If you were given your choice of a two-week vacation on any locale whatsoever on the face of this earth, what would you choose?

It's the beach for me. There's nothing like lying on a sun-drenched beach under the cool shade of palm trees while watching the ocean gracefully and naturally sway to and fro. It would be nice having a waiter nearby to bring you an endless supply of pina colada cocktails and fresh seafood, but that's optional.

It doesn't matter where the beach is - Hawaii , Florida , France , the Bahamas, Greece, Spain or anywhere in the Pacific - as long as you can see the relaxing waves on the ocean and soak up the sun. It's a slice of heaven on earth.

Unfortunately, for lots of people, the prohibitive cost of staying at a beachfront hotel kills all dreams of a beach vacation. However, there are cost-effective alternatives that can help you save and still retain that beach front location. Try looking for beach vacation rentals.

Beach vacation rentals are usually someone's beach front home that they rent out to tourists and other visitors. They are clean, well-furnished and comfortable and deliciously close to the beach. Living in someone else's house also has its share of advantages over renting an expensive single room at a hotel. For one thing, you have more bedrooms to occupy, lots more room for entertaining and what-not, as well as kitchen facilities. These all translate into substantial savings especially for families with five members or more.

Looking for a suitable beach vacation rental is not as difficult as it may seem. The easiest way is to look for a real estate agency in the city you will be visiting since such agencies keep listings of available beach vacation rentals, complete with photographs, rental rates and other pertinent information. It's possible to find and communicate with these real estate agencies online.

Another way is to surf the city websites of the place that you plan to visit since these usually have business directories that list everything from the neighborhood barber to the fanciest restaurants in town. Of course, the real estate agents and agencies will be listed there as well and, if you're lucky, so too will a roster of available beach rentals.

Most beach rentals are for a week or less and, if you are planning to stay longer, you can probably get a discount on your rental rate. Some of these rentals even offer a staff that will cater to your every need.