When you travel, every expense makes a difference – from flights, transport, activities to accommodation. In this blog post, I want to focus on helping you find the best budget – friendly accommodation that suits your needs. I will share some of my favorite sites I like to use when booking accommodation and the things you should consider when choosing your booking.
These are some of the things you want to consider when choosing the right accommodation for you.
TYPE OF ACCOMMODATION & AMENITIES
When choosing accommodation, it can be hard to tick off all the boxes, especially when you’re on a budget. Sometimes it’s really easy to forget that realistically you don’t spend much time at the accommodation as you are busy sightseeing and enjoying the local restaurants! Of course, that is if you like to get out there and get exploring, some of us prefer to spend more time at the pool drinking pina coladas – whatever works for you!
There are many different types of accommodation you can stay in, from guest houses, hotels, bed and breakfast, boutique hotels, hostels, villas, apartment rentals, resorts to homestays… the choice is yours.The type of accommodation you are looking to stay in, will highly impact on your budget.
I will go through some of the best budget-friendly accommodation types and why you should choose them.
HOSTEL
Hostels are usually the cheapest type of accommodation you will find. Many people are put off staying in hostels from all the horror stories they heard or read about… My advice: don’t be scared of staying in hostels now and then! Also, don’t let one bad experience put you off forever. I have stayed in multiple different hostels in the past and honestly, I had a very different experience in each one of them. For the most part, my experience was very positive and I really enjoyed my stay. I got to meet so many amazing people and make travel buddies by spending time together sightseeing and catching drinks! I would especially recommend staying in hostels if you are traveling solo. It is a great opportunity to meet other like-minded travelers and save yourself a lot of money.
If you are worried about privacy in hostels, I personally like to choose hostels that have a little curtain on the bunk bed for some ‘privacy’ and provide you with a locker for your luggage or at least a smaller one for important personal belongings. I do recommend to always keep a small luggage lock with you regardless in case the locker is too small to fit all your luggage, so you can always keep it locked. I have never personally been robbed in a hostel, however I am aware that these things can happen unfortunately, so it’s important to stay weary.
When it comes to amenities, hostels are great for providing you with everything you need, from free or very affordable breakfast, towels, hairdryers, free walking tours/guides, pub crawls, to free coffee and tea. Hostels also usually have some nice social spots that include a swimming pool and a bar!
HOTEL
This is probably one of the most popular options for most regular travelers. Hotels are great for providing you with a comfortable and safe stay. Most hotel rooms have everything you require and more while situated in easily accessible prime locations.
Hotels are likely to require less research time and allow you for suitable reservation options whether it’s pay now, free cancellation or pay later.
Although some hotel prices can be very high and far from budget friendly, reserving your room well in advance will definitely make a difference. Many good and affordable hotels, especially during high seasons get booked out very quickly. If you are unsure about your choice of hotel or dates, I always recommend reserving a room with free cancellation anyways, to allow time for further research and date changing if needed.
Hotels are great for amenities such as on-site parking, restaurants, swimming pools, childcare, leisure activities and private transport services.
HOMESTAY
This is probably a less popular option, especially for families and big group travelers. However, that being said, it’s still an excellent choice for budget – friendly accommodation for your trip – best suitable for solo travelers, small groups of friends and couples (depending on the host).
If you are unfamiliar what a homestay means: you live with a local family for a short or long period of time where you get to learn all about the local culture and lifestyle from the locals themselves while also getting to share a meal with them. The best way to describe the difference between a hotel and a homestay, at facilities like hotels you are treated like a client, whereas at homestays you are treated as a guest.
If you want to immerse yourself into the local culture, you will explore your destination through the eyes of the locals who know everything about the area. You will experience what it’s like to live in the area and enjoy the local food.
This option is the most popular for travelers who want to stay traveling for a longer period of time while on a budget. It can often give you the feeling of ‘home away from home’.
This is also a great opportunity to practice your language skills and have the ultimate experience of seeing the location beyond the tourist trails.
