Don’t Stay in a Hotel, Stay in a Student Hostel
If you’re very adventurous and you don’t want to stay in a hotel because it might be too expensive, then consider staying in a student hostel next time you go on a trip. Don’t be deceived by the name, they aren’t exclusively for students. Anyone can use a student hostel in most cases. There are some things to remember though and some differences to a standard hotel.
The first is that most student hostels will have some sort of a curfew. It’s generally very generous and it has to do with the fact that they are trying to save as much money as possible (which is why they can afford to give cheap rooms in the first place) and don’t have the resources to employ reception staff at all hours of the morning. For this reason, they have a curfew in many places.
On the other hand, you can find hostels that don’t have curfews, especially in many European cities, but the disadvantage to these is that you might have lots of very loud people coming back from a party at 3 in the morning. So the places with the curfew can be very good, because you’re guaranteed a good night’s sleep.
Staying in a hostel is also cheaper because the bathrooms are usually shared and there’s usually several people to a room. Everyone usually has a small safe for themselves with a key to keep their valuables in when they go out, so it’s usually not necessary to worry about your valuables. There are also storage areas for larger items such as suitcases which you may not need every day of your journey.
Student hostels also have communal eating areas and one advantage of these is that they are either very cheap or included in your rooms. So this is another way you can save a lot of money.
types of credit cards for travelers. You can get hotel cars, airline cards, general travel cards and you can get so many rewards and freebies out of them that it doesn’t make any sense not to have one! Travel credit cards provide a great opportunity to earn free points that can be redeemed for airfare, hotels or cold hard cash. Here are some tips if you plan on getting a travel credit card:
One of the best ways to get cheap accommodation while you travel is to use the site Couchsurfing. 
Don’t stay in big hotels. Sure they are nice and offer a lot of luxury but the money really doesn’t help the local population. Travel is about broadening your horizons and expanding your mind but also about learning and helping the local population live better. If you go anywhere, whether it’s France or Thailand or Australia, and stay in a big corporate hotel, most of that money will be sent back to the corporation headquarters and the local economy will only see a fraction of that money. However, if you stay at a local guesthouse or bed and breakfast that money will go help the people right in the area. The owners will be locals who put that money right back into the local economy which will help the local people much more than if you see only a little money from a faceless corporation. If you really want to help the people you are visiting, don’t stay at a big hotel. Stay at a local guesthouse and you will do much more good. Moreover, you will get a much more personal experience. You won’t be bothered by a tourist desk- you’ll be welcomed by the owners as part of the family. They will be able to tell you all the local things to do, good restaurants, and might even act as tour guides. All in all you get a much more personal experience than you would if you had been going to a big hotel. Go local the next time you travel- it will help people more and you’ll have a better experience.
