✈️ Travel Guide – Accommodation – The ESL Teacher C

*Disclaimer, at the very end of this post you will find a referral link for AirBnb, if you follow it, it will benefit both of us 😊 Read on for more info.*

In this post I will discuss different accommodation options for your travels: the free, the social, the impersonal, and house sitting. If you’d like instead to receive the world in your home, here’s an option you might want to consider.

Free accommodation options

☞ Everyone’s favourite, here are some options:

Sleeping in a tent, either out in the wild or on a camping site. It’s a humbling experience: getting closer to nature, the sound of silence, the presence of the stars. It can be empowering too.
Friends or family: you might have a large family or a good network of friends that allows you to stay abroad
Couchsurfing: unglamorous, but a great way to make a friend and get to know a city, just be careful who you stay with and do expect to contribute to chores or little details of house maintenance (taking the trash out, etc.), but don’t let yourself be exploited either.
Au Pair: this program pairs you with a family who’s kid you’ll have to babysit, other wise, its a free ride
Free accommodation and meals in exchange for work
- at a hostel: contact them directly and offer them your services
- at a farm ( WWOOF:World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farm)
- with a volunteer mission (religious or humanitarian)
Warmshowers: like Couchsurfing, but geared towards biking tourists
Bonus: if you’ve been nurturing loyalty programs with credit cards or associations, check if you’re eligible for free bookings.

☞ For those who seek a local friend or the ambiance of a group:

AirBnb:
- This can give you a very local experience as it’s possible to chose to stay with a family or lease a room in a house with the host. If you are lucky, you might be invited to join their celebrations or activities.
- Even if you don’t share a common area with your host, they have a tendency to be very responsive and helpful to explore their neighbourhood and the city where you’re staying.
- It’s budget friendly, the range of prices is wide, even in the nice areas, it will be better priced than hotels.
Hostels:
- hostel world: is great to book one, and they have a membership program where you can get discounts (if you are a student or below 30 years old) although you can often find them listed on the AirBnb platform
Couchsurfing: best way to interact with locals and to live in a more natural setting (vs in a hotel)

More business oriented options

☞ For when you need specific services and stability and don’t want to care beyond the transaction.

Hotels and Motels:
- They may be more impersonal, but will normally have a 24/7 front desk, good facilities (gyms, pools, conference rooms …) and have certain standards of cleanliness and maintenance (although just like for anything, it depends on the price and management)
- My favourite way to book them is through booking.com, mostly because it’s worked in all countries I visited and it has a nice loyalty program and cancellation policy (no affiliate links, not sponsored)
- I’ve heard of a very interesting app: Hotel Tonight, but I never got to use it since it didn’t include many options in the cities I visited.
AirBnb: the line often blurs with AirBnb, it’s extremely accommodating
- The range of places to book goes from a tiny pod in the most crowded area of a city to your own personal mansion in the most exclusive location.
- You can make your search and filter by amenities.
- You can check what the cancelling policy is and to see if it represents your needs.
- They have a travel for business option.
- They also have tours and experiences you can book.

House sitting options

☞ I personally never used this method, but you might find it to suit your projects well.

Travelling through hosting other travellers

☞ Receive people on your couch with Couchsurfing.

☞ Receive student doing an exchange.

☞ Host on AirBnb. I hosted on the platform for many years and as a solo traveller, used them to explore many cities. I absolutely vouch for this model of accommodation.

The website makes it easy to set up.
There are many insurances and solid policies in place.
The host’s and guest’s identities are verified.
The hosts and guests are rated through feedback constantly, so you’ll have a good idea of who’s coming to your home or who you’re visiting.
If problems arise, the platform has a good helping center and a well trained team.

☞ If you’d like to give the platform a try I’m giving you my referral link🏡 If you register through it you will get around 10 USD once you list and finish your first successful booking—the website says rooms don’t count 😢. Chat me up if you want to try it but have questions or concerns about it.

Questions/Comments 😄💬 Let’s chat

☞ What’s your preferred way to visit a location?

☞ What’s the worst accommodation experience you’ve ever had?

☞ Is there an option that surprised you or that you are newly considering?

The ESL Teacher C · Nomad Educator