Tight budget: what would you sacrifice?

Usually I'm way busy way from the hotels to much care about extras...to me its only a safe place to sleep and shower up. In London the really cheap option in the Pimlico area is through Easy Hotel, there are somewhat reasonable options is Paris like Hotel Diana in the area you are looking for. You will only have to do your homework online. Trip Advisor is a good source of info. You can usually find the hotel websites by Googling the hotel name in Paris.

One thing to think about is whether you will be interested in late night activities. If you expect to be out and about after public transit closes, your cheaper accommodations in the outskirts can become expensive if you have to take taxis to return. Personally, I tend to stay close to the sites I want to see when I am going to be spending a short period in town so that I don't waste a lot of precious time getting to and from my home base. But if I am going to be in a place for a while, I'd rather have a nicer (and generally quieter) place to stay, especially since even a central site can't be convenient to all of the places worth seeing in an extended visit.

I would sacrifice being close to the hot spots. Weigh the cost of a metro or bus ticket against the extra over night costs and see how that works out for you. I would rather ride a train 20-30 min. than pay a fortune for my room.

I am usually on a tight budget and make sacrifices re: the location. If there is a good public transport system it shouldn't take too long to get to the centre of the action. E.g. when I was last in New York I stayed in a hotel that was about 6 subway stops from the tourist areas. It was so much cheaper and the journey wasn't long at all. In London I think that as long as you stay within zone 1 (see tube map) you will be fine as long as you are not intending to be out until 1am every day. Just take into account how far you are from a tube stop and how many stops there are into the centre of town. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf

My first thought is that I wouldn't sacrifice either location OR a good room. I would plan my trip so that I wasn't heading to some of the most expensive places in Europe. I would save London for a time when you have a larger budget. The big downside of a remote hotel, for me, is that it forces you to either spend a lot of time commuting, or you have to stay in the center of the city from morning until night, which I find tiring. There's always a time in late afternoon/early evening when I just need a break from sightseeing/walking/etc, and I love to go back to my hotel, chill out, off the crap I've been hauling around (guidebook, camera), and change into nicer shoes/clothes before dinner. If you want to go out to bars or clubs that's even more problematic to not have your hotel handy. A compromise might be to stay somewhere far from the city's attractions BUT in a good, interesting, but not touristed, neighborhood, where you have decent restaurant options nearby. In any case I'd make sure you are comfortable in the neighborhood you choose for your hotel. I've had 2 friends stay on the edges of Paris recently and return disappointed because it didn't feel like Paris to them (these were poorer, immigrant neighborhoods). Use google street view to check out the areas of the hotels you are considering.

In London the tube and bus system make getting around so easy that you really don't have to be "close" to any of the sites. In fact the sites are so spread out that you can't be close to all of them. Covent Garden is a nice area- but expensive. Earl's Court is not that far out that I'd worry about it. Have you checked out any of the hostels- some have private rooms with ensuite. Also there are places with more budget rates- check out some of the Priemer Inn Locations, Luna Simone, Lime Tree and similar. All are in "good" locations as far as the sites and trasportation go. Remember- you won't be in your room very much- sleeping for 8 hours and getting dressed= maybe 10 hours total.

I would agree with Christy. You've picked two VERY expensive cities and now you're worried about the budget. I'd sacrifice either London or Paris. Pick one, spend half your time there and half your time out in the countryside where prices are a lot lower. There is more to see in Europe than just big ciites. Some of my most memorable experiences in Germany have come from staying in small towns, in family run pensions and in Privatzimmer. One word of advice, when looking for accommodations, try to use town websites, www.townname.fr in France (it helps to know some French or use Google Translate). Those sites will give you the best selection and more of the smaller, less expensive places. Booking websites (like booking.com) will give you a much smaller selection and only the more expensive places (places that charge enough to pay booking fees).

