Types of accommodation in Travel accommodation
Hostels (more commonly referred to as "youth hostels") are a loosely-defined form of guesthouse, generally low-budget compared to other places to sleep. Although often used by youth there is usually no upper age limit.
For more in-depth information see: Hostels
Hotels provide private serviced rooms for guests. They range from very basic budget-style to extremely luxurious accommodation.
For more in-depth information see: Hotels, Grand old hotels
Capsule hotels are a cheap form of accomodation in Japan, usually more or less on par with a dorm bed in a hostel, in terms of pricing. The "rooms" are little more than small one-person capsules with only a mattress, radio, and TV (which usually boasts a variety of Japanese porn channels). Note that most capsule hotels are segregated by gender, while many, if not most, don't accept female guests at all.
Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) and Guesthouses provide hotel style rooms. However, they are typically smaller residences and you will interact with your hosts and other guests, often eating together and sharing common spaces. Bed and Breakfasts and Guesthouses are found both inside and out of major centers. Many market themselves as providing a "quiet escape". There are many associations and websites that offer help finding a Bed and Breakfast in your travel area.
For more in-depth information see: Bed and Breakfasts
A hospitality exchange or home stay network is an organization that connects travelers with local residents in the cities they're visiting. If travelers can connect with the right people at the right time, they can get room and sometimes board in the place they're visiting for free or at a deep discount. Network size goes from a few thousands to a hundred thousands, and most networks are growing steadily.
For more in-depth information see: Hospitality exchange
Car camping, Caravaning, RV camping... it goes by many names, and the experience varies widely, but this form of camping involves carrying your equipment in your motor vehicle, which you drive right to your campsite. Unlike more traditional camping, car camping allows you to carry quite a bit more equipment, and the focus is usually to enjoy the site, cook-outs, day hikes, and other outdoor activities. Some just use their vehicle for transportation, pitching a stand-alone tent to sleep in. Some use it to pull a pop-up trailer/tent or use their car or van as part of the tent or shade structure. Some drive large vans or recreational vehicles to sleep in, which may include many of the comforts of home (on a more compact scale).
Caravan parks tend to have two or three types of accommodation: powered sites to put your caravan and car; caravans owned by the park that you can stay in; and small cabins with a bit more space. Caravan parks are usually located in medium sized towns and cities, or in very popular tourist spots.
For more in-depth information see: Car camping
Camping is do-it-yourself accommodation: you carry your roof and your bedding in your backpack or your car. It's often the only choice of accommodation you have when you're travelling off the beaten track, but there are also very popular sites for camping holidays. Always check whether you need a permit to camp, how much it costs and whether your choice of site will be restricted. You generally need to get permits either in advance or on arrival. Many popular national parks or protected sites have limited camping to particular sites and some have banned it altogether. When hiking, there will often be set campsites a day's walk apart, and often you are forbidden to camp between them. Permits can typically be obtained in advance or on arrival, but may be hard to get or sell out during very popular holiday periods - don't blithely plan a Christmas camping holiday without being sure you can get a permit if you need one.
Permits for sites at very popular holiday periods are actually quite hard to get and sometimes sell out months in advance, don't blithely plan a Christmas camping holiday without being sure you can get a permit if you need one.
For more in-depth information see: Camping
Villas: When planning your holidays you have to take in consideration not only the location, but also the best accommodation that will provide you and your party with value for money according to your requirements.
If you are looking to get away from it all and relax with your family in privacy, than a holiday villa would be the ideal choice for you. By renting a private villa you will have your own kitchen, living/dining room, bedroom and in many cases your own private swimming pool. Renting a villa provides you, not only, with more space and privacy but is also a more economical option rather than staying at a small hotel room.
A villa can usually accommodate a minimum of 4 people, and the rental price is charged per week making it more cost-effective than staying at a hotel.
Vacation rentals. Many residents of popular tourist destinations lease their houses and apartments to vacationers. The residence may have been bought specifically for this purpose or the normal occupants may vacate it during some parts of the year. The guests will have full use of the residence, usually with utilities included but no servicing or meals. This approach can be cheaper than booking a hotel room for the same length of time (and give more space than a hotel room), especially if travelling with a family or other sizable group of people. Facilities will vary depending on the property, but usually include kitchen and laundry facilities and possibly amenities like a swimming pool (or access to a communal pool), a games room (table tennis, pool, Playstation 2, X-Box, ...), and TV/video/DVD players. Contacting the owners directly is the ideal way to make arrangements as they can answer any questions you may have about the property, and may offer more competitive pricing since there's no middle-man.
For more in-depth information see: Vacation rentals
Exotic hotels
- in sandstone caves: Goreme (Turkey), Ia (Santorini, Greece)
- in rock caves: Matala (Greece)
- on trees: Rafter's Retreat in Kitulgala (Sri Lanka); tree houses in Çıralı (Turkey)
- on rock cliffs
- ice hotels: Jukkasjärvi (Sweden), Norway, Canada, Finland and Romania: wikipedia:Ice hotel
- island hotels: Sveti Stefan (originally a fishers village)
- underwater bedroom: Conrad Maldives Rangali Island (Maldives)
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The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Travel accommodation
