Arthur Idyllic Voyages

It is so much easier to travel now and with websites like Airbnb, lodging is readily available anywhere and everywhere at very reasonable prices.

Airbnb is an online marketplace which was created in 2008 and has since then expanded into an international organisation with many known partners. Its main goal is to connect hosts with travellers looking for a place to stay. In recent years, the platform permits you to do even more than booking accommodation on the website and you can now do other things like booking tours, planning trips, reading their magazine and more.

If you are preparing for long term or even short term stay in a country, Airbnb is one of the best options out there as it allows you a unique and authentic experience with a host family that you wouldn't get on sites like: Hotels.com, Trivago or Expedia. If you however prefer to be alone in a quiet space, you also have the option of staying in a room, villa or apartment separated from others.


There are many benefits to staying in an Airbnb property including:

- Price

- Location 

 - Uniqueness

- Privacy

- Security 

Locations, hosts and travellers identities are verified in advance so don't be surprised if you are required to scan a form of identity like your passport.  In addition, most lodgings are in very secure areas.


If you are looking for a place to stay that isn't the usual hotel room, bed and breakfast or the hostel bed but rather a place that feels like home away from home, Airbnb is the right choice for you with its range of accommodation types and affordable prices for you to choose from.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the price of paying for a bed or even a room in a hostel is one of the deciding factors in choosing to stay at a hostel. The general price of a hostel suits everyone's budget, from the backpacker to the CEO (even though he/she may prefer a hotel and well… more often than not the company pays for their abode).

The price of a bed may depend on the number of beds in the room or on the time of year when the room/bed is booked but nonetheless it remains affordable and may only cost you a ⅓ of what you may pay at a hotel. 

2. Location

You may want to stay in the hustle and bustle of the city or you may prefer the outskirts where it is a little more calm. Hostels in participating cities tend to be stretched out across the country and it is not very difficult to find a hostel in an area that is pleasing to you. 3. Choice

Have you ever heard the single "Options", Pitbull feat. Stephen Marley, well you can listen here. 
There are many variations of hostels so it's up to you to choose "the top one" depending on what type of atmosphere and location attracts you. Many of them are themed and have a variety of different amenities available to you. With a quick search and the application of a few filters you can find exactly what you are looking for.
The choice is yours!

4. Assistance

Whether you are visiting a new city or returning for the umpteenth time, hostels have staff that are generally well-informed and offer you assistance in any area that you may need. They also offer recommendations for places to eat, clubs to visit, things you must see, even areas to avoid etc. 
Like hotels, they have plenty literature that you can read for yourself too. (Many of them also have personalised city maps so don't forget to ask for one!)

5. Discounts

As the hostel personnel offers you information, they may include some of the special offers that you are entitled to as a temporary resident in their establishment. Most hostels allow you to receive coupons that may reduce your costs of entering certain attractions, bars, cafes or discounted prices on tours, etc., so feel free to find out about what they can offer you if you aren't told. (Read more in our Travel Tricks section).

6. Information

Staying in a hostels allows you to have information that you sometimes wouldn't be able to get on the streets. As seen above in the assistance section. The staff assists you and provides you with information that is authentic as most staff members in hostels are locals and they have been in the business for a while. The information is tailored to suit your needs, especially on a budget.

7. Meeting People

If there is one place that you are guaranteed to meet people and even make a new friend, then a hostel is definitely the place to do so. Seeing that this type of accommodation has many shared spaces, there is no doubt that you would bump into someone and a friendly hello can definitely set you in the right travel and friend making mood.

A hostel is "a place that provides cheap food and lodging for a particular group of people" (Oxford Pocket Dictionary. 10th ed.) With this in mind, you should not expect 5 star accommodation as most hostels include shared spaces and facilities. Rooms are usually dormitories that may be mixed, females only or males only and may have from 4 to 10 beds or sometimes even more. Some have themes associated with the rooms or even the hostel in general and this is reflected by colourful painted walls or doors. 

The option of booking a private room is available. It costs a bit more than average but allows you to have the privacy you need even on a tight budget. You may compare a private room in a hostel to a 2 or in some cases 3 star hotel. Private rooms do not always offer absolute privacy and you may at times need to share some facilities like the restrooms, kitchen etc.

If you are travelling as a group of friends or family, you should consider letting one person book the room to make the process easier. However, there is no guarantee that your group will be placed together in the same room so you may want to contact the hostel directly to try to arrange that.

Given that hostels are almost never empty or many times they are booked way in advance, you too may need to consider pre-booking. Although most of them allow "free" cancellation, you may need to pay a little more money in order for the cancellation policy to come into effect so be sure to read the rules on cancellation and refunds in the event that you may need to do either. Each hostel has a different policy so DO NOT think that because you are using the same site for your booking e.g., Hostelworld that all terms and conditions of the parent site will apply to the booking.

In the case where the majority of the patrons are younger persons, noise level may at some point become an issue depending on the type of hostel you intend to book. The general populace that hostels target are younger people generally between the ages of 18 and 28 therefore, you may find that numerous hostels restrict entry for persons over and under this age limit but this is not the case for all of them so you may want to familiarise yourself with the terms of conditions of booking before you actually reserve a room or a bed.