier on that site (especially if you are unfamiliar with names and just need a map view of the area). It also gives you a instant quote, but be sure to contact the owner for the real price (the apartment owner gave us the apartment for 200 euro LESS than what the website quoted!). Happy travels!
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
712 posts
One more thing - we are staying a month in Lisbon and the apartment is in the historic Belem district, so fi you like, I can refer you to the apartment owner. Feel free to send me a PM.