Large groups of friends and family are finding a way around soaring prices of villa self-catering holidays in pricey “euroland”, by booking big villas and holiday complexes and splitting the cost between large numbers of guests.

A marked trend is becoming apparent of groups of friends and family clubbing together to rent some really exceptional holiday homes, and then the prices tend to come crashing down, particularly if you can drive there and cash in on a ferry deal.

Lucy Thorp at the Big Domain says: “There is little doubt you get more add-ons and luxury for your pound – pools, tennis courts and other things people like on holiday – if you take the largest properties.

“Prices on larger properties don’t rise on strict proportion to prices of cheaper properties.”

The Big Domain is currently advertising a farmhouse built in 1843 at Villefranche de Lauragais in the Midi-Pyrennes region of France for 2,200 euro per week, sleeping 20, following a luxury renovation during the late 1990s.