One of the biggest concerns for travellers is how to find budget accommodation when travel. This plays an important role in your travel costs because many times they have fixed prices and aren’t available for some collaboration.
Finding budget accommodation when you travel is so much important to get cheap flight tickets and if you can combine these two things you will definitely reduce your travel costs.
Normally, people want good accommodation, with some condition but, expect to pay fewer. In most of the cases, you can do it, there are a number of ways travellers can find a decent place on a budget:
Hospitality Exchange
One of the best ways to know more about the costumes and cultures from a country is to stay with a local person. They will give you a free place to stay, local information and sometimes even hang out with you.
If you have a spare space in your home you can even join the community and receive travellers from around the world. Sometimes people share a private bedroom, others just a couch to crash on, you just need to search what suits you.
Why they do it and why you should stay with strangers? They do it to meet other people around the world and to share their culture.
In fact, a hosting experience can be an advantage to both the host and traveller. In some cases they give you information that only locals know, like some places to go, where to eat, what to do but, they can learn back from your home country too.
In the past years, websites dedicated to this have been improving, offering various levels of verification and allows users to rate and leave comments on people’s profile. Always remember that most of these people that open their homes are also usually former travellers, so they know what you are going through and want to help.
Some additional tips…
- Always look for people who have a picture with the profile and this have to be filled out;
- Verification helps to be more trusted as also positive reviews;
- The best website to search for a free place to stay is Couchsurfing, but you have also HospitalityClub, Stay4Free, GlobalFreeloaders and much more.
Hostels
Hotels are very popular for budget travellers, they really can be a good option if you want to find budget accommodation. Normally in hostels rooms and bathrooms are shared, you can use a communal kitchen and living area which provides a highly social atmosphere.
Not everyone likes to share a room but, you can also find in some hostels private rooms for those who want more privacy instead of the usual bunk beds.
Most of the people think hostels are for young travellers but, this is a misconception, a hostel is really good for everyone who wants to meet other travellers regardless of age.
Some additional tips…
- Try to go for hotels that provide lockers for your valuables;
- Earplugs will definitely help at night and sometimes during the day;
- You can check hotels in Hotelsworld.
Guesthouses
If you want to find budget accommodation when you travel guesthouse are a good solution. This is a good option if you travel as a couple but don’t want to spend much money. A guesthouse is like a budget hotel with an affordable room but, don’t expect all the amenities from big hotels.
You will have a private room, normally with a private bathroom. In most of the cases, breakfast can be arranged and it’s including in the price. Let’s say that guesthouses it’s like to rent a room in somebody house with some privacy and some services include.
Some additional tips…
- If you travel as a couple these are a good option on the budget;
- Make sure they have some amenities, like a private bathroom;
- We use Agoda to book guesthouses;
Home Exchange
Another good way to find cheap accommodation when you travel is a home exchange program. This is what it sounds, house swapping, it’s a service in which two parties agree to offer each other homestays on a period of time.
It’s a form of sharing places free of charge and can include the entire home or just a room. This is a good program if you really want to spend a year in a country. Always remember that you also have to give something in return, if you don’t have your own place to stay in your home country this is probably not a good idea.
Also, most of the people don’t do this because they worry about security but, once again sites that facilitate these services usually have various levels of verification. Families talk to each other by phone and e-mail, providing some trusted level and tips to find budget accommodation.
Some additional tips…
- Always check homes with verification;
- Ask as many as possible to the other family;
- You can check this service at HomeExchange.
Short-Term Rentals
It’s similar to home exchanges; you can rent a furnished apartment to stay while travelling. This can be a good solution if you want to spend more time in one place, like a week for example, and also want to find budget accommodation.
Usually, short-term rentals are cheaper than hostels and providing many more amenities, you will get all the comfort of home without spending a fortune.
One good reason to use short-term rentals is that you can get an entire kitchen, allowing you to cook and reduce your food costs. But, be aware if you are a solo traveller can rapidly increase your travel costs. Normally they are good for a group or a couple, you can divide costs and have all the place to stay.
Some additional tips…
- Look for places with some history and reviews from others;
- Choose places with good location, like near transportations, this will help you reduce the costs;
- Airbnb is a wonderful website to find short-term rentals (get 40$ discount on Airbnb)
Working/Volunteer
If you are willing to do some work in exchange for accommodation this is your opportunity to find budget accommodation. There are countless places to do this; you can be a volunteer, labour or expertise in exchange for room and board all over the world.
The most common places that you can volunteer are farms, schools, shelters, lodges, ranches or even sailboats.
This can be a good experience to get you insight a foreign culture and you are doing a good thing helping in exchange for some amenities. In fact, you can even save big money at the same time.
Some additional tips…
- Try to adjust your time to conciliate work; you can even explore the place in free time;
- Some of these organizations charge a small fee for hosting you;
- For working/volunteer opportunities you can check WWOOF, WorkAway and HelpX.
Camping
This option definitely it’s best if you want to find budget accommodation, but don’t expect much comfortable with it. If you want to travel in an eco-friendly way, to be close to nature nothing can beat camping in the wilderness.
Camping will allow you to explore remote areas that other travellers might avoid due to lack of accommodation. In fact, with a tent or camping hammock, you can go absolutely anywhere.
This option can be a memorable experience; you will have full contact with nature but, always be careful to choose the place to camping; you are in the wild be aware of wild animals. Also, don’t expect amenities like you are at home, not everyone can deal with this.
Some additional tips…
- Respect the environment and leave no trace;
- Try to avoid camping on private property;
- Make sure you have enough food and water for the entire camping.
Look for promotions and deals
To find budget accommodation when you travel it’s easy if you are willing to spend some time looking for this.
In fact, there’re promotions and deals that you can get to reduce your costs. Create accounts in different accommodation websites and you can get good deals. You can also subscribe newsletters from some hotels brands and they send you promotions.
If you need more information about accommodations or more travel resources, click the previous links.
