Budget Hostel Accommodation
And Other Cheap Places to Stay

Budget hostel accommodation is what I usually look for when I travel. Like many of my friends on the road, I'm not swimming in money, especially if I'm planning on being away for some time.

When you travel the world accommodation that is safe and cheap is not all that hard to find, from cheap hostel beds to university and government-run dormitories. Or - why not stay in a monastery? Wherever I stay, I tend to look for the same things: a safe haven, a bit of quiet, a reasonably low price, clean showers and beds, and nearness to food.

But there are many other kinds of accommodations.

Teepee - an adventure motel?
Photo: gliuoo via Flickr

Some of us may end up in unusual accommodation like those offered by adventure packages, ranging from camping to sleeping in a rondavel to spending time in a yurt or teepee.

I was once dropped off in a rural village in the Lower Zambezi River Basin in Zimbabwe, near Mozambique for a week. I was writing a story on water scarcity and had decided to experience it for myself. The only available accommodation in this hot, dry area was an open-air circular thatch hut facing the savannah, with a wide entrance that didn't close. I tried to seal off the opening by lying a rusty metal barrel across it but it stayed low enough for a lion to jump over. I spent several nights sleeping intermittently trying to keep myself inside (and everything else outside). I think these qualify as adventure accommodations, but none that I would have chosen willingly!

Yet part of the fun of solo travel is not quite knowing where you'll end up or who with - a local family, a religious congregation, a friendly charity, a research station... As you travel the world accommodation will differ, and that's part of the adventure.

One option to staying in hostels is the accommodation network - or free accommodation. These include hospitality clubs and couch surfing types of organizations.

That's right. Plenty of accommodation networks, some of them exclusively for women, provide long-term travelers with free accommodation, either with membership schemes or by putting women in touch with one another through web listings.

You never know where you might stay
Photo: davidkiene via Flickr

You can also stay in private homes. As I traveled through the Baltic states, I stayed with families in three countries. While you do pay a fee (usually quite modest), you'll sleep in someone's home, who often speaks a few words of English, and who can provide a welcome contact point to local life.

If you're well organized, you could become a housesitter - just imagine housesitting in London, for example? After months of slogging it, you alight on the doorsteps of a wonderfully clean house or appartment, with hot running water and a fridge, a wardrobe for your meager belongings, perhaps a washing machine... House sitting gigs aren't all that easy to find but when you do, it's a wonderful way to stay in one place for a time, soaking up local culture and language for weeks or even months.

YWCA: Cheap accommodation, London
Photo: stevecadman via Flickr

Budget hostel accommodation may be our mainstay on the road, but who says we shouldn't live it up once in a while if we can? Sometimes, it's good to avoid cheap hotels and be pampered. When I was traveling around the world, I made sure I spent one night each month in a 'good' hotel - one with hot water, a firm mattress, my own bathroom, and preferably a buffet breakfast with pancakes and maple syrup to fulfill my cravings for western food. If you feel that need to be pampered too, try World Hotel Link, a sustainable tourism group that works only with local brokers, not big global chains. Most of these are women, and they know each hotel or pension personally.