Choosing Accommodations an Overview

Solo frugal travel in the U.S lends itself to creativity when choosing accommodations. I read many articles on sleeping in your car, living out of your van and so forth. Believe me I've thought about it, however for my own personal comfort at this point I prefer a bed in a hostel, Airbnb or as a last resort a hotel/motel. If you are looking for how to travel and sleep in a car then you may want to check out Handy Tips for Living Out of your Car.

I try and budget $40.00 or less for lodging and hopefully that will include some form of breakfast or at the very least coffee. This is when traveling in the U.S. When traveling overseas this budget will drop significantly in most countries. In Thailand for example you can usually find hostels for as little as $3.00.

First up is looking for a hostel, not that easy to find in the U.S., but certainly not impossible. Start you search at Hostel World and Hostel International. Then move on to Booking.Com and narrow your filter to hostels. Hostels sometime advertise on Airbnb as well, especially smaller hostels not using HW or HI. Another way to find a hostel is to search "hostels" in the Google Maps search bar. I have now found three hostels that were fantastic using this method.

Great stay at the Green Tortoise in Seattle, WA. Will give a full review in a later post.

When reviewing listings at all booking sites it is important to read the cancellation policy in case your travel plans change. This sometimes will cost a bit more if you end up using the lodging, but no fees charged if cancellation takes place in the given time frame.

Airbnb has added many additional fees to cover taxes, booking and now some hosts charge a cleaning fee, be aware of the final booking price. I recently choose a booking listed has $38.00 for a single night and the cleaning fee was $10.00 regardless of how long I stayed. With taxes, and fees the final cost was going to be about $55.00. This was not in my budget, so the search continued. I did find a great place will over 30 positive reviews. Final cost $40.00. Right on target.

Hostels are a wonderful way for the solo traveler to meet interesting travelers from around the world. Again when reading through the information be sure to understand the sleeping arrangements. There are usually female dorms, male dorms, and co-ed dorms, as well as private rooms, which is great for couples and small families. I prefer female only dorms and I love a top bunk. Extra privacy.

In a later post I will go through and describe how I determine the validity of reviews at the accommodation websites. For now I'm off to plan and book my summer cross country trip.

Charming Florida Towns

Looking for someplace unique in Florida? Are you from New England and want a quaint town to visit? Florida has several... Each one with the feel of being in a storybook scene with white picket fences, charming downtown streets, friendly people, sidewalks for strolling and scenic water views. Mount Dora, Fernandina Beach and Lake Placid are three places to start.

Lake Placid, Florida, not to be confused with Lake Placid, New York, is a city of murals there are over 40 murals on the walls of the historic building downtown. This gem of a city known as the Caladium capital can be found in the center of the state surrounded by 27 lakes. While visiting I enjoyed talking with some of the locals who were friendly and welcoming.

Summer Plans

Confirmations have been made for my first two Work Away experiences beginning at the Cowboy Hostel in Kanab, Utah June 23 for three weeks and at Shadow Cliff Retreat and Educational Center July 17 for one week. Now come the plans for the trip to and from. Thinking about taking it slow, seven or eight days on either side. This will allow for hikes, site seeing and some biking along the way.