Budget Accommodation - Gap Years for Adults

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old familiar pillow." Lin Yutang

Although some budget travellers would argue, there is such a thing as going too cheap. It is worthwhile cutting the planned trip short by a week or two or saving for the extra couple of months and being able to afford to go just one step up in the luxury stakes.

In Malaysia, being the earlier on in the trip, I was afraid of running out of money so I chose a really cheap hotel. Turned out for just £7 extra a night we could have a whole different class of accommodation (without the cockroaches) and maybe Malaysia wouldn’t have been on the bottom of our favourite places to visit.

There are thousands of budget accommodation websites out there and many offer excellent deals. Before booking visit web sites like the lonely planet travel forum, gapyear.com and tripadvisor.com

Read the Article about booking ahead.

Research your accommodation.

Ask questions before booking and certainly BEFORE checking in! Find out whether your hostel or hotel has a safe for your valuables, if you are sharing a dorm find how many beds are in each dorm room and whether they are unisex. (The last can be very disconcerting - for both parties!)

Find out what provisions they have for emergencies such as fire.

Compromising on accommodation

For very cheap accommodation and good value for money you may have to compromise on location. Stay a little further out of the town or city and pay a little less.

This works well without children but after a full days sightseeing the prospect of walking back to a hotel a few miles out of town is enough to make any self respecting small child sit down and WAIL!

The saving of money may have to be balanced against the cost of taxis to and from the hotel.

Our Favourite hotel of the entire trip

Without a doubt the Traders Hotel in Singapore (booked through Trailfinders) which was marvellously clean, very economical, excellent breakfasts, friendly staff and pretty centrally located. I couldn't fault them.

Furthermore we arrived to check in at eight in the morning after a full 24 hours travelling, 13 hours out sync in term of jet lag and bless them, one look at our exhausted faces and they let us check in.

Our favourite beach resort

Sea Gypsy dive camp in Pulau Sibu in Malaysia. We spent New Year there and everyone was so friendly and relaxed and the food was excellent, the children safe, the beach beautiful.

Our Favourite Hostel

Keri keri, New Zealand. See image above. This hostel was friendly and clean with pleasant staff and truly felt like home with Ziggy the cat weaving his way between our legs and the lovely free range chickens in the yard.