If you combined the worst of both (stay further away AND in less ritzy spots) you could come out way ahead. My requirements are safe and clean - - nothing else. You can't see ambiance with your eyes closed or from the shower. I figure that if I can cut lodging costs by fifty bucks per night, I get an extra free day (hotel, meals, travel, etc -- the whole mess) every fifth day.

to me it depends on how long I am in the City and what I plan on doing. If I am in London for only a few days I like to be in the West End (possibly as far as Paddington) so that I can walk home after the theater and a meal. I cant see why people like Covent garden, to me it is rowdy and artificial- maybe RS recommended it. Earls Court is quite convenient and safe, so are Pimlico and also Paddington, but all need a Tube to get to from the sjghts. We like being able to go back to our hotel mid afternoon and relax a bit.

Earl's Court is only 15 minutes from Covent Garden by tube on the Piccadilly line. It is certainly not a bad location. There really are very few budget hotels in the vicinity of Covent Garden. I often stay near Earls Court ... you are still in zone 1 and quite frankly anything in zone 1 is pretty central. I don't really see it as a big sacrifice. It is not like you are getting a room out by Heathrow.

I don't think that the spirit of this helpline is to discourage travelling... I'm not ready to sacrifice the cities I want to visit because of a low budget... I think that there are many ways of travelling, and doing so under a tight budget is one of them... Also, I'm not saying I'm broke, I just have a low budget and I want to make the most of it. I feel very much the same as Ed, I really prefer staying longer and spending less in lodging, but of course I have minimum requirements. I'm planning to stay 35 days in Europe; I could easiy go half the time and stay in much better hotels, but I definitely prefer to stay longer and get to know much more places. My doubt was: I can get a room with shared bathroom in the main area or get a room with private bathroom for the same price a bit far away, is sacrificing that comfort for a better location recommendable? Just trying to decide how to make good use of my money. As I have never been to Europe, I just can make decisions based on intuiton and good advice from fellow travellers :) As Laura said concerning London, I don't think that the hotels I chose are that far away, most of them are within 10-20 minutes from the city centre by tube. I just wonder if that distance, which I consider short, is a problem when you're there. I gave the examples of London and Paris, just to illustrate the idea; I have similar issues with lodging in Amsterdam, Berlin and other big cities. Anyhow, most of the replies were very useful, I've been checking public transportation fees, I also started to think whether I want to return to the hotel during the day or not, and how important is nightlife to me... very important matters to take into consideration which I haven't thought of before. Thank you all for your opinions! Feel welcome to continue giving ideas!
Cheers!

Natalia, Could you provide a bit of further information: > Are you planning to stay in double rooms in Hostels or in budget Hotels? > What price range are you budgeting for a room each night? > What resources are you using to find rooms? When I plan trips, I tend to choose lodgings that are both in the area that I want to stay, and in the price range I want to pay. I use the RS Guidebooks extensively in my planning as they're an excellent source of information. I also look for proximity to restaurants and other facilities. In many cases, the location of the Hotel I choose is central to the sights I want to visit in a particular city. This keeps transportation costs down, as I can walk to most of the places. I tend to follow the same principle as others that have replied - the main criteria is "clean & safe". I'm usually only in the room to sleep and shower, so it doesn't have to be luxurious. Good luck!

Natalia, Aside from London and Paris, what other cities will you be visiting? London tends to be expensive at the best of times, and keep in mind you'll be dealing with Pounds Sterling rather than Euro's. Your budgeted amount of €60 is about £50. As others have suggested, you might check Easy Hotels (the Victoria Station property is the one I'd choose, but pre-booking would be a really good idea!). I like the Victoria station area, as it's within walking distance to many of the main attractions (Buckingham Palace, London Eye, etc.) and good transportation available via Tube or Coach. I don't suppose you have access to Rick's Guidebooks in Argentina? I find them to be an excellent source of information on budget Hotels in various cities in Europe. The properties are all checked and updated each year, and are all clean, safe and usually affordable. The Guidebooks also have excellent sightseeing and transportation information. Also, when will you be travelling in Europe? Cheers!

