Where you plan to stay during your travel depends not only on your budget, but how comfortable you want to be, and what sort of activities you are planning on doing. From a tent, to a dorm room, to a private apartment, condo, luxurious hotel room, or sleeping on the couch of a perfect stranger, there are many options to choose from and the prices will vary depending on the number of people you are traveling with, where you are going, and the sort of experience you are looking for. I will start with the least expensive options and work my way up from there. (If you are looking for ideas on free accommodation, please click on the link to “free stuff.”)

CAMPING

In true back-packing style, you can always find a place under the stars. Certain countries such as Sweden and Norway you can camp on private property for free as long as you are not in view of anyones property. Otherwise, check out the guidelines for where you are traveling to as it does change by country. In the U.S. for example it’s legal (if you don’t get caught!) but staying out of city parks and out of the open could help you. Of course there are plenty of sites that you can find that ARE legal to camp, and they either by the site, or by the person. Camping Villages sometimes have tents already set up for you (similar to dorm rooms) which alleviates the hassle of carrying a tent and sleeping bag around with you. These can be found on the hostel booking sites.) In some areas(such as on the Red Sea and in Thailand) there are beach huts which you can pay a small fee to camp under.

HOSTELS & PENSIONS

For many people, this is not even an option they would consider while traveling because of the bad reputation that Hollywood has given them. Granted, there are the bed-bug infested halfway houses out there (and I have run across my share of them), which is why planning and a little research can go a long way in finding comfortable, clean accommodations.

There are plenty of websites out there that you can find reviews and pictures of the property so you have an idea of what to expect before you get there (and it doesn’t hurt to price things around either.) If sleeping in dorm rooms isn’t your style, there are actually many places that have private rooms and guest apartments which can include luxuries such as your own kitchen or even a washer in dryer for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room. (This is how my dad and I traveled around through much of Europe.) The photo on the menu to this page was actually a hostel I stayed at Jerusalem (it was an old nunnery converted in a hotel/hostel.)

If you are younger and prefer the party style, then staying in dorm rooms might be for you. You will have plenty of opportunities to meet other travelers from around the wold. Well-run properties include many social aspects (such as dinners, BBQ’s, guided tours of the city and evening pub crawls (to show you the night life of the city) and regional specialties such as cooking classes, wine and vodka tastings. If the property has their own bar, the drinks are usually far cheaper there than you would find in a bar around town or you can buy your own and drink it there. To check reviews and search for properties around the world check out hostelbookers.com who don’t charge any booking fees.

VILLAS AND CONDOS

If you are traveling in a group or with your family for example, you may want to consider renting a Villa or Timeshare. This allows a large comfortable place for everyone with a kitchen, and resort amenities such as swimming pools and fitness rooms, plus they are usually located in great resort destinations. If you are traveling with a group of friends and split the cost for the week, it might even be a cheaper than staying in a hostel depending on if you can get a good enough deal. (If you could get a rental for $500 for the week and split that between 5 or 6 people you are paying less than 100 for the week, which equals to around $15 for the night. The typical nightly cost for a decent hostel is usually in the $15-20 range per night depending on where you are (you can find cheaper of course, but then you getting into the bed-bug infested dorms again.) A great source  to look for rentals is Skyauction which has a bidding section for vacation rentals (it’s one of the only free sites I have found that offers deals for unused vacation rentals.)

There are also travel clubs that you can join for a fee which give you access to discounts that aren’t available to the public. I purchased one of these memberships, and although the membership seemed quite steep ($350) I made the money back with the first condo I booked. (A ski-in ski-out property in Utah the week before Christmas.) I purchased a 2-Bedroom unit (which slept up to 8 people) for $450 (the rentals I found online for that same week were asking for a minimum of $1200 for the same size unit, which combined was a savings of at least $400.) Since I split the cost with my siblings, I saved even more than that. I never have to pay another fee, I certainly don’t have to worry about maintenance fees or exchange fees, and I have a price match guarantee with any of the other booking sites online. Having worked for the timeshare industry for 5 years and what I know about the industry, it certainly was worth the price, and that was only my first trip. I have certainly graduated from my days in the hostel (unless I want to of course, for all the social benefits.)

LUXURY HOTELS

Last but not least is the luxury hotels, which I usually save for the cheaper destinations where my money will stretch further. When you are constantly on the road, treating yourself every once in a while gives you a “vacation” from your vacation. Of course it was difficult giving up my associate discount I had when I worked for Marriott, but with all of the auction and last minute sites as already discussed, it’s worth the comforts every once in a while. I booked a presential suite on the Red Sea in Hurghada Egypt for about $200 per night (splitting the cost with a good friend of mine.) I have never been treated like such royalty! To go from even nice hostels and campsites, to feeling like I was in a palace (and being treated like it) was a phantasy come true. I cringe when I think about what the price could have been had I still worked for the company, but that was simply walking up to the hotel and asking for the best room available (looking up the rate first on lastminute.com so I had some bargaining power.)

No matter where you stay, as always be flexible and check the cancellation policy in case plans change (or consider travel insurance.) Many times while I was on the road I would find the place I wanted to stay at first, check the rate and availability, and then take down the address and phone number just in case there was a missed connection or I decided to change routes. Sometimes when you are traveling, you meet people along the way and it can be just as fun to be sponteneous (in an organized way of course.) and change your plans completely. The worst locations however, were I when I went into the situation completely blind and did no pre-planning. Have a map, know where you are going, and if you are traveling over a busy time, better to be safe than sorry (unless you are looking forward to camping outside as an alternative.)