Experiential travel – where people look to engage with new cultures, explore new landscapes and try new activities – is a growing travel trend, luring holidaymakers away from the sun lounger and giving them a more interactive appreciation for their destination of choice. Hotels and resorts are already tapping into this trend – but how does it translate to villa holidays, where guests are largely left to their own devices?

“The 'home away from home' concept is traditionally a strong selling point for villa holidays, but it's a mistake to think that villa stays just encourage or allow guests to transfer their regular routine to a warmer climate,” says Becci Aldridge, brand manager at villa rental specialist Villa Select (www.villaselect.com). “Villa guests can opt to stay in less tourist-populated areas where they can involve themselves in the traditions of local communities and, with a little effort and inspiration, guests will find they don't need on-site entertainment or excursion desks to create a memorable, experiential holiday for themselves.”

To demonstrate that villas stays and experiential travel aren't mutually exclusive, Villa Select has come up with three suggestions on how guests at its villas can make the most of their surroundings and get something more out of their week in the sun.

Literature Lovers – host a Mediterranean book club

Book clubs have enjoyed a resurgence over the past decade, giving busy people the nudge they need to pick up a novel and the excuse they want for a drink and some hearty discussions with friends. Holiday is the time many people find an opportunity to read, so why not host a reading retreat in Europe? Guests can find plenty of quiet corners, indoors or out, to relax with a book, and with continental wine available for under €5 a bottle, literary debates can continue long into the night.

Villa Select suggests: “Create a reading list inspired by the destination you'll be visiting to really bring novels to life and help guide your sightseeing choices.”

Top villa picks:

• Read Louis de Berniere's Captain Corelli's Mandolin during a stay at Villa Oxopetra in Kefalonia, which sleeps eight guests and costs from £558 per week. The villa has plenty of reading nooks from the comfortable lounge to the large garden and is a great base from which to explore the locations featured in the story
• Travel to Crete like the lead character in Victoria Hislop's The Island and take a day-trip to the former leper colony of Spinalonga which plays a central role in the novel. Stay at Villa Semaj, which accommodates up to eight guests and costs from £2,254 per week

Foodie Friends - hold an international Come Dine With Me

The popular TV show Come Dine With Me sees participants compete to be the ultimate dinner party host by cooking for each other on subsequent nights. What better way to ensure that the cooking is fairly spread between guests on a villa holiday? Many of Villa Select's properties boast top-of-the-range indoor and outdoor cooking facilities where guests can compete to be named top chef of the week.

Villa Select suggests: “Leave your go-to recipes at home and instead try creating a typical dish from the region you're visiting. Find a market to source the freshest ingredients and pick up some tips from locals at the same time.”

Top villa picks:

• Make sure seafood paella is on the menu at Villa Casesnovas in Mallorca. This fantastic villa has a well-equipped modern kitchen leading on to a formal dining area; as well as a smart outdoor barbecue kitchen and a covered dining area for those chefs who'd prefer to host their meals al fresco. With two acres of land and extensive views, Villa Casesnovas is an ideal spot for hosting dinner parties night after night – and if guests feel like leaving the cooking to a pro one evening, Villa Select can also organise for a private chef to come in (for an extra cost). The villa sleeps up to 11 guests and costs from £874 per week
• Chefs who prefer to create their masterpieces in solitude might favour Villa Domenico in Sicily, where the villa's division into a main house and an annexe means there's a 'spare' kitchen available for fellow guests to grab snacks without prompting a Gordon Ramsay-style flare up for disturbing the preparation of traditional Sicilian arancine. The villa provides a very chic backdrop for a dinner party and again, this property offers an external kitchen, BBQ and wood oven for more casual dining. Villa Domenico sleeps up to 13 guests and costs from £3,760 per week

Bootcamp buddies – get healthy on a DIY fitness break

Sunshine is enough to put most people in a more positive frame of mind and somehow, a warmer climate is also a good motivator for achieving individual health goals. Most people want to return from a holiday feeling mentally or physically revitalised… but signing up to a yoga retreat or a cycling holiday might be taking it a step too far! Villa stays offer the privacy, the time and the space for groups to set their own good intentions and spur each other on. Whether it's working on the rusty front crawl that's too embarrassing to attempt in public at the local leisure centre or aiming for a 10km run without walking intervals, a villa holiday is a great opportunity to focus on fitness without fearing judgement.

Villa Select suggests: “Structure your days around specific goals such as swimming 50 lengths of the pool each morning, walking 10,000 steps to the beach each day and finding 30 minutes for some sunset yoga in the garden. A change of location is also a great opportunity to try something new – stand-up paddleboarding or kayaking, for instance.”   

Top villa picks:

• Villa Montemare in Cyprus is the ultimate playground for active types. Its features include a tennis court and squash room – let the tournaments begin! - an outdoor pool, sauna and a well-equipped fitness room. The beach at Coral Bay is 3km away, so guests can leave the rental car behind and make it a mission to get there on foot. The villa sleeps 12 guests and costs from £4,966 per week
• For guests preferring some guidance or motivation, Villa Select can book an English-speaking personal trainer to run sessions at its Algarve villas. Casa Miramar in Albufeira sleeps up to 12 guests and costs from £3,510 per week. It has a large lawn to host those PT sessions, a tennis court, swimming pool and is just 1km from the nearest beach. Personal training is charged at an extra cost, with prices dependent on the exact requirements and group size

Lead-in prices quoted here are correct at the time of writing. Up-to-date villa availability and pricing are fully visible on each property's page on the Villa Select website. Prices quoted are based on one week rentals and do not include flights. 

View Villa Select's full portfolio of villas and destinations at www.villaselect.com

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