Hi Ken, thank you for your reply. I don´t have a preference between hostels and budget hotels, although I found out that double rooms in hostels are usually more expensive. Also, I wouldn't mind stay in B&Bs or any other type of accommodation, as long as I get a double room preferebly with private bathroom. We're trying to find rooms for less than 60 euro a night. I've found that Easy hotels and Etap hotels offer rooms in that price range, for example, 35 euros for a room in Earl's Court Easy Hotel, 52 euros for a room in Etap Hotel La Villette in Paris, 25 euro for a room in Berlin Easy Hotel, and so on and so forth. I really don't mind that the rooms are minuscule or that the services are very limited, I just want clean and safe, a place to sleep and shower, as you said. Those prices are pretty difficult to match, as long as I have seen. I use multiple resources to find a hotel, Tripadvisor, booking.com, and other sites like those, I also just use google to find "budget hotels", or take the google map and investigate the area I want to visit, etc. It's not that I just find a room and that's it, I go through hundreds of hotels/hostels/B&Bs in each city before I make a decision.
Hope to get more ideas from you!

i think you can find safe, comfrotable lodging close to action for a reasonable price. i don't think this "either or" situation is valid. i can tell you that wasting time on a train going into town is time that could be better spent under the covers or actually spending time doing stuff.

I completely agree with JER. If you are only spending a day or two, you don't want to waste precious time "commuting" to sites you really want to see. Also I can speak from experience in Paris that if you will be in the center of the city late at night, you risk very expensive cab rides to the outskirts of town once the metro shuts down for the night. It's also very difficult to convince a cabby to take you far out of the center at those late hours because they're certainly not going to find a fare back into town. It took us over an hour to find a cab out to La Defense after dining in the center one night.

I would go very cheap in London and spend a bit more in Paris. If you stay at the Easy Hotel in Pimlico Victoria Stn area you are about 5 mins walk to the underground and there is a stop for a bus within a few blocks that goes to Westiminster Abby, Trafalgar Sq, theather district, and onwards to Hamptead Heath. There are all kinds of services in that neighborhoold (laundry, grocery, coffee shop, pubs, restaurants). It is also about a 5 min walk to the bus depot for Greenline if you want to take a trip on your own to places like Windsor and for tour companies as well.
If you want to stay close to the Latin Qtr Hotel Diana is a good choice http://www.hotel-diana-paris.com/English.phtml . Another good place is in the Marias - Hotel Le Sevigne http://www.le-sevigne.com/ang_accueil.htm . Both hotels are easy walking distance for many sights. And you can always hop a bus or the Metro for sights farther out.

Personally, I would put the trip off for a year and have 'more fat' in my budget. Different strokes for different folks, I know, but when I have travel to the other side of the world, the last thing I want to do is have to watch every cent I spend. We never stay in lavish accommodation, would rather spend the money on sightseeing and meals and other local experiences. We try to keep to 120 - 130 euros per night, which gives us a private bathroom and nice facilities. We stayed in a B & B the 15th in Paris and enjoyed the Metro experience. Europe has such great transport facilities. No problems being out of the centre of a city. It's a more real experience, fewer tourists.

Natalia, do not delay your trip over this! Personally it is my habit to choose proximity over luxury, but I think it depends on where you are. For instance: I do not know the 19eme in Paris, but you might find (1) a vibrant neighborhood and (2) excellent transit connections to the rest of Paris (the former is likely). You are not far from the Canal St. Martine, I think.

My advice: don't delay your trip, and go to the cities that you want to go to. The reality is that you are looking for very inexpensive accommodations. But I think the answer to your question does depend on the city you are talking about. In London, I would go with the Earls Court choice. You'll find much in the way of restaurants and shops nearby, and with the tube line it is on you'll still have a quick trip to Covent Garden, Leicester Square, etc. if you want to go back to your hotel in the late afternoon and then back out again for a trip to see a play or such. I find London somewhat spread out and less walkable in some ways than Paris, so in my opinion you'll be using the tube a lot there anyway. Paris though I find more compact and walkable, and in Paris I would pay more to be closer in with easy access to sites. Can't speak to Amsterdam.

