c/budget-travel-hacks

Hostels weren't saving me money like I thought

I spent 6 months in Southeast Asia staying in hostels for $10 a night. Then I added up all the money I spent on laundry, lockers, and buying dinner because the kitchen was always packed. A $25 Airbnb with a washing machine and a real kitchen would have been cheaper in the long run. Has anyone else crunched the numbers on their hostel stays?

Found a motel outside Nashville that had a vending machine full of canned biscuits

Pulled off I-40 near Lebanon last month at a $45 a night place and the only thing in the machine besides soda was 12 packs of Pillsbury Grands. Anybody else run into weird roadside snack situations?

Found out the real deal with hostel loyalty programs after booking 15 nights in Berlin

I was staying at a chain hostel in Berlin for 2 weeks last spring and realized they had a loyalty program. I signed up thinking I'd get some free nights eventually. But when I checked my points after 15 nights, I only had enough for a free breakfast. That kind of stuff adds up slower than you think. Turns out most hostel programs give you like 1 point per euro spent and a free night costs 500 to 800 points. Meanwhile hotels give way better returns for similar prices in budget areas. Did the math and I could have saved maybe $60 just by booking through a random discount site instead of direct. Has anyone else noticed hostel loyalty perks are kind of a joke compared to hotel chains?

Changed my mind about booking flights through third party sites after 6 hours on hold with Expedia

Honestly, I always thought third party sites were fine until my connecting flight got cancelled in Denver last month. It took me a full 6 hours spread over two days to get a human on the phone who could actually rebook me. The airline kept saying I had to go through Expedia since I booked through them. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of runaround?

Finally stopped booking hostels with 12-bed dorms after a nightmare in Barcelona last summer

Used to pack into the cheapest bunk I could find to save $15 a night, but after getting my phone stolen from under my pillow at 3am, I now pay an extra $8 for a 4-bed room with lockers and actually sleep through the night.

Why does EVERY hostel group chat turn into a meme war by day 2?

I was on a 3 week trip through Barcelona and noticed that no matter where I stayed, people would start spamming memes in the WhatsApp group by the second night and then nobody could find info about the free walking tour. Is this just a universal thing or do I need to find hostels with stricter rules?

Decided between Airbnb and a hostel for a week in Portland

I was planning a 5 day trip to Portland last spring and had to pick between a cheap hostel downtown at $35 a night and a private Airbnb room for $75. I went with the hostel to save money, figuring I'd just sleep there. Turned out the hostel had a free breakfast of bagels and coffee, plus a shared kitchen where I cooked most of my meals. The Airbnb would have cost me $375 total, but the hostel ended up around $175 after all fees. I spent the extra cash on a day trip to the Columbia River Gorge instead. Has anyone else found hostels beat Airbnb for solo trips like this?

Found a $3 tool that fixed my leaky hostel sink in Prague

Was staying at a place near the train station and the bathroom sink dripped all night... kept waking me up. Told the front desk twice, nothing happened. Finally went to a hardware store down the street, spent $3 on a little rubber washer, fixed it myself in 2 minutes. Got a free breakfast out of the front desk guy after he saw me do it. Has anyone else just fixed stuff yourself at a cheap hostel instead of waiting around?

That hostel owner in Barcelona who showed me his booking calendar changed how I plan trips forever

He pointed out that Sunday night check-ins are half the price of Friday nights because nobody wants to arrive on a Sunday, so now I always shift my travel by 2 days and save $40 every time - has anyone else found a weird day-of-the-week trick like that?

Vent: Found out my "budget" hostel was secretly charging me $15 a night in hidden fees

I booked this hostel in Barcelona through a third party site because it showed $22 a night. Seemed like a steal. But when I checked in, they hit me with a mandatory "linen fee" and then another charge for a locker rental. I added it up later after talking to a backpacker from Australia who'd been there a week. The base rate was $22 but with all the add-ons and a city tax that wasn't listed clearly, I paid $37 a night. Found the real breakdown on a Reddit thread about Hostelworld scams. Now I always message the hostel directly before booking to ask for the full price out the door. Has anyone else gotten burned by these hidden hostel fees?

That guy on the hostel bunk told me to never exchange money at the airport and he was totally right

I landed in Bangkok last month and almost changed $200 at the currency counter right outside baggage claim. Some dude from New Zealand in my hostel room said I'd lose like 15% doing that, so I walked to a SuperRich in the city instead. Guess what? I got 34 baht per dollar instead of 29 at the airport, so I saved around $30 on that one exchange. But then again, if you're arriving late at night and need cash for a taxi, waiting isn't always practical. Has anyone else had airport exchange actually work out okay when you're in a pinch?

Shoutout to the guy who told me to book flights on a Tuesday morning

I used to think flight prices were totally random and just hoped for the best. Then I chatted with a travel agent at a bus stop in Portland last fall who said airlines load their sales Monday night and Tuesday at 10am is the sweet spot. I tested it for a trip to Seattle and saved $60 on a round-trip ticket compared to checking Thursday. Has anyone else actually noticed a difference booking on a specific day of the week?

