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Travis at the frequent-flyer blog Extra Pack of Peanuts had a post titled, Why Hostels Are Better Than Hotels. Among other reasons, he waxed poetic on the benefits of the local touch and community atmosphere. Many hostels are owned and operated by locals, so you get a more intimate feel than you would at a chain hotel. As for community, most hostels are set up to encourage … Read more »
Can you imagine being woken up at a hostel at 7:30am to chop fire wood or complete your chores before breakfast?
Chore detail had fizzled-out before 2009 when I hostel hopped for several months; spending anywhere from three nights to two weeks at various places. Personally, I enjoyed seeking out the odd ones, like old prisons or sailing ships. But what I discovered recently was, that same year the … Read more »
Hostels vary wildly in quality. Some are total fleapits; others are so luxurious they rival hotels. How can you find the quality hostels instantly?
The website Hostelworld.com announced the 2012 winners of the “Hoscars,” their awards for the best hostels in the world. Users around the world voted for their favorite places to stay. The establishments are clustered into an amazing variety of categories. You can find hostels based … Read more »
Nomadic Matt recently posted a list called My favorite hostels in the world. Goes to show that low prices don’t always mean low quality. You can save money and have a great time.
Matt’s list spurred me to remember which hostels I’ve enjoyed over the years. Here are some of my picks:
Circus (Berlin, Germany) — If every hostel was as grand … Read more »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCWvnp7-ikI&feature=player_embedded Intro video for inbed.me
Over the years, there have been several attempts to combine travel and social networking. The latest on the scene is inbed.me (that name is just asking for double entendres).
The idea is to solve the problem of that first-night loneliness in a new hostel. You’ve just arrived, and all the previous guests have formed their cliques, so you don’t have anyone to talk to. With inbed.me, you can connect to … Read more »
Hostels are a mainstay of the budget travel circuit. Share a dorm room with strangers, shave off a big percentage of your accommodation costs. They do come with some drawbacks however, as this article from The Sydney Morning Herald describes: The problem with staying in hostels.
Although for me, the “problem” the author writes about is my favorite benefit of staying in … Read more »
A 1972 Monty Python sketch called “Travel Agent” contains a classic scene where the Eric Idle character goes on an over-the-top rant about package tourism, at the expense of Michael Palin’s travel-agent character. Many of the references are dated now — and the whole scene is drenched in hyperbole — but many of the frustrations of overly structured group-travel still ring true. Here’s the rant in full:
“What’s the point of going abroad … Read more »
Damascus, Syria
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” wrote Charles Dickens in the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities. He was referring to life in an area of Europe in the late 1700s, but one could also feasibly slap this line into … Read more »
Who draws the line between “corporate travel” and “leisure travel”?
(My answer: The travel industry.)
Is this a good thing or a bad thing for travelers? Why?
Discuss.
One great part of travel is the thrill you get from the random and deliciously quirky places you find yourself. Just a few weeks ago I was thrilled to find myself sleeping on an 8×10 square foot floor with 2 other people on a tiny fishing island in the Yellow Sea. Why? Because it’s an 8×10 foot floor on a tiny island in the Yellow … Read more »