Alternative vacation lodging arrangements

Are you tired of staying at hotels when you visit Branson?  Are bed and breakfast rooms too cramped?  Are lakeshore resorts too dated for your tastes?  Do you have a big family or are you vacationing with a big group of people?  I have a suggestion for you – vacation home rentals.

Vacation home rentals are different than timeshare vacations.  Vacation homes are actual homes or condos that are rented out to travelers.  Vacation homes come in a variety of sizes, from one bedroom to several bedrooms.  These vacation homes have all the comforts of home.  All you have to do is bring yourself and your gear, and then go shop for food, unless you’re planning on eating in restaurants the entire trip. 

A vacation home rental is perfect if you or a loved one has a special diet that you can’t find at a Branson restaurant. Or perhaps it would help you stay on your diet - Branson is not known for healthy food, especially with all the buffets.  If you are vacationing with a large group, such as a family reunion, it would be more efficient for everyone to stay in one location.  You can also split the cost of lodging with everyone, which could be cheaper in the long run.  Most vacation homes also have washers and dryers, which would cut back on laundry duties when you get back home from vacation. 

The best place to look for vacation home rentals is online.  I did a Google search for “Branson vacation home rentals” and came up with several pages of websites.  The most well-known website for searching for vacation rentals is vrbo.com. TripAdvisor.com has partnered with HomeAway.com for vacation rental listings. I also enjoyed looking at the homes at flipkey.com.  There are also owners renting vacation homes on Craigslist, but I’m a little leery about using Craigslist for anything after what happened to the couple in Georgia who were killed after meeting with someone who had a car for sale. 

Rental costs for vacation homes vary according to the number of bedrooms, the location, and the time of the year.  Like hotel rooms and resorts, rental costs are more expensive during the busy season, which starts Memorial Day weekend and runs through Labor Day weekend.  Rentals are more expensive if they are located on Indian Point or near Table Rock Lake.  I did find a 2 BD home on Flipkey for $70.00/night for our selected dates. Maybe I can talk my hubby into it. Wish me luck!   

On a personal note, I have started my yearly Branson vacation planning.  I’ve been comparing prices for hotels on various travel websites.  I’m hoping that we can stay at a resort on Indian Point this year.  It’s been 5 years since we have stayed on Indian Point, and I really miss it.  I love being able to look out the window and being able to see Table Rock Lake. I like vacationing close to the great outdoors, which is more peaceful than being in the hustle and bustle of the city. Being able to look out on the water soothes my soul. I found a couple of resorts on Indian Point that don’t go to summer rates until the middle of June, which is amazing. As mentioned above, summer rates usually begin Memorial Day weekend. 

Don’t forget - if you’re on Facebook, stop by and click the like button on the Branson on Your Budget page!  I update that page with special deals and other tidbits of information that are too short for a blog post. 

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!  See you again soon!

Diane

Finding your home away from home - Branson lodging

One of the first things we do (besides figuring out the dates we're going) is to select our lodging for our Branson vacation.  Every family's vacation style is different, and so are their lodging requirements.  For example, are your days and evenings so full of activities that you're only going to need a place to crash every night?  If so, maybe a cheaper (but clean, of course) place to stay is in order.  If you have a large family or are vacationing with other families, perhaps a condo would better suit your needs.  Here is a listing of the different kinds of lodging available in Branson:

Hotels
Branson may have a reputation as being an inexpensive place to visit, but there are several upscale hotels for you to stay at if you love being pampered while on vacation.  There are two Hilton hotels which are both at Branson Landing, the Grand Plaza, the Radisson, and Chateau on the Lake. 

Motels
Branson has motels just about everywhere.  Most motels at the very least have an outdoor swimming pool and a continental breakfast (breakfast items offered vary by location, of course).  Other motels may have indoor swimming pools and hot tubs.  There are mom and pop motels all the way up to major nationwide chains, such as La Quinta, Ramada Inn, and Best Western. 

Resorts
When most people think of resorts, they think of the Caribbean Islands or Mexico - the kind with a white sand beach and a blue ocean.  The word "resort" means something different in Branson.  Resorts in Branson are located either on Indian Point close to the lake or on the shores of Lake Taneycomo.  Click here to go to the web site for the Indian Point Chamber of Commerce. On the left hand side of the page, click on Vacation Planner, then Lodging, then Resorts.  You will see a listing of resorts on Indian Point.  Click on the names of the resorts to go to their web sites. Resorts will have cottages, houses or duplexes to stay in.

Condominiums
Condos are great for large families, those traveling in a group or traveling with other families.  Some condos in Branson are located next to golf courses, while other condos are closer to the lakes.  There are time share condos in Branson, so if you own a time share elsewhere, you may want to see if you can swap for a week at a condo in Branson.

Bed and Breakfast
For those who like smaller, more intimate lodging, there are several bed and breakfast locations in Branson.

Campgrounds
If you own an RV or enjoy tent camping, you will find several campgrounds to park your RV or pitch your tent.  Some of them are close to all the action on Hwy. 76, so you may be able to walk to shows, restaurants, etc.

Once you decide what option of lodging you want, you may be asking yourself how to find the best places to stay at.  I find the reviews at TripAdvisor.com most helpful.  I also value the reviews at my favorite Branson message board, which you can find here.  Just click on the Branson Lodging forum. If there is a particular property you're interested in, you can perform a search to pull up a thread on it and if there isn't a thread on that property, you can join the board and post your own thread.  

I've added a new page called "General Branson Information."  You can find it on the top of the blog next to the other tabs. 

Well, that's all for now.  I hope this post has been helpful.  Until next time -

Happy travels!

Diane