Independent travel.

Independent travel used to conjure up ideas of backpacking around unheard of destinations and staying in remote hostels, sharing your room, and the one functioning toilet with twelve complete strangers.

Well, not any more.

Orlando, Florida is still considered the world's number one family vacation destination. Families too are enjoying the freedom and choice which independent travel now offers.

When we first started visiting Orlando, being huge Disney fans, we decided to stay at one of the Walt Disney World resort hotels. There were only the two of us, and we thought they were great, which they were. But they also proved very expensive. So the next time we travelled we decided to shop around, and stayed in nearby hotels. This certainly saved us money, but there was still something missing. And we knew exactly what it was. There was no space. We had nowhere to relax. Even though there were only two of us, we found the hotel room lacked any real space. Sure there were two beds, and a small writing table, but that was it. And it appears we were not the only ones. When we returned home, we started reading reports and we found that there were an increasing number of complaints made about hotels.

So, what are the alternatives? We searched and we found them, and they are all over Orlando and the Disney area. Condos and Townhouses. The American's have known about Condos and Townhouses for years, and they have been enjoying the benefits of independent travel and saving money too. What is a Condo? A Condo is a full home, located in a building. The person who owns a Condo owns the entire home, and also has an interest in the amenities and facilities of the community.

We gave them a go; we decided to travel to Orlando with a couple of friends, four of us in total. We booked a three bedroom Condo located at Villas at Island Club. This was the best move we ever made. Our Condo was over 1400 sq foot in size. It was probably bigger than our real home. It had room to relax, space to chill out, and every possible facility you could think off. The Condo really changed our vacation experience. We were able to have breakfast together in the morning and plan our day's activities. We were able to come home early and discuss the adventures of our day. We were able to meet other people around the communal pool. Our friends had their own space too, we didn't have to spend every minute of every day together, and that's why we are still friends.

So, is this independent travel? Yes, most definitely. Now, when you are planning your vacation, you don't have to select a package tour where you are told what hotel you are staying in, and what car you a being given. Now you can decide what size home you want. Then you get to look at the homes, to find out about their locations and the facilities they offer. You really can select the home you want. And real people own these homes, so they are really well looked after. Because real people own them, you get a personal touch from the start when you are making inquiries, right through until the end of your vacation.

This really is independent travel. You select you airline. You arrive right in the heart of your vacation location. You select your own vacation Condo or Townhouse, in your chosen location, with the facilities you want. Then you pick your car. Then you really start enjoying your vacations.

We loved it that much we now own a Condo in Villas at Island Club, you can see it at NextDoorToMickey.com and we list our home with TheBigCondoList.com who are the only company who specialise in Condo and Townhouse vacation rentals by owner. We are also members of ForumOrlando.com which is a free to join forum where we can chat with our new friends about all things Florida and of course the Mouse.

Give a Condo a try, why rent a single hotel room, when you can have an entire home??

About the author:

Along with my wife, Karen, we own and operate TheBigCondoList.com which offers vacation Condo and Townhouse rentals in the Walt Disney World area of Orlando, Florida. We also provide a free forum at www.forumorlando.com to allow anyone to chat about their vacation to the number one vacation destination.