Family-friendly vacation rentals,
checked before we name them.
The places we have stayed with our two girls, plus the 2 bedroom vacation rentals we would book next, each one checked against the same filters. Most European hotel rooms cap at two or three people, so a family of four is either two rooms or an apartment.
Nerja, Iceland, Paris, the Azores
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Two bedrooms, a kitchen, walkable.
That is the entire search. Everything else is negotiable and these three are not, because each one solves a problem that ruins a week.
The girls share and the adults sleep. One room with four people in it means everyone goes to bed at the same time, which means the adults go to bed at 8pm for a week. This is the filter that changes the trip most and the one people compromise on first.
Nobody wants to drive after a long day, and a place that requires a car for dinner turns every evening into a negotiation. We would rather a smaller apartment in a walkable street than a bigger one twenty minutes out.
Breakfast in pajamas and an easy dinner on the nights a kid won’t sit through a restaurant. A real stove, not a kettle and a microwave. It is also the main reason an apartment beats two hotel rooms.
Find family-friendly stays on Expedia (hotels and vacation rentals), then run those three filters before you look at anything else.
Bonus points, never deal-breakers: a washer (plenty of good European apartments don’t have one), a dryer on top of that, a second bathroom, and free cancellation. We also want an elevator if the place is more than one flight up. A pool or beach counts where the trip is built around one.
The best family vacation rentals
we have found, by destination.
Every place on this list passes the same checks before we name it: two real bedrooms, a full kitchen, an elevator if it is more than one flight up, a walk to dinner from the base our guide recommends, and a guest rating of 8.5 or better from at least 25 reviews. Each one has a tag so you know which is which.
- Where we stayed or Our pick: we slept there ourselves.
- Fits our filters, Value pick or Splurge: we haven’t stayed there, but it passes every filter above. We read the room-by-room layout, the amenity list and the reviews, not just the headline.
Jump to: Nerja · Lagos · Paris · Bruges · Wengen · Ponta Delgada · North Conway · Boothbay Harbor
The places we have slept and would book again
The ones you can book on Expedia or Vrbo. Two more we would send you to aren’t on either: the Bayside Inn in Boothbay Harbor (book it direct), and the hotel we use in Piraeus the night before an early ferry.
This is one of the Iberlagos apartments on Vrbo: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, washer and dryer.
“Perfectly located” for the south coast and the glacier hike just outside town. We would book it again.
Right by the falls, and just as well located as Vík. We would book it again.
Our last North Conway stay, and one we loved.
Where we stay in San Juan.
Two indoor pools and an outdoor pool, across from Long Sands.
Hotels are not two-bedroom apartments, so ask each one for a room or suite that fits four.
Nerja, Spain
Read our Nerja guide (30 days there) for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
- 2 bedrooms
- 2 baths
- Elevator
- Full kitchen
- Washer
- A/C
- 3 min to the beach
Our first pick: 3 minutes to Playa de la Torrecilla, 10 to the Balcón de Europa, and an elevator. It was about $110 a night when we checked, well under budget.
- 3 bedrooms
- One floor
- Private pool
- Full kitchen
- Washer
- Cot and high chair
- 2 min to Burriana
A 2 minute walk to Burriana, the easiest beach in town with kids, plus its own pool. It was about $270 a night off-season; expect more in July and August.
- 2 bedrooms
- 1.5 baths
- Stairs inside
- Full kitchen
- Washer
- A/C
- Cot and high chair
- 600 m to the Balcón
A whole house about 600 m from the Balcón, with a roof terrace. It is on three levels, so the stairs are inside the house: fine for most kids, harder with a toddler.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Lagos, the Algarve
Read our Lagos guide for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
- 2 bedrooms
- 2 baths
- Full kitchen
- Washer and dryer
- A/C
- Shared pool
- 2 min to Dona Ana
The same complex we booked, with its pool and kids’ pool, and a 2 minute walk down to Dona Ana. It’s the top of the budget and only has 19 reviews so far, but they’re a 9.8.
- 2 bedrooms
- 2 baths
- Full kitchen
- Washer
- A/C
- 450 m to the old town
Between the beach and the center, so walking to dinner is easy. Our value pick.
