Elephants on the Beach of Your Dreams

You are sitting under a delightful cabana with a light green, ice-cold mojito in your hand. You can see the hearty waves crashing down onto the light, soft sand. A warm breeze catches your hair and twirls it around to your face giving you that sought-after bohemian look. Kids play on the beach, leaving the adults plenty of relaxing moments. The sunset, oh the sunset, is unlike any other. Golden rays of sunshine poke through light pink cotton candy clouds.

Now picture yourself on a beach where cliffs hang all the way to the water’s edge. The mountains’ dark rock contrast the baby blue water. Small boats full of local fishermen float by as you drink your Thai tea and eat Tom yum. A large island in the distance covered in lush greenery rises from the sea. You hear a strange noise and turn to see where it came from, an elephant. An elephant stands mere meters away from you on the beach.

I can see it now. You are bundled up in a plum peacoat and a cream, cable knit scarf. During your forest walk, it began to snow, and you caught snowflakes on your tongue. When you step inside, your hands begin to thaw as you curl your fingers around a large mug of hot chocolate. You change into your flannel pajamas and watch the snow fall from the leather couch next to the fireplace.

Let’s switch it up. Imagine you think you booked one of the vacations described above. But somehow you ended up in Sunrise, Florida renting a stranger’s house 30 minutes from the ocean and the air conditioner is broken. The closest restaurant is an IKEA and sirens keep your children awake at night. People seem to be everywhere; walking in the middle of the street, driving like maniacs, and there is no space on the beach for your umbrella. How could this have happened?

The answer is truly simple. It is not a luxury villa rental in a pristine area of the world.
To achieve a divine and heavenly vacation, one must book a villa ahead of time and do the proper reading and research in advance. In today’s time, with the internet and accessible travel agents, information has never been as reachable and understandable. There are various airfare websites visitors can use to search for flights to Caribbean islands, Miami, Thailand, Seychelles, or Greece. To find an alluring vacation villa, travelers can read different social media influencer blogs and compare photos and experiences.

It is good to know ahead of time what exactly you are looking for in a villa. Are you looking to travel to a country where nobody you know has been? Are you interested in local night life? Or do you like calm and relaxing nights spent under the stars on the beach? Are you eager to be a ski bunny all week? Do you like bigger villas or more quaint homes? These are the kinds of questions that can help narrow your villa search results as well as save precious time and effort in the vacation planning process.