How to Travel on a Budget
How to Find Cheap Hostels in Europe
Traveling can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. Things like plane tickets are hard to make cheap, but you can make up for that expense in other things.
One of the easiest ways to make my trips affordable is finding good places to stay that don’t break the bank.
While backpacking through Italy, I’ve been saving tons of money by staying in hostels.
This blog will have tips and tricks to find safe, clean, and affordable hostels to stay in while traveling alone.
I always start with a reliable website when looking for a place to stay.
I use either Booking.com or HostelWorld to find my accommodations. I like these websites because I know I can trust them.
A mistake people can make when traveling is booking housing on an unreliable website. Make sure to use one that has good reviews.
Though you can typically book hostels directly through their site, I like to keep all my bookings in one place.
Since I’m traveling on a budget, I always look for the cheapest option. Sometimes the cheapest option is the worst one, but I’ve had a pretty high success rate by doing this.
However, there are a couple of things you want to always keep in mind when browsing through the inexpensive options.
I specifically look for the type of accommodation, location, and cleanliness. These three things help you weed out the bad inexpensive options versus the good ones.
Type
When I say type, I’m referring to different room options. A typical hostel has dorm-styled rooms, which tend to be 4-10 bunk beds. Many hostels have two different dorm types: mixed and female.
When traveling alone, I like to stay in female-only dorms. When I traveled to Cinque Terre, I had a great experience in a mixed dorm–boys, girls, and in between–but to appease my mom and my anxiety, I tend to choose female dorms if they’re an option.
I found myself in a mixed dorm with a 60-year-old man and an empty handle of vodka. There are hits and misses.
Hostels also tend to have private rooms. These are good options if you’re traveling with a group because they’re more expensive than a dorm but cheaper than Airbnbs and hotels.
The type of hostel you pick depends on your wants and needs, so it’s good to decide what you’re looking for before you choose a place.
Location
Location is an extremely important factor.
A hostel can be advertised as an excellent location, but that doesn’t always consider its location to public transportation or the city center.
Personally, I hate getting off a train to navigate a foreign bus system in a foreign city.
To avoid long and expensive transportation, it’s helpful to know where you’re arriving in the city and pick a place somewhat close. Staying close to the train station or ferry port helps avoid extended and unnecessary travel time.
I also like to stay closish to the city center. Many European cities have a main city area. You might think you got a good deal on a hostel, and then you realize it’s a 40-minute walk across a highway to get to a single restaurant.
Navigating new cities is hard, so check out my latest post on traveling to new cities!
I ran into this problem when I visited Lucca, Italy. I found the cutest, most perfect Bread and Breakfast. It was cheap, offered breakfast, and I had my own room. However, when I arrived, I realized I was pretty far from the city center.
Even though it was only a 15-minute bike ride from the B&B, I ended up spending a lot of time in bed because the treck felt too long.
So, I recommend staying less than a mile from the main part of town. I used these location tips when finding a place for my upcoming stay in Isla de Elba.
Cleanliness
Now, you might be saying, “Julia, obviously I want to stay at a clean place.” Me too guys! This is more of a friendly reminder than a tip.
Always check reviews regarding cleanliness. After having more than one awful bed bug experience, I’ve started typing bed bugs in the review’s search option.
For me, the worst kind of night is when you can’t sleep because it feels like bugs are crawling on you. So, always always always, remember to check for even one bad cleanliness review.
You can also prioritize cleanliness by staying in branded or bigger hostels. Some hostels are chains or function like a hotels, so they have cleaning services who come in whenever a guest leaves.
Extra tips!
There are extra things that can maximize your cheap hostel stay.
Some places offer extras like breakfast, bikes, and free towels. Though free towels might sound pointless, when you’re on day five of not showering, nothing beats a clean towel after a warm shower.
I tend to spend the extra cash on a complimentary breakfast. My bed and breakfast in Lucca came with breakfast, and it was a game changer.
It’s also a nice perk to have a hostel with a kitchen. Traveling on a budget is hard when you need to buy every meal. Free kitchens allow you to cook your own food and save money.
Reviews!
I want to reiterate how important reviews are. Websites like Booking.com and Hostelworld have a rating feature that tells you how good the hostel is. I never book anything with less than 7.5 stars. Better be safe than sorry with bed bugs.
For reviews, I look for things like safety, location opinions, and of course, cleanliness. Reviews are an amazing tool, so take advantage of them.
Final words
I haven’t paid more than 50 euros a night since I started traveling, so neither should you. Remember, the money you save on housing is extra money to spend on food and experiences!
And if you plan on staying in a hostel, don’t forget shower shoes!
Stay up to date with me :)
I’ve been documenting my trip on my personal Instagram, @julia.dig, and my book account, @jujwrites!
I also was featured as a guest writer on the Literary Quicksand blog. Check it out!
I hope you’re enjoying this content as much as I am! Talk to you soon; love you x
My Venmo is julia-digeronimo-1 if it makes you sad to think ABOUT me skipping meals to save money :(
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