If you're planning family travel, it can be challenging to sift through the thousands of options for a family vacation rental home. These five basic tips will help you get started on the right track to choosing the one that will suit your family!

Travel plans in the works? With so many options out there, how do you know which family vacation rental home to choose?
I've been adventuring on road trips, flying around the world, and staying in rental homes my whole life. Now with my own two kids and a dog, I know how challenging it can be to find just the right family vacation rental home.

One of our annual vacations as a family is a road trip 3 hours east to central Oregon. We usually rent a vacation home or condo in Sunriver Resort. It's a gorgeous family-friendly destination full of SO much to do!
For more about Sunriver, read my posts about Sunriver Resort, Carson's American Kitchen, and Sisters Saloon.
This year, we had the pleasure of working with Cascara Vacation Rentals. They set us up with a BEAUTIFUL vacation home (all of the home photos in this post are from our recent stay!), which truly made me realize all of the things we need to consider when searching for a home away from home! Thought I would share some of the tips that have helped us along the way.
5 tips for choosing a family vacation rental home

Here are my top five tips for choosing a family vacation rental home. These are five things that have helped me personally select the right family vacation rental homes. I hope this helps you and your family on your next trip!
1. Pay close attention to the photos
I can't stress the importance of reviewing ALL of the photos for potential vacation homes enough. This is probably where I spend most of my research time.
When doing an online search, if there aren't several well-lit, clear, recent photos of the house, then I suggest you continue the search. In today's highly visual, online world, all reputable vacation home rental properties have a good selection of photos that showcase the property.

You should be able to see photos of the ENTIRE home: the outside, the street view, the beach/mountain nearby, the kitchen, the bathrooms, the bedrooms, the living space, patio, deck, garage - you name it.

Look at the date of the photos as well, since sometimes places have been renovated - for better or worse sometimes! - and you'll want to know that what you are looking at is truly what you will actually get when you visit.

Note things that might be of importance to you and your particular family:
- are there enough beds and are the beds big enough?
- does it look like adequate closet space?
- do the carpets or hardwoods look clean?
- does the bedding look clean and comfortable?

2. Know how much space you're getting
A lesson I've learned in my various vacation rental home stays: square footage never tells the whole story and not all space is created equal.

High ceilings can make a space seem larger and give you more breathing room, whereas low ceilings can make the same space feel confined.
We loved the high ceilings and open air living spaces of our recent vacation rental in Sunriver Resort. Breathing room and space is SO important for families traveling together - especially with a large dog!

We also loved that the place wasn't crammed full of big furniture. It was designed with lots of traffic flow space between rooms and within rooms, with furniture that left lots of breathing room. Families need a lot of traffic flow space otherwise you'll feel like you're running into each other constantly, and that's no vacation!

You'll also want to note: is there outdoor space, and if so, is it private or shared? Is it completely fenced off (important for pet owners)? Does the patio come with chairs, dining space, a grill, hot tub?
3. Your family vacation rental home should be well stocked

When you travel, it's nice to not to have to pack up your whole house in order to go on vacation.
One of my favorite perks of renting a vacation home is that most come fully stocked with all of your household daily needs. That said, you'll want to check with your rental company to make sure you know exactly what will be waiting for you.

In addition to the basics, such as extra rolls of toilet paper, towels, extra pillows and sheets, we love when there's a fully stocked kitchen with plates, cups, utensils, serving trays. Also look for the kind of small appliances you use daily, like a coffee maker, toaster, and microwave.

Experienced vacation home renters will also stock the home with family-friendly activities such as board games, and a varied selection of books and magazines. Sometimes you'll even find a video game console (call ahead to find out which one, so your kids know to bring their games), foosball table, or yard games like corn hole.
4. Family-friendly activities nearby
It's also important to find a place that as a lot of fun activities you know your family will love within walking distance from your home.

At our rental home in Sunriver Resort, all we had to do was step outside the back patio and a few steps onto one of the many walking trails that leads directly to the main village. In the other direction, the walking trails lead to the SHARC (Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic Recreation Center). Both were just a short 5-minute walk from our rental home!

