Once you're in the market for a vacation home, it can be tricky to narrow down your options for where to buy. This is especially the case if you're a home buyer who hasn't extensively vacationed in the U.S., or you want to buy a home in a place you haven't spent much time in. While you may have a general idea of whether you're looking for a beach house or something a little different, knowing the perfect travel destination to spend the bulk of your future vacations can be elusive at best. To help you jump start your shopping list, here are five of the top vacation home locations in the U.S. Whether you end up considering property from a location on this list or something you find on your own, be a smart home buyer by keeping details in mind like travel time, desirability to potential renters and overall property value expectations.
While not the most practical location for many, who among us hasn't dreamed of kicking back in their very own Hawaiian beach house? Buying a property on any of the Hawaiian islands may not make sense for someone on the mainland who wants to spend long weekends in their vacation home, but it doesn't get much better from a rentability standpoint. Even during the off-peak tourist season, the weather is still ideal. Because this is one travel destination many people keep on their permanent dream vacation list, a Hawaiian beach house may be in hot demand throughout the year, even if you can't visit it yourself as often as you like.
If you're like most people, you might think of only two things when you think of Florida: Retirement homes and Disney. If you're a home buyer willing to forgo all the glitz of Orlando, you stand to save a bundle by buying your vacation home in Jacksonville instead of one of the hotter tourist draws. Jacksonville, which is the largest city in Florida, is located in the northeast part of the state, making it one of the more accessible locations in Florida that's on the water.
If spending your time at beach house isn't your idea of paradise, maybe playing 18 holes is. Of course, Phoenix has much more to offer than golf. Depending on the time of year you plan to visit, you could spend your time hot air ballooning, watching spring training for major league baseball, rock climbing or hiking. For the home buyer who craves nice weather year-round, Phoenix has a lot to offer.
If you're a home buyer with a taste for wide open spaces, you'll find plenty in Montana. Big Sky has a lot to offer, from skiing to river rafting to hiking--and that's just a small sampling of what you can do during your vacations here. A home in Big Sky means leaf-peeping in the fall, snow sports in the winter, and a place to get away from summer heat.
Buying a vacation home in Lake Placid gives you a wide variety of activities to consider. You'll get access to all the fun of boating and fishing at the lake, but other seasonal activities can help you keep the spice in your vacations. A home buyer in Lake Placid will have access to summer season special events like film festivals, marathons and horse shows. As a region with prominent seasons, you can vacation here multiple times per year and never have the same vacation twice.