How We Did IT... Hotels, Airbnb, Hostels

After we found out where we were going to be in Europe we started looking at places to stay, we were going to be in Europe for 3 weeks which is crazy long time but we were on a budget so we started looking at hotels. Which was pretty expensive around 150-200 dollars a night!!! Nope, if you added all that up that would be anywhere between 3000+ dollars. We thought of the next thing Airbnb we had had past experiences with Airbnb and somewhere awesome and somewhere really awkward! We figured we wouldn’t be spending a ton of time in our room. We just needed a place to sleep. We started looking and they ranged from 50 bucks a night and more. we wanted our own places and we found that in Paris and Rome it was the cheapest option. We also looked at where the apartment where located. where they next to public transportation? where they close to big attractions, and what did the past people say about staying there. We wanted them to be close to public transportations because it is the cheapest way to get from place to place.
When we looked at staying in an Airbnb in London on the other hand it was cheaper to stay in a hotel. In Sweden, we knew that it was really nice country and it was a really expensive country! We had to try to a hostel and which in Sweden was our last stop so we stayed in old town and it was actually really cool I would do that again. Hostels in Sweden was the cheapest but it was still around 80 bucks a night for a private room. (Jed and I got a private room and spent the night in 2 twin beds! it was so awesome we joked about how we relived out first Nielsen family trip in Cali.

Things to look at when booking an Airbnb

• Look at the size! our first Airbnb in Paris was tiny! like so tiny, when I first walked in I wondered if there was a bathroom tiny! But it was fine we were just shocked at how small it was but there was a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower it was close to the trains and bike stops.
• Look to see if there is restaurant or markets nearby. I know with Airbnb they don’t give you the exact address but it will give you an idea so go on to google maps and see what it looks like and what is around and how much the restaurant are.
• We also checked the reviews to see how involved the owner where when you were staying in the apartment. Both of ours where very helpful with letting us check out when we needed or giving us suggestions of stuff to do while we were there. They were so nice!
• How close it was to public transportations. The best thing about Europe is that their transportation is pretty good. so, this wasn’t too hard to find a subway stations that wasn’t close.

Things to look for when booking hostels

• Hostels can range! My cousin told me when she stayed in a hostel once they stayed in shared room and she was so scared that she was going to get robbed that she didn’t sleep well. She might have been over reacting but with that story in mind we deiced to get a privet room for just Jed and I. So in our room we stayed in there was 2 twin beds, We had to pay for our sheets which was normal at everyone we looked into and the bathroom and kitchen was shared.
• We looked at how far it was to walk from transportation and we also looked at the rating about how clean it was and how nice the people where. Everyone was so nice and they even answered our phone late for us. Make sure when you are looking for these hostels it says how to check in. We got in supper late and had to call people and get codes to get in and it was kind of a hostel make sure you look at that before you go if you are arriving late.

When we were looking for a place to stay we looked for places close to transit. We knew that we wouldn’t want to take uber or other modes of transportation. So, we would look up public transportation on google maps and see how close it was we stuck to around 8 blocks or closer. We also knew that most tourist spots where close to public transportation. Also research that neighborhood. See if there is food (restaurant and super markets) in that area and if it’s a nice area. We had no problem in any of the cities we stayed in.

In Paris which was are one mistake is that we wanted too to stay close to the Eiffel Tower. But in that area, there where little to no super markets and little too no restaurant that weren’t supper expensive. check out yelp BEFORE YOU GO in that area to see how many $ signs each restaurant is. This can help to make it a little cheaper.
Also in France, we didn’t realize how small our place would be. Which turned out fine but walking into a small studio was hilarious and eye opening but it had an amazing view!
In London, it was actually cheaper to stay in a hotel. We compared prices on Airbnb and hotels in they Hyde Park area. Hyde Park was amazing with lots of amazing food, shops and pretty close to most things. The hotel was very nice and accommodation. They didn’t have laundry but we ended up not even using it.

Rome, we stayed in one of my favorite places in Rome walking distance to the Vatican. Close-ish to transit. (the transit in Rome wasn’t amazing compared too Paris and London. There was a market across the street and the owner of the house was the sweetest. It had a beautiful patio and at night we could lock the patio door and keep the other door open and have an amazing breeze from outside. the only owner was that my husband is 6 feet tall had to bend down in a couple areas. The owner of the home was the sweatiest person I have ever met. I wanted to give her a hug and eat her homemade pasta!

A cruise.... was seriously a life saver! I’m pretty sure we couldn’t have lived without it. It was so nice to know how we were going to get from one place to another, where we were going to sleep and where we were going to eat! it was such a nice way to break up our trip and give us a break from backpacking!

Sweden, we stayed in a hostel! Be sure to read all the details of the hostel before you go there. For example, how to get in, how to check in after hours, weather or nor you need sheets. We ended up having to call someone to get us all checked in and it was a big pain. Make sure your all checked in before you go if you are planning on getting in after hours.