A vacation home is a secondary dwelling, other than the owner's principal residence, and is used primarily for recreational purposes including vacations or holidays.
A second home is typically thought of as a vacation home, or one you intend to use on a part-time basis. A second home must meet the following criteria to qualify for a second home loan: The property must be suitable for year-round occupancy, even if you only intend to use it part of the year.
You use holiday (or holidays) in British English and vacation in North American English to describe the regular periods of time when you are not at work or school, or time that you spend travelling or resting away from home: I get four weeks' holiday/?vacation a year. He's on holiday/?vacation this week.