Are you planning a trip and need to decide where to spend your nights? I’ve talked before about how accommodations are the first thing you need to consider when prioritizing your budget, but with all of the options out there, how do you know where you should stay? This post includes a list of all your options for sleeping on the road, including pros and cons for each, links to additional resources, and a handy dandy infographic to help you decide where you should stay!

How to Decide Where to Sleep While Traveling

I’ve talked before about prioritizing your budget before you travel, and the first thing you need to do when deciding where to sleep while traveling is to figure out what’s most important to you in your accommodations.  Here are the things that you may want to consider:

1. Upfront Costs – upfront costs are high for options such as camping and low for options such as Airbnbs
2. Nightly Costs – nightly costs are low for camping and high for options such as hotels
3. Flexibility – how flexible are you on your travel dates or where you stay? Hotels are a dime-a-dozen while unique Airbnbs or camping sites are more limited. What is the chance you’re going to cancel your trip or change your travel plans?
4. Convenience – how convenient do you want your accommodation to be?
5. Safety – how risk tolerant are you?
6. Amenities – what amenities will you actually use?
7. Ambiance – what kind of experience are you looking for? A clean but boring hotel or a more natural setting?

Where to Sleep While Traveling: Car Camping

My current favorite option, car camping allows you to sleep anywhere you can park your car! Some things to consider:

Pros of Car Camping:

• It’s free to sleep in your car
• Allows you the most flexibility — you can do as little planning as you want to and still have somewhere to sleep
• More secure than camping — it’s easier to break into a tent than it is to break into a car

Cons of Car Camping:

• Safety is still a concern. Be careful where you park!
• Depending on your car, it can be difficult and expensive to set it up for sleeping.
• There might not be room for more than one person if you’re not traveling alone.

Additional Resources for Car Camping:

 

Where to Sleep While Traveling: Hotels and Motels

The first place you probably think of when planning a trip is a hotel or motel. While staying in a hotel is convenient and may be the safest option out there, there are other things to consider as well.

Pros of Staying in a Hotel:

• Safe, both for you at night and for your valuables during the day if you lock them in the hotel safe
• Gives you access to amenities such as a gym or a pool
• Often have free coffee and continental breakfasts
• It’s easy to find hotels and motels almost anywhere (urban settings, small towns, near tourist attractions, etc.)

Cons of Staying in a Hotel:

• The most expensive option
• Generally not an interesting experience
• Probably the greatest risk of bedbugs, depending on where you’re staying

Additional Resources for Staying in a Hotel:

 

Where to Sleep While Traveling: Campgrounds

On the other end of the spectrum from hotels are campgrounds. Here are things to consider about camping while traveling:

Pros of Camping:

• Ease of access to natural settings such as State or National Parks
• Feeling of self-sufficiency
• Ability to meet other people who like camping
• Campgrounds can be very affordable–I generally don’t pay more than $20 a night

Cons of Camping:

• Probably the least comfortable option, depending on your gear
• You need to buy the camping equipment ahead of time if you don’t already have it, which will cost you at least several hundred dollars
• You’re at the mercy of Mother Nature–there’s nothing worse than camping in the rain for long periods of time
• You won’t have amenities (possibly including showers) and will need to walk to shared restrooms

Where to Sleep While Traveling: Airbnbs

Airbnbs have become increasingly popular over the last several years, but you need to be aware of both the good and the bad:

Pros of Staying in an Airbnb:

• Ability to scale up or down depending on your budget
• Depending on where you’re visiting, you can find unique Airbnbs such as teepees or igloos
• Ability to see reviews from other people who have stayed there
• Often a more homey and cozy experience than staying in a hotel

Cons of Staying in an Airbnb

• Airbnb has been accused in the past of making people of color feel unwelcome
• You’re at the mercy of your host and may have a pretty bad experience. Here’s a video of my recent best and worst experiences:

Additional Resources for Staying in an Airbnb:

 

Where to Sleep While Traveling: Couchsurfing

Another way of “crowd sourcing” accommodations is to go couchsurfing! Things to consider:

Pros of Couchsurfing:

• Very affordable option
• If you already know people in the places you want to visit, you’ll probably be able to stay for free
• Sites such as CouchSurfing.com allow you to meet people who would be willing to host you

Cons of Couchsurfing:

• SAFETY SAFETY SAFETY PEOPLE
• You’re at the mercy of your hosts–even if it’s not unsafe (see above), it might still be weird

Where to Sleep While Traveling: Hostels

Once known as “youth hostels,” hostels are a great way to travel affordably, especially for solo travelers. Things to consider:

Pros of Staying in a Hostel:

• Affordable and convenient
• Opportunity to meet other travelers

Cons of Staying in a Hostel:

• Hostels may be too noisy for you if you’re a light sleeper
• You need to be careful with your things so that nothing gets stolen while you’re showering / asleep

Additional Resources for Staying in a Hostel:

Thanks for reading! Are there any other options I forgot? Leave me a comment and let me know! – Lindsay