Portugal 2: Cabanas, continued

Packaging: a retailing trick to make you think a few cheap components deserve a much higher price by virtue of being bundled together for your convenience.

You've bought your tickets, now it's time to find accommodation for your independently-booked holiday. This should be easy, you think, Googling the words 'holiday apartment Spain.' See, only 11 million sites to choose from!

You can make things a lot easier by going through a site that compiles accommodation rental listings. My own favourite here in the UK is Owners Direct which has worldwide coverage but allows you to drill down to a specific resort if you're fixed on a particular destination (more on picking a resort in a future post).

Thin out your choices according to your budget, party size and amenities you require. One drawback to the site is that there is not a guestbook or feedback section where you can read about other people's experiences with the property.

A good listing will have lots of honest photos, an accurate calendar of availability, a helpful description of the property, plus contact details for the owner. For an example, have a look at the property we chose for our holiday.

It's a good idea to request more photos if you're still unsure, doublecheck availability and even ask for the address so you can map it.

Speaking of photos, here are a few more.

One of the reasons Cabanas has retained its fishing village feel is because the 'seafront' is in fact a river which needs to be crossed in order to reach the sandbar which faces the open sea. Both the river and sandbar belong to a national park.

A small boat or two are always available to ferry sunseekers across the river for €1.20/return.

Here, we just missed one!

The beach has loungers and brollies which are rented for about €5/day, so we learned to bring the brollie from our balcony and to flop atop our towels further along on a quieter section of sand.

More photos and travel tips on the way soon!