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17 Comments. Leave new
Planning an itenerary before going to any kind of hotel lodging feels like the best way to plan things. This way, I can have some idea of where I want to go and other potential alternatives in case my initial destinations aren’t available. I’ll draft something like that first before I go and look for any hotel & lodging listings in the area.
Great advice again Aleah,
For my upcoming round the world trip I asked the booking agent to remove all of the private tours he had kindly added, and transfers and finally the hotels, I left only the flights for them to book which then became within my budget. (I realise I could have booked all the flights myself too but travel nation seemed to offer a good price for my trip and it’s less hassle) I used booking.com for every hotel (17 in all) chose by checking map location, ultimately the other reviews, budget scale which you could filter and all but 2 hotels allowed free cancellation and no deposit! I’ve made a few amendments to the trip and swapped a few hotels about or added destinations and it hasn’t cost a penny. I’ve got a real mix of nightlife location (New York/Bangkok/Phuket) mixed with more peaceful (Chiang Mai) often breaking up a 9 day tour of a location with 2-3 hotels that vary. Treating myself to 4 star all inclusive for a couple of days after sight seeing to just chill and lap up flowing drinks and lazing in the sun before turning up the pace again. Variety is the spice of life as they say.
Forgot to mention: watch out for bait and switch pictures! Read the reviews, lots of them, keep going past all of the positive ones that may be paid by the hotel and see if there are comments on rooms not matching pictures, rude staff and scams on currency conversions, sometimes booking.com list price in $ but you pay in local currency dependant on the exchange rate at the time of arrival, so if the hotel convert to Mexican pesos for example they could add on lots of extra dollars! I’m loading up a revolut travel card before I go, best exchange rates and you can take out up to £500/$700 at an ATM per month no charge. So I can pay in local currency with my card on arrival and get best exchange rate no charge
These are some really valuable tips for anyone planning a solo trip! A lot of people (myself included) don’t ever consider the location of the hotel, just that it’s in the right city. But considering transportation options, being right in the center of everything you want to do is a HUGE benefit. Thanks so much for writing, I’ll keep all of this in mind as I search for a hotel.
@ Rob: That’s a really important advise, that is, following your intuition. It’s especially important if you’re a woman traveling alone!
my tip: check hotel reviews. if you paid for a 3 star, don’t expect 5 star amenities and services of course. then, rely on your gut feelings, remember you are ALONE. if you don’t feel safe – GET OUT!
@ Alice: Thanks. Feel free to share this 🙂
Great advice! I will certainly be keeping all of them in mind when I finally go on a trip by myself! =)
@ Gelo: Don’t rely 100% on TripAdvisor. Lots of reports of companies gaming it. They hire people to write reviews!
@ Photo Cache: That is so true!
you pretty much covered the topic. i don’t travel solo, but for us it’s always budget topping our consideration. nothing wrecks a good vacation than running low on the budget.
i agree with all your tips! i also go for accessibility, cost and rely on majority’s review particularly on tripadvisor.
@ Meri: Thanks, and have fun planning! Don’t forget to check out my post on that. 🙂
@ Shalu: Yeah, you really have to weigh the pros and cons of being in the city center. For me, I don’t mind being out of the way for a bit, especially if there’s a big difference in the rate.
Nice tips Aleah. I think judging the hotel by its signs is a great tip. If hotels can’t be bothered for its presentation, I wonder how their services would be. Location is important as well but then don’t want to end up paying a lot.
Great post! I’m planning a solo trip next month and am in the lodging phase of planning–that site prontohotel.com looks like it will be very helpful! I will have to get back to you with any tips of my own.
@ Lauren: Yeah, finding one to split the cost is a good idea. Traveling solo can get really expensive!
@ Salika: I agree. My top priorities too, aside from the wifi. hehe
You have covered pretty much all the bases, Aleah! I’d book a reputed city hotel where there are many other tourists stay. So, location and budget 🙂
My tip would be follow your gut, use sale sites and try to find another traveler who’ll split the cost with you. I booked a hotel with a complete stranger, (well she was a fellow blogger who i stalked two days before we met) and we ended up ditching the hotel in favor of a hostel. 😀 It was fun!