Our recent Cascara Vacation Rental home in Sunriver Resort came with eight (8!!) passes to SHARC. Perks like this in a vacation rental home cannot be beat!
Having nearby activities helps cut down on extra travel time and let you and your family truly enjoy your vacation to the fullest.
5. Customer service
Finally, look for a vacation rental company that exudes nothing but excellent customer service from the beginning. The level of customer service you receive before you even arrive at your vacation rental home speaks volumes. It's telling of the type of property you are renting and the type of vacation experience you can expect to enjoy.

Before arriving at our vacation in Sunriver, I received a super friendly, welcoming email from the folks at Cascara Vacation Rentals. They also happily responded to my questions about the space and the nearby restaurants with another helpful email. Then, on our way out to the resort, I received an email. It was notifying me of a potential leak issue that was just discovered in the home. They gave me several options, and responded promptly. During our stay, everyone at the rental office and on the phone was friendly, warm, honest, and helpful.
The right vacation rental property company and the right individual renters will help make your vacation all the more relaxing and enjoyable, as it should be.
Happy travels!
Those are just five of the top tips I have for finding the right family vacation rental home. If you have any further questions, I am happy to try to answer them in the comments below!
What about you? What helps you find the right vacation rental home when you travel?
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Disclosure: Cascara Vacation Rentals comped our stay at the beautiful home featured here. I highly recommend working with them if you are traveling to Sunriver Resort! We LOVED our rental home and everything about our stay! As always, I was under no obligation to post anything, and all opinions and photos are my own.
Raj says
My wife and I are excited about planning a vacation soon. I appreciate your suggestion that a vacation rental could be a great option for us. We'll definitely take your advice and look for a rental with plenty of good photos showcasing its amenities.
Rosie Beckett says
My mom is planning a trip for our family to some National Parks next month, and she wants to find the perfect vacation rental for us to stay at together. There will be 10 of us, and that means that we will need a lot of space and bedrooms! I also love that you mention finding out if the rental home is stocked with daily items because I know we plan to do a lot of cooking at the house during the trip.
Callum Palmer says
My family and I are planning on taking a week-long trip sometime during December. We'll be going somewhere warm and somewhere that probably has a beach. Now before we book the first rental I see, I'll have to take some things into consideration. As you listed here, there are some things that we'll have to keep in mind. Knowing how much space is in the house I think is one of the more important factors. That way, we can be sure that everyone will be able to stay there comfortably.
Alan Blake says
I think vacation homes often make a lot more sense, especially if you're travelling with a family or large group of friends.
Valenica Abbott says
My parents are starting to look into getting a vacation rental home. I liked that you pointed out that it would be smart to make sure that you know if you want to have a nice kitchen or not. That does seem like a good thing to have figured out before looking for a rental property.
Martha says
Wonderful place. Just can't wait to be there. My kids are also waiting. Really magnificent. Thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful post.
Raymond Cooper says
My wife and I would love to go on a vacation in the near future. I like how you point out that a vacation rental can be a good option for us to go with. I'll definitely take your advice and look for a rental that has plenty of good photos showing off the rental's amenities.
Gerty Gift says
I like what you had to say about making sure you see pictures of the entire home. I would have overlooked something like that and settled for whatever I found. I think this is a great thing to watch for because you do want to know exactly what you will be paying for and staying in. Thank you for the advice.
Samuel Cooper says
Hi Marlynn,
I’m thinking of 1-week vacation in a rental house, so it’s important for me to find the best vacation rental house. It’s crucial for me to ensure that I will only rent a place that has a proven record of satisfied clients to get an assurance that my family is going to have a great vacation. I will make sure to consider all your tips.Thank you!
Daniel Hall says
Thanks for sharing these great tips and photos! Our family is planning to go on a holiday to Ireland this summer, but we’re having a hard time picking a place to stay in. One of my friends recommended this provider of Portrush holiday home rentals, and although they have nice accommodations, we can’t pick which one to get! We’ll definitely consider the things you shared here so we can finalise our plans.
Ruby Penrod says
I like how you said to look at the date the photos advertising vacation homes are displaying. My mom is looking into renting a vacation home this summer for our family vacation. Thank you for the tips on finding a good holiday home.
Hannah Neilson says
I agree that you want to consider the number of beds when choosing a vacation rental. It wouldn't be a really proper vacation if some of your family members had to sleep on the ground or couch. My husband and I want to go on vacation when our kids are on spring break, so we'll have to consider how many beds there are when we look at different places.