- 2 bedrooms
- 1 bath
- Full kitchen
- Washer and dryer
- Kids’ pool
- 4 min to the beach
It has a kids’ pool and a dryer, which is rare in Lagos, and it’s a 4 minute walk to the beach. There’s one bathroom for four people.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Paris, in the 7th
Read where to stay in Paris with kids for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
- 2 bedrooms
- Elevator
- Full kitchen
- Washer and dryer
- Near Rue Cler
The closest to our budget in the 7th, and it has a dryer, which you almost never get in Paris.
- 2 bedrooms
- 4th floor, elevator
- Washer and dryer
- A/C
- About 400 m to the Eiffel Tower
More per night, but it has 230 reviews and A/C, which matters in a July heat wave.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Bruges
Read our Amsterdam and Bruges guide for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
- 2 bedrooms
- Full kitchen
- Washer and dryer
- High chair
- 6 min to the Markt
A 6 minute walk to the Market Square and the Belfry, with a laundry room. About $240 a night when we checked.
- 2 bedrooms
- 1 bath
- Full kitchen
- High chair
- 10 min to the station
Under the Saint Salvator tower and a 10 minute walk from the train station, which helps if you arrive from Amsterdam. No washer, but it is two nights. About $225 a night.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Wengen, above Lauterbrunnen
Read our Lauterbrunnen Valley guide for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Ponta Delgada, the Azores
Read our Azores guide for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
North Conway, NH
Read our White Mountains weekend for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
- 2 bedrooms
- 1 bath
- Full kitchen
- A/C
- Walk to Echo Lake
This chalet has one of the deepest review records in the area, and the listing says Echo Lake is a walk away.
- 3 bedrooms
- 2 baths
- Full kitchen
- Washer
- A/C
The one to pick if you want room to spread out and a washer for muddy hiking clothes.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Read our Boothbay Harbor weekend for where to base yourself and what to do.
Numbers match the list below. Pink labels are landmarks. Pins are approximate, as Vrbo places them.
- 2 bedrooms
- 1 bath
- Ramp entry
- Full kitchen
- Washer and dryer
- Travel crib
- Across from Whale Park
Across the street from Whale Park, so you walk to the footbridge, the dock and dinner. About $310 a night when we checked.
- 3 bedrooms
- 2 baths
- Full kitchen
- Washer and dryer
- A/C
- Walk to downtown
A short walk to downtown, with a bedroom each and a deck. It is a little over our budget, about $340 a night.
Ratings and amenities were checked on Vrbo between September and October 2026. Links open for 2 adults and 2 kids with no dates set.
Check the sleeps number,
not the bedroom count.
A listing that says it sleeps four often means a one-bedroom with a sofa bed in the living room. That is not two bedrooms, and you will not find out until you arrive. Read the room-by-room description rather than the headline number, and if it is ambiguous, message the host and ask them to describe the sleeping arrangement in words.
What families ask us.
What makes a vacation rental good for families?
Two real bedrooms so the adults are not in bed at 8pm, a full kitchen, and a location you can walk to dinner from. After that we want an elevator if it is more than one flight up, and a guest rating of 8.5 or better from at least 25 reviews. Vacation rentals for families that have all of that are rarer than the search results suggest, which is why we name the ones that pass.
Why do you look for an apartment instead of a hotel in Europe?
Because most European hotel rooms cap at two or three people, so a family of four means two rooms. An apartment is usually cheaper than two rooms, puts everyone behind one door, and adds a kitchen and a washing machine, both of which change how a two-week trip feels.
Does a listing that sleeps four mean two bedrooms?
Often not. It frequently means a one-bedroom with a sofa bed in the living room, which means the adults have nowhere to sit once the children are asleep. Read the room-by-room description rather than the headline number, and message the host if it is ambiguous.
Why does a washing machine matter so much?
It is a bonus rather than a filter, since plenty of good European apartments don’t have one, but it changes what you pack. Five outfits with a washer covers a two-week trip that would otherwise need fourteen, which is often the difference between two checked bags and none. With children that is the difference between an easy arrival and dragging luggage through a metro.