There’s a reason most relaxing vacations involve water—something about the rhythm and motion of moving water just soothes the stress right out of a person. If you want to get away this summer and treat yourself to a vacation, a houseboat is a beautiful option for relaxing in comfort and style. The hang-up is that the price sometimes attached with houseboat rentals does the opposite; it can ramp up stress like sticking your finger in a live socket. Luckily, there are some great options out there that take care of a person’s heart health and their wallet—which is, of course, the ideal dream for a get-away vacation.
Take the Florida Keys. The warmth of the water and the sun cast a strong allure on anyone looking to rent a houseboat somewhere exotic and inviting. And Rentmyhouseboats.com has an abundance of
listings at great prices, ranging around $1500 a month from January to April and $995 for all other months. Your rent includes full resort privileges, including use of the pool, restaurant, bar, laundry facilities, and small beach. If you like beautiful sunsets, and who doesn’t, the Key Largo houseboat gets fantastic reviews from past guests.
If the Florida Keys isn’t exotic enough for your needs, equip yourself to float down the canals of Amsterdam by checking out the houseboat rentals on StayAmersterdam.com. With such relaxing and cost-effective options, you’ll be ideally set up to discover Amsterdam and its surrounding waterways at your leisure. Houseboat rentals range from $900 per week, and look for discounts for up to 25% off shoulder season rentals. Another good rental source is House Boat Hotel, which sports over 60 listings, some of which are downright lavish. To cap off your search, try Airbnb.com—there’s over 300 options in Amsterdam. You’ll be certain to find a houseboat in your heart-safe vacation price range, as they have options as low at $67 per night.
Continuing down the exotic thread are the Hong Kong houseboat rentals in the Orient. For only $630 per week you can fall asleep to the harbor view and wake up to the aromas of a home-cooked breakfast. As a nightly rate, this houseboat is $95 for two, but the boat can sleep six. Each passenger beyond two tacks on only $50.
A little closer to home is the Jamestown Resort and Marina on the lovely Lake Cumberland in Kentucky, where you can rent a deluxe houseboat that sleeps six for about $1500 a week. For an even bigger deal you can split the total between two or three couples and go with family friends. Lake Cumberland and the lacey Cumberland Falls are classically gorgeous spots for a houseboat vacation, and there are even rentals for as little as $50 per night to stay in the condos, cabins, or the resort lodge.
And of all the houseboat rental sites to try, Airbnb.com takes the cake every time with the greatest
number of listings and most affordable rental prices. So if this summer is one of those times to get out of town for a prudent but luxurious vacation, heed the call of the water and try looking up houseboat rentals at the destination of your choice through any of these websites or others. It is possible to relax away the stress on the swells with an experience that will carry you through the rest of the year with emotional and financial ease.