Hotels
This is definately the most expensive and luxurious options. Which based on our budget it is obviously out of our range. But we did manage to stay in a 2 star hotel in Paris, needless to say you can't expect much although we had our own bathroom but toilet was shared. Furniture was a little worn-off but it was a very decent room and we were very happy with the hospitality of the owner. Well, i forgot to add on that that was the only time we stayed in a hotel during our trip.
Bed & Breakfast/ Pension
This was our favourite option! In some place, it can also be called pension or zimmer. We prefer it, as it offers more privacy, affordable and homely. The shower and toilet are shared among all the guests. It turn out that we stayed in these pretty often but this option usually do not allow or have the facilities for cooking which was very important to us, being able to cook help to stretch our euro longer.
Hostel
This is the best accommodation for single traveller because you can bunk in a dormitory. Most of them come in 4, 6 or 8 bedded. There are also private room, but will cost more. There are lots of opportunity for singles travellers to mingle around. Most provide Internet connection, cooking and laundry facilities. Thus this is a good option if you are keen on meeting and hanging out with fellow travellers.
But if you can't tolerate crowds, snores and rowdy youths on their summer vacation, then this is definitely not for you; We had to stayed in a 8 bedded dorm in Nice, as most pension were full and it was an experience sharing dorm with a group of drunkards. Bags, shoes and dirty clothing were lying every where. They got back in the early morning drunk, creating such a din and interrupting our sleep. We checkout of the hostel first thing in the morning.
If you have 2 or more persons sharing accomodation, staying in a hostel is not always the cheapest. Instead we found out that BnB/pension are much more affordable.
Tips
- Try to book your accommodations in advance if you are travelling during the summer
- If you really can't get one in advance, book the hostel for the night. There are usually some other accomodations around. Try walking around the neighbourhood to look for one.
- Even if you were told that it is fully-booked, try calling again on the day you arrive in the morning as sometime there might be some last minute room cancellation.
- We always read up on fellow travellers' hotels reviews on tripadvisors, it is always very accurate.
