More booking than a library...

...or something.

In the last few days I have gone booking crazy. I finally ordered my Interrail ticket (very quick and easy using the STA Travel website) which arrived swiftly the next day - thanks to a mandatory £9 next day delivery fee. Hopefully Meg will be getting hers in the next few days.

I also booked our flights. We wanted the cheapest flights possible, to start our trip (London to Madrid) and end it (Amsterdam to London). A few months ago I earmarked flights on the Easyjet website, but for some reason I put off booking the tickets. Meg reminded me a few days ago that I should book them before the prices went up, and sadly it was too late. We have chosen to embark on our trip on a very early flight in order to keep costs down, so I am expecting to leave my house at about 4-5am in order to make our early morning flight. Oh well, at least we'll catch the worm right?

Finally, I finished all the hostel bookings yesterday. Unfortunately some of our picks were now unavailable so we had to spend a few hours debating and negotiating on replacements. The 3 contentious hostels were as follows:

• Barcelona - HelloBCN was now unavailable. Choice was between Centric Point - good area, but very big and noisy - or Downtown Paraios - not so good area, not so sociable. In the end we went with Centric Point, deciding that it is more of a hassle to deal with a stolen passport than a sleepless night.
  
  
• Florence - We couldn't find the place we'd picked, so we needed a whole new place. For some reason HostelWorld showed a high-rated hostel, Academy Hostel, as not having enough space for us a to share a room. However, I checked back later and it said there was space. We think that website is a little dodgy in this respect, but we got it booked so it's all gravy now.
  
  
• Amsterdam - As has been discussed in the blog before, we decided to ditch St Chris' at the Winston because of it's rampant mouse population. The replacement contenders were narrowed down to 2: StayOkay Vondelpark, a HUGE basic studenty place, or Hotel My Home, a small family run place. In the end we went with Hotel My Home, which appealed to me greatly for several reasons: it's really central, the staff are friendly, the breakfasts are supposed to be fantastic, and it has a cat! Homey the cat will protect me from the evil mice, and provide me with "cuddles and purrs", I can't wait to meet him.
  

Here are some pictures of Homey that I found on the internet, copyright of Todd Mecklem 2007:

I am definitely glad that Meg and I decided to book hostels in advance. Having seen the multitude of horrifying reviews that the majority of hostels have, and the lower availability of good hostels even a month or two in advance, it seems we would be stuck in a festering hellhole if we left it to providence. Plus, I can't imagine it being fun to traipse around the city after a long train ride, looking for a place to stay with our rollalong suitcases in tow.

Here are my perceived benefits of booking hostels in advance:

1. You know you are getting the features that you want: 24 hour reception/access, no curfew, lockers in rooms, internet access, etc
   
   
2. You have read all the reviews, so you know where to avoid due to lack of security, safety, thieving cleaners (I've read stories...) and so on
   
   
3. You know exactly where to go when you arrive, so you don't waste time trying to find a place to stay
   
   
4. You're already booked into a place, so you are somewhat guaranteed a place when you arrive, as opposed to earmarking a place and turning up hoping it has room (but possibly/probably being turned away disappointed)
   
   
5. It's one less thing to worry about, and you can get on with your trip without having to think ahead - less stress, more enjoyment!
   

One last thing: we haven't booked a hostel for Rome. The reason is that I have a family friend in Rome who has agreed to let us stay in her apartment for the days we are there. This is great, as it will give us a break from noisy hostels, it will be private, secure, and comfortable, and of course - it will save us a few hundred pounds, crucial for stingy students like us.

So in summary, here are my tips for accommodation during your travels:

1. If you know where you are going to be and when like we do, book hostels in advance, the earlier the better.
   
   
2. Make sure the place has good reviews, and important security and convenience features such as 24hr access, luggage room, lockers.
   
   
3. Print off important details before you go - names and addresses of hostels, directions from the train station. We've also noted the size of room we booked so we can check we get the right place and price, and where has laundry facilities so we can plan when to wash our clothes.
   
   
4. If you know anyone at your destinations, ask them if you can stay with them. It will be a nice change, and it will save you lots of money.
   
   
5. Shake it up a bit - Meg and I have picked a mix of basic hostels, home-run places, budget hotels and a friend's house. We expect this will give us a broader experience, and if we don't like one place then we won't have to suffer through the same type of housing for the whole trip. For instance the budget hotels will give us a few days of respite from the crowded, loud hostels, and if we find it boring being isolated from other travellers, at least it's only for a few days and we will move onto a more sociable place.

Mojo