APARTMENT
This is a great budget option if you are traveling with a family or a big group of friends where you require more space and freedom. Apartments are great for giving you space to prepare your own meals, have plenty of storage and make you feel like you’re at home.
Sharing the cost of an apartment rental can actually work out very cheap, especially for big traveler groups.
YOUR BUDGET
So, now that you know what type of accommodation you are looking for, you need to establish your budget. Naturally, you’re probably thinking as cheap as possible!
To get an idea of the average property price in your chosen destination, use a booking site like booking.com – enter the city name and intended dates of stay, then filter search results from cheapest to most expensive. Now you know the cheapest price of accommodation you can possibly get in the area and compare it to the more expensive options. Knowing the cheapest and most expensive prices, gives you an idea of the overall average pricing and value for money.
Booking.com
LOCATION
Having a budget can definitely impact on your location choice! Staying in central areas is always the ideal situation, but that also usually means paying more for your accommodation. If you plan your trip well in advance, you can be lucky and pre-book a pretty good central room for a more affordable price.
When searching for the right location, you should be open minded to staying slightly further from the central areas as there is many reasons why this can be better.
First of all, let me just make it clear that staying outside the city center does not mean you are out in the desert… Many hotels are usually conveniently located near easily accessible transport points like the metro, buses, taxis etc. that can easily take you where you need to go in a short period of time. Some hotels even include their own free shuttle bus service!
You can get some really impressive deals outside the central zones if you are willing to make that few minute walk to the metro station – save yourself some money by paying for the actual accommodation rather than location! Use your surroundings wisely.
Tip: When searching for accommodation use the ‘map grid’ of hotels, this will help you get a better idea how far or close you are to the city center and roughly what is nearby the accommodation.
BEST SITES TO BOOK YOUR ACCOMMODATION
1.) WWW.AGODA.COM
This is my favorite site to use for booking accommodation. I find it to be the most competitive site with booking.com Majority of the time, even it’s a few euro cheaper – Agoda always seems to deliver slightly better deals. I highly recommend creating your own account and building up your ‘membership status’ to unlock better offers and exclusive deals!
I have also noticed, Agoda has a wider choice for types of accommodation, especially for hostels in comparison to some of the other sites.
2.) WWW.BOOKING.COM
This is probably the most used site everyone is familiar with. Booking.com just like Agoda allows you to build up your ‘membership status’ for great discounts.
On the other hand, I always encourage people to try out other sites, as there are many other great website worth exploring.
Booking.com3.) WWW.HOSTELWORLD.COM
This is by far one of the best sites for hostel hunting along with Agoda! A backpackers must.
4.) WWW.GROUPON.IE
This one is a hidden gem! You can find so many exclusive deals – fully legit! Varying accommodation packages including Spa treatments, welcoming drinks and more!
I have used this site personally multiple times and I had no issues.
TIP: before proceeding to book a voucher, always ring the provider first to double check the availability for your desired dates (as dates can be limited) and let them go through the package deal.
Usually, they may offer to stay on the phone while you make the booking – once you have the voucher, you have to give them the voucher number and they will confirm the booking on the phone. Sometimes the prices advertised may vary on weekends.
5.) WWW.AIRBNB.COM
Another great website making it easy to find accommodation that suits your needs along with plenty of budget-friendly options.
6.) WWW.HOTELS.COM
Use Hotels.com for competitive deals on Agoda and Booking.com!
BOOKING TIPS
- Make use of filters on booking sites to save yourself some time.
- Always create an account for future discounts.
- Use ‘cash back‘ from your previous stays!
- View accommodation on the ‘map grid‘ to see location and prices better.
- Reserve accommodation in advance!
- Have backups – reserve multiple rooms with free cancellation.
- Usually the ‘breakfast included‘ option adds at least £100 to your booking. Consider eating locally or grabbing a quick snack from the market – it might actually cost you a lot less overall to eat outside the hotel!
