Club La Costa Resorts & Hotels continues to expand its portfolio of resorts with the announcement of its purchase of Encantada, in Kissimmee, Orlando, just 8 km from Walt Disney World.

Set in lush grounds with its own natural lake, Encantada is close to the best Orlando has to offer - shopping, theme parks, golf and of course unlimited sunshine.

For families looking for a fun Florida break, it’s an ideal location. Encantada is within easy driving distance of Universal Orlando’s brand new attraction The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ (which opened last month) as well as two of the world’s most famous theme parks, SeaWorld and Walt Disney World, which are also close by. Read more

First impressions? The sweeping driveways, manicured lawns and tantalising glimpses of swimming pools and water slides were a sharp contrast to the damp and grey London we left behind earlier that day. Not that we dislike London, but it can be a bit dreary at times and a holiday with guaranteed sunshine can give you that boost you desperately need.

At first I was disappointed we weren't in one of the resort's self-contained villas but the River Island apartment complex has panoramic views overlooking the pool area and I soon realised we'd certainly not been given the short straw. The free and surprisingly fast wi-fi access cemented this view as I can't go long without my internet fixes. Read more

Leading worldwide vacation exchange organisation Interval International will open one of the year’s most important timeshare and fractional ownership conferences, to be held at the Elangeni Southern Sun in Durban, South Africa from 29 to 31 August 2010.

David Clifton, Interval’s managing director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, will kick off the conference as keynote speaker and Darren Ettridge, Interval’s vice president of resort sales and service for Europe, Middle East and Africa, will participate on the “Fractional Ownership in Southern Africa” panel. Read more

Orange Lake Resorts in Orlando is one of the best timeshare opportunities in Florida and is just a stone’s throw from Disney World’s Magic Kingdom® theme park. In fact a 15 minute car ride will take you to its very gates, with Universal Studios being just a 30 minute ride away too!

The resort makes the best use of one of its greatest assets; the generally dependable supply of good Florida weather. The swimming pools are both generous and well laid out with enough variety to cater to most tastes; Boisterous slides for the most active, shallow entry pools for the less so and quiet nooks, poolside bars and private cabanas to suit the least gregarious holidaymaker among us. All pool areas are connected by a winding artificial river. This looping, gently flowing water course allows one to float away an afternoon with a wonderful sense of motion, without effort. Perfect for the workaholic among us who can only truly relax when doing almost nothing! The resort also offers an extensive and well-integrated golfing experience, very nearly from sunrise to sunset. Read more

What makes a good idea great? Some are sparked by necessity, others take off when the time is right, and the best ideas in the holiday industry are based on meeting – preferably exceeding – the needs of the consumer.

Not so long ago we all lived and breathed “a place in the sun.” We were busy buying villas in Vilamoura, doing up farmhouses in the Dordogne, transforming derelict barns in scenic locations into rustic-chic holiday homes. But grey economic clouds started hovering overhead and turned a threatening shade of charcoal. Suddenly, the idea of pouring money into “grand designs” or saddling oneself with a second home mortgage for a place likely to lie empty (pelted by French winter rain) felt a bit burdensome.

Fast-forward to 2010. As the sun breaks through those clouds, property bargains abound and a taste of the good life beckons in emerging, untapped destinations. And in Europe, an American holiday concept over 30 years old is coming of age: timeshare and its younger relative fractional ownership - both immensely popular in the US and ingrained in the American lifestyle - are enjoying a renaissance this side of the pond. Read more

With the summer holidays soon in full swing flight search site Skyscanner.net is reporting a marked increase in searches for flights from the UK to non-European destinations.

The “famous four” -- Alicante, Malaga and Palma in Spain, and Faro in Portugal -- hog the top four slots as they frequently do, with Tenerife and Ibiza at nos. 6 and 7.

Also in the Top 10 most-searched list are New York and Orlando, both new entries this summer. Bangkok took tenth place on the list, despite the recent political unrest there. Read more

Nowhere epitomises “fun in the sun” more than Florida. After you’ve goofed around with Goofy, met Mickey and Co., and had more fun at Disneyland than you can remember since you were seven, there’s one more day out you could try to squeeze in before you fly home.

In a fitting tribute to America's pioneering spirit of space exploration, the Kennedy Space Centre is probably the next best thing to taking a rocket to the moon. Visitors can climb aboard a full size space shuttle replica, see moon rocks and explore the Rocket Garden where eight rockets from past space experiments are on show. Read more

Timeshare owner Christine Green writes about her experiences in owning timeshare. "My love affair with Timeshare began by accident in 1996 when my husband entered a competition during his lunch hour, the prize for which was a holiday. Well, of course, it was really a timeshare presentation and no, we didn’t buy on that occasion, but when talking about it to a friend of ours, he offered to sell us two of his timeshare weeks.

"So began our timeshare experience, two weeks red time in a Spanish resort. To this day we have never stayed at the resort but exchanging those two weeks has sent us on fantastic holidays in Europe and the wider world."  Read more

Timeshare is almost 50 years old, but contrary to popular belief it all started in Switzerland, not the US. It’s an industry that continues to evolve, GoTimeshare's Fiona Klonarides reports. Read more

Worldwide timeshare holiday exchange network Interval International recently surveyed a sample of US members from its membership database. The results are very positive, indicating that the vast majority are satisfied with their timeshare membership while a third are actively contemplating buying even more vacation time. Read more