With the financial crisis brought about by the burst of the real estate bubble, people have been finding it a bit painful to travel and countless families have passed on taking a much needed vacation with their loved ones. News reports of normally jam-packed airports enjoying relatively free-flowing traffic have pervaded the net and more than a few airlines were forced into mergers just to survive.

Actually, outrageous prices for crude oil were mostly to blame. The high prices that world oil was at, naturally pushed aviation fuel costs up and this in turn was passed-on to airline ticket prices.

High fuel prices consequently decreased world demand as people learned to cut back on fuel consumption and putting-off going on vacations opting to stay at home during the holidays. Well guess what? Decreased demand pushed prices for world crude back to relatively normal levels and now is a good time to plan the vacation you owe yourself and your family.

Going to local theme parks and national landmarks is good, but to really enjoy your break and escape the stresses of normal life, spending your vacation in an exotic location like the Caribbean would be the ultimate stress reliever. If you had the funds, why not take a look at renting luxury villas in Barbados or even private villas in The Algarve? Living the lifestyle of the rich and famous at least for a few days or even a few weeks would be the perfect getaway.

Luxury villas are perfect settings for that dream vacation you’ve been promising yourself and can be one of the most exhilarating and memorable experiences to be had. Barbados, located in the Caribbean north of the isle of Tobago is the birthplace of current Pop music phenomena Rihanna and the place is definitely as exotic as the R&B princess’ looks.

Spending your vacation in one of the luxury villas in Barbados is one of the best travel options available. It is a beautiful island colonized by the British in 1625. The name came from Portuguese sailors who were credited with its discovery. They called the place Os Barbados, meaning "the bearded ones", but no one actually knows if they were pertaining to the island’s landscape or its inhabitants.

Traveling and spending ones vacation in exotic, tropical islands will always include worries about the weather- hurricanes, tsunamis and the like. For an isle in the Caribbean, Barbados is quite small, but relatively safe from calamities like storms because it doesn’t lie in the path of the "strike zone" for hurricanes in the area. The last time it suffered significant damage was way back in 1955 and the fact that hurricanes in the area only happen every 26 years makes renting one of the villas in Barbados one of the safest Caribbean getaways you can experience.

Of course, Barbados isn’t the only island getaway to plan your vacation around. Staying one of the luxury villas in The Algarve located in the scenically breathtaking country of Portugal can be just as memorable. The place is relatively untouched by the dirty hands of modern industry and the beaches there stretch out for over 100 miles.

There’s no shortage of sunny days in The Algarve because there’s an average of 3,000 hours of frolicking in the beach under the Portuguese sun. Choosing from the luxury villas found in The Algarve will take a bit of planning as well due to the large options to choose from. Expect to shell-out around $650 to a little over $1,000 a week staying in one- not very expensive considering you’ll be living like a Spanish nobleman during your long-awaited vacation.