Appreciation post: the hostel owner in Lisbon who gave me a free breakfast every morning

I was staying at a tiny hostel in Lisbon last March, had booked 5 nights, and on day two I mentioned I was heading out early to catch a bus to Sintra. The owner, an older Portuguese guy named Rui, just said "wait" and made me a coffee and a pastel de nata from his own kitchen. He did that every single morning after, never charged me extra. Anyone else had a hostel staff member do something simple like that?

Walked into a grocery store in Lisbon and nearly fell over at the price of a sandwich

I remember back in 2005, a fresh sandwich from a little deli in Rome cost me like 2 euros. Last month, I wandered into a small market in Lisbon, thinking I'd grab a quick bite for under 5 bucks. The cheapest thing on the shelf was a sad ham and cheese wrap for 8.50 euros. I stood there for a good minute, blinking at the price tag. It hit me that I'm not the broke backpacker anymore, but the prices sure caught up fast. Has anyone else had a moment where inflation just slapped you in the face while traveling?

Booked a hostel in Barcelona through a random travel app and saved $60 over the usual sites.

Went to check out after 3 days and the front desk lady said they didn't get my reservation at all, has anyone else had a booking just vanish like that?

TIL I was way overpaying for airport parking thanks to a random guy at the gate

I was complaining to this guy next to me at the baggage claim in Denver about how parking at the airport cost me $28 a day for a weekend trip. He just looked at me and said 'why don't you use one of those off site lots with a shuttle?' I honestly thought they were all sketchy and took forever. But he told me about one called ParkDIA that was only $8 a day and the shuttle came every 10 minutes. I tried it last month for a 4 day trip to Chicago and it saved me $80 total. The shuttle dropped me right at my terminal door and picking up was just as easy. Has anyone else switched from on site parking to one of these lots and found a good one in another city?

That $30 travel towel was the worst thing I packed

I bought one of those quick-dry microfiber towels for a trip to Thailand... and it smelled like mildew after 3 days no matter how much I rinsed it. Cost me 30 bucks and I ended up just using hostel towels anyway. Anyone found a brand that actually doesn't get funky?

Wasted $80 on a hostel meal plan in Lisbon...

Stayed at a hostel in Lisbon called Home Hostel last month and bought their weekly meal plan for $80 upfront. Thought it would save money but half the days the kitchen was closed for private events with no warning. Ended up eating out anyway and lost about $40 worth of meals I paid for. Has anyone else gotten burned on hostel meal plans or was it just this one place?

Question about using hostel kitchen hours in Barcelona

I stayed at a hostel in Barcelona last spring and noticed a big difference in how much I saved on food. Before I figured out the timing, I was spending around 15 euros a day on meals out. After I started cooking breakfast and dinner in the hostel kitchen during off peak hours, I got that down to about 5 euros daily. The change happened over my second week there once I realized the kitchen was empty between 7 and 9 AM for breakfast. The hostel had this weird rule where you could only use the stove during certain times. Has anyone else dealt with hostel kitchen schedules ruining your meal plans? Any tips for finding places with 24 hour kitchen access?

Blew $80 on a hostel card that didn't save me a dime

I bought a Hostelling International membership card for $28 (plus a $40 booking) thinking I'd get cheap beds across Europe, but then I found a private room on Booking.com in Prague for $22 a night instead. The card only got me 10% off at a few places that were already more expensive than what I could grab last minute on hostelworld. Anyone else ever waste cash on a travel membership that just didn't pay off?

Checked my hostel booking in Bangkok and realized breakfast was included the whole time

I booked a private room for $18 a night and never noticed the free toast and eggs deal until day 3. Has anyone else missed something obvious in a booking and felt like you left free money on the table?

Spent 2 hours looking for a $7 bus ticket because the app kept crashing

Hostel in Barcelona double charged me and the manager just shrugged

Stayed at this place in the Gothic quarter last month, paid cash at check in like they asked. Then 3 days later my bank shows a credit card charge for the same amount. Manager said "oh the system must have done that" and wouldnt refund me. Took 2 weeks and a chargeback to get my money back. Anyone else had hostels pull this shady move?

Hostels went from sketchy to actually decent for me

Back in my early 20s I swore I'd never sleep in a hostel. Had a buddy in 2015 tell me about one in New Orleans where he woke up with someone else's sandal in his bunk. So I just assumed they were all like that. Then last year my budget was super tight for a trip to Portland and I gave one a shot for $35 a night. Place had keycard access, private lockers, and the other people were mostly just tired travelers like me. Now I'm wondering if I just got lucky or if hostels everywhere have stepped up their game. Anybody else have a surprise turnaround on something you were totally against?

Hostel bunk curtain hack that saved me $40 on my Tokyo trip last month

I was in Tokyo last month staying at a budget hostel in Shinjuku. The bunk bed curtains were those thin white ones that barely blocked light. Couldn't sleep past 5am. On day 3 I grabbed a couple of those black trash bags from the front desk and clipped them over the curtain rods with binder clips I had in my bag. Total blackout for under a dollar. Got solid sleep the rest of the trip. Has anyone else found simple fixes like this that make budget stays way better?