Private holiday rentals: the best sites to book with

Holiday rentals: now there's a big subject! If you want to get away by renting from a private owner, here are our 4 favourite sites.

Airbnb

We won't dwell on it for too long, but Airbnb is now THE go-to name for renting from private owners.

Its big plus? You can book anything from individual rooms to houses and even châteaux! An option for quirky places to stay appeared recently, and you'll come across some real gems.

We're also big fans of being able to book experiences alongside your accommodation.

Abritel

Abritel belongs to the Home Way group (Expedia) and lists more than 2 million properties across 190 countries.

Here too, you can pick the place of your dreams: houses, villas, shepherd's huts and more. There's plenty to choose from.

Its big plus? The « Free cancellation » section, which is proving hugely popular in these unsettled times for tourism.

PAP vacances

Best known for long-term property lettings, the platform is also expanding into holiday lettings.

Widely used by private owners, the site offers rentals with no booking fees for holidaymakers, with listings sorted by region or by theme!

For us, PAP vacances feels a bit like leboncoin!

Loisirs enchères

We'll admit it: this is the least well known of the four, but certainly not the least interesting!

In fact, you could call it the site for the best deals. You book your holiday by bidding, which makes it far easier to keep an eye on your budget.

The one small drawback: on loisirs enchères you need to be quick off the mark and patient. But a good holiday rental is worth taking your time over.