When you’re planning a trip, one of the first things that comes up is where you plan on staying the night. You can pick anything from a hotel, inn, bed and breakfast, to youth hostels, all with varying price points. When you’re on a budget, a lower star hotel or hostel, if available can be a great choice. It’s important to remember, however, that you get what you pay for. Unless you sleep like the dead, when you stay in a hostel, you’re probably not going to get a lot of sleep, and the bed is pretty much never comfortable.
When I traveled, we stayed almost exclusively in hostels, and I learned a couple of things from the experience. Not only does the hostel you choose make a difference, but also the kind of room you want to stay in. In Spain, we paid five or so more euro per night in order to stay in a room with only four beds in it. For the first three days, there were only three of us in the room, and I knew both of them. It made a huge difference. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved Scotland, but by the end of the trip, staying in a room with 8 people and a lot of noise, by the second day of no sleep, it started to affect my enjoyment.
A couple of things to keep in mind when choosing a hostel:
- How many people per room
- Female/Male/Mixed rooms
- Price
- Extras (Breakfast, Lockers, Internet Access, Private bathroom, etc)
- Security (Some hostel do not have locks on the doors, and some of them have very little protection against non-guests entering the building).
- Location (both in terms safety and quick access to tourist sites).
The most important thing to consider when you choose your accommodation is do your research, find out what areas you wouldn’t want to walk home alone at night in, and don’t stay there. Read other users review and determine what you’re willing to compromise on for price and what you aren’t. I found Hostelworld to be a fairly useful reference, and while the rating systems are not always accurate, usually the reviews can tell you what you need to know.
With that in mind, I leave you with this:
Few questions:
1) Why is Eli Roth so angry?
2) I am legitimately scared to travel now. I blame Eli Roth. Wait, that’s not a question. Or is it? SUCCESS!
I don’t suppose vagabond travel is “en vogue” (am I doing it right?) anymore? Do people get stabby-stabby when you travel vagabond-style?
… see, now there was a good question (and question in a question) to ask.
By: Joe B. on 22/02/2010
at 20:42
This was a great post. I stayed in hostels all over Europe (especially ones in Spain, where I studied abroad), and the worst hostel experience I ever had was being in a room with 24 other people, in Barcelona. Most of the other people in the room partied until 4am, while me and my travel buddy were trying desperately to get rested up for an early-morning flight. After that, we made a point of trying to stick to the smaller rooms!
Also, when I was backpacking for a month, I would alternate staying in hostels with staying in cheap hotels/bed and breakfasts with private rooms. Even one or two nights a week with privacy and a room to yourself (or a room with just you and your buddies), makes a HUGE difference if you need to get a little catch-up sleep.
By: missmollymack on 23/02/2010
at 12:35
I think your topic of staying in hostels is great! When we went to Europe, hostels were our home the whole time. We were a budget and hotels were out of the question. We did actually spend some nights camping, but most of our stays were at hostels. Spain was a fairly cheap place to stay as well as Ireland. I also enjoy those hostel rooms where you have 8-10 people staying in a room! We were in Amsterdam and my group actually had to sleep on the floor; there were a total of 12 of us in an extremely tiny room. Good stuff you have talked about!
By: Kevin Marshall on 23/02/2010
at 12:38
Hostels sound like a good idea for me, since I do sleep like the dead, but that trailer at the end almost changed my mind.
By: Sam on 23/02/2010
at 12:38
Nice blog. I can relate to having to stay in hostels, because I had to stay in one while in Prague during a exchange program. Definitely need to know what you’re getting yourself into. I like the Hostel trailer you threw in at the bottom, perfect example of making sure you’re completely informed on where you’re staying.
By: Stacy on 23/02/2010
at 12:38