Villas in Spain: Where to Stay, Region by Region

The Canary Islands draw more interest than anywhere else in the country, with the Balearic Islands next. Both are island holidays in the classic sense: you fly in, transfer to your base and spend the week between the pool, the beach and the odd excursion. They are the obvious starting point if you want holiday villas in Spain with the sea close by.

On the mainland, the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol are the two big coastal names, followed by the Costa Dorada and the Costa Brava further north. These are the places to look for villas to rent in Spain if you want to mix beach days with drives inland, and car hire can be compared on this page.

The cities are a different proposition. Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao and Granada are about streets, food and sightseeing, so most travellers stay in a central hotel for a few nights rather than hiring a villa for a fortnight.

On the islands and the costas, the choice usually comes down to three styles. Villa hire in Spain gives you space and privacy, and many travellers specifically filter for villas in Spain with a private pool; if you have ever searched for a villa in Spain with pool, the coastal regions are where to look. Self catering holidays in Spain also include apartments, a practical middle ground for couples and small families.

Families often prefer resort hotels, and waterpark hotels in Spain are a popular request: hotels in Spain with water slides take the effort out of entertaining children, and you can search for hotels with slides in Spain among the live listings here. Adults-only hotels are the opposite end of the same idea.

One note: if you arrived here looking for a Spain villa for sale, this page is about holiday stays rather than property purchase.

For the islands and costas, most British travellers book a package, meaning flight, accommodation and transfers in one booking, and the deals from Jet2holidays, TUI, loveholidays and On the Beach are shown here to compare. Check the board basis carefully: self-catering, half board and all inclusive change the real cost of a week considerably.

If you prefer holiday villas to rent in Spain on their own, compare hotel and villa prices here, then add car hire, since villas on the coast often sit away from the resort centre. Prices rise during UK school holidays, so families who can travel outside those weeks generally have more choice. For city breaks, a short hotel stay plus tours and tickets, also listed on this page, is usually the simplest approach.