Hotels Versus Hostels: The Battle for Your Vacation Bucks

For some people the best part of travel is the hotel that they stay in. For others, it is the adventure that they find when they get to a new location. There are good and bad points to both hotels and hostels, and they should both be fully explored before you make your final decision. And if you are traveling with someone who is expecting room service and mints on the pillow, don't surprise them with a hostel booking instead. There are just some things in life that do not make good surprises.

Hotels can vary widely in their pricing depending on a number of factors including: amenities, location and attractions, length of stay. If you are heading to a popular destination during peak times, then be prepared for the price of that hotel room to jump dramatically as the out of towners vie for every available space. If you do some careful shopping and some advance booking, though, you could save quite a bit of cash.

If it truly is adventure that you seek or you really have to save some cash, then a hostel might be the way to go. Sure a hostel will not offer room service, or even a private room, but the amount of money that you save can truly be amazing. And besides, what better way is there to soak up local flavor then to sleep in a dormitory style room with up to ten other people? Of course, sharing that space with that many strangers might be more than some people can take, so consider your level of tolerance before you even think of booking a hostel stay. If you like your room dark and quiet for instance, a hotel would be a better choice for you. If you are not an overly sensitive sleeper, a hostel would be perfectly okay.

Of course, if your plan is a romantic get away for you and your special someone, then a hotel is a must- unless you like making your best moves with an audience. Besides, what could be sweeter than snuggling up in a big, hotel bed and ordering room service? Nice.

Hotels make you pay more money, but some hostels will make you do chores. Or make you come in at a certain time- as in a curfew. Some even have daytime lock outs, which means that every morning at a certain time everybody has to get out and stay out until time to come back in- heaven forbid that you forget to grab something while you are being shuffled out the door!

Life is all about compromises and trade offs, and only you know the limits to what you find acceptable or not. Make a list of the pros and cons for each and see how they stack up. Be honest about how you feel about strangers in general, let alone those that will be sleeping in the same room as you. If you know that you will be a nervous Nellie around all those people, then by all means skip the hostel experience. It is not for everybody, and there is no shame in saying you would much prefer the hotel.