Four Budget-Friendly Alternatives to Hotel Stays

Before moving to Mexico City, we spent just over a year traveling. A friend recently asked me how we didn’t go broke paying for accommodations. “Doesn’t it get expensive staying in hotels every night for months on end?” she asked. The answer is of course it does. Even staying in hotels here in Mexico, where the rates are typically much less than say, hotels in Liverpool, accommodation costs can quickly add up and it would have been easy to spend a significant portion of our travel budget on hotels. Instead, we managed to save money by staying in alternative accommodations and hotels were often a last resort except for in the most inexpensive of destinations.

Of course there are many alternatives to hotels, and the cost and availability of each can vary depending on where you go. These are some of the types of accommodations that worked out well for us while traveling on a budget in Latin America.

Hostels

Hostels are probably the easiest budget option for travelers and they’re easy to find all throughout Mexico, Central and South America. Before we began our trip, I wasn’t very familiar with the concept of hostels and the thought of sleeping in a crowded dorm with little or no personal space or privacy didn’t really appeal to me all that much. As it turns out, hostels can be a lot more comfortable and accommodating than I had initially thought, not to mention that they’re a great place to meet other travelers. Most hostels have a kitchen so you can prepare your own meals and if you simply can’t get past the idea of sharing a dorm, many also offer a private room option for two or three people that typically works out to just slightly more per person than the cost of dorm beds.

Rooms for Rent

This is another good, inexpensive option assuming you don’t mind sharing a kitchen and sometimes a bathroom. We’ve had some great experiences renting simple rooms while traveling, like our beachfront cabaña in Zipolite, our room on the lake in San Pedro and the month we spent in a guesthouse in Antigua that not only doubled as a mariachi-themed tourist restaurant, but put us right in the middle of all the action during Semana Santa. We’ve also had some not so great experiences, so it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into when you agree to rent a room from someone. Take a good look around and try to get a feel for the atmosphere and people you’ll be sharing the space with before making any final decisions, especially for longer stays.

Short-term Apartment Rentals

Similar to renting a room but with more privacy, short-term apartment rentals offer many the conveniences of being at home while traveling. They offer a nice break from the constant moving around and tend to be a much cheaper option for longer stays. They’re also a great way to get a feel for what it might be like to actually live in the place you’re visiting. We stayed in several short-term apartment rentals while traveling, my favorite being our month-long rental in Oaxaca, and have always gone the independent route when seeking them out (as opposed to booking through a travel booking site). Listings online, in local papers or on bulletin boards in coffee shops and language schools and recommendations from other travelers are a great place to start.

Bed and Breakfasts

Aside from the occasional bed and breakfast-style inn that we encountered while traveling in Latin America, the majority of my experience staying at bed and breakfasts occurred on a recent trip to visit a friend in Scotland. I spent the first half of my visit in the city, staying with her in her flat instead of spending money on Edinburgh hotels, and the second half of my visit was spent exploring the Scottish highlands while staying in bed and breakfasts. I really enjoyed the social aspect of bed and breakfasts and getting to know our hosts. In many instances, it really was just like staying in someone’s home. For shorter stays, bed and breakfasts are ideal – a great way to gain insight into the local culture and a chance to learn from and interact with the locals.

What are some of your preferred alternatives to hotels? Share your tips for saving money on travel accommodations in the comments below. 

Photo credit: via flickr