I definitely won't delay my trip, it has already been delayed more than once! I've been saving for a lot of time, if I have to wait until I have the right amount of money, I will never go... besides, if I have more money I'll probably go more time and visit more places, stayin in cheap places anyway, I can't avoid it, I wanna know everything! LOL I'm very much inclined to do what Lynne just said and what Debbie also suggested; I'll stay with the Easy hotel in London, and spend a bit more money in Paris. It seems to be the general opinion that in Paris a good location is more important. Ken, other cities I'm visiting are Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Prague and Vienna. Opinions on lodging in that cities will be very well received! I'm travelling during the summer, July and August, I know, when the prices are the highest! I don't have access to Rick Steves guides at all, I'd love to have one in my hands some time!
Again, thank you all!! Keep posting!!

Will you be in Paris in July or August? In August, and sometimes late July, the prices for lodging go down there. Some people say you should not go to Paris in August, as a lot of places will be closed because the Parisians are on their vacations. I did not find that to be true at all. A few small places were closed, but nothing that affected my trip. Have great time!!

Thank you Andrea, actually I'll be in Paris in August! Maybe I'm lucky and get better prices :)

Books: Natalia, have you tried the web to get used copies of Rick's books- or even contact his office and get them new. Although I dont follow them in detail, they do have some good suggestions and will make you feel more comfortable in the places you are going

I can refer you to our apartment we rented in Paris in July, 2009. For a week the rate worked out to $140/day. If that seems like a lot, consider food costs. Buy food at the market and make your own meals for about $15/person/day vs. $50 up to infinity for restaurants/day. That can take the edge off the lodging costs considerably. We were in a great location just steps from the river and 2 minutes to Notre Dame. http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/p210926

Andrea is correct, many Paris hotels have lower rates during August. We ended up staying in an apartment rather than a hotel this past August, but before we made that decision I found quite a few hotels online with reduced August rates. I did not generally find that apartments had lower rates in August. Do think about air conditioning.

I usually like to be relatively near the sites even if I have to give up some comfort. What's most important to me is cleanliness and safety, but sometimes it's well worth it to stay out of the way. I couldn't find anything in my price range in Budapest that wasn't a little dodgy when I went:/ so I ended up in a residential area way in the suburbs. I had to take the underground to the end of the line, then the tram to the end of that line, and then walk up into the hills for 15 minutes. But it was a cozy three star hotel with an amazing view for less than many of the one and two star places I'd looked into. Yes, it took a long time to get to and from, but I got a little glance into the everyday lives of the people of Budapest who were out walking their dogs, doing yard work, etc. I really felt like (as Rick Steves often says) a temporary local. But in the case of Earl's Court, you're not really giving up location. It may not be exactly where you want to be, but it's hardly on the outskirts of town. We stayed in Earl's Court on our first trip to London and thought it was great. On our first afternoon we just wanted to walk around to ward off jetlag; we strolled with no particular destination in mind and, in seemingly no time, found ourselves looking at Royal Albert Hall with Hyde Park right behind it. If we had wandered in a slightly different direction, there were any number of sites we could have stumbled across. There are amazing things to see everywhere in London! That's one of the great things about it. Anywhere in The London Underground's zone one, you are going to be near something of interest. Have a wonderful trip!

For low rates and air conditioning and somewhat central location, take a look at the Ibis hotels. We stayed near Gare du Nord and found that this suited our vacation style perfectly. Low prices, breakfast was included, and the nearness to the Metro meant we were only a few minutes away from many sites.

We would tend to sacrifice the standard of the accommodation to be centrally located. We generally stay in apartments so we would look at much smaller apartments than we might (ideally) like, go for a studio rather than a one bedroom, a very small and basic kitchen and bathroom etc. We are also happy to walk up lots of stairs, don't especially mind noise and can cheerfully manage without extras like wi-fi, a dishwasher and washer - although those are nice to have. All we really care about is a private bathroom. I don't know about Paris, but travel costs in London are high. In an apartment you can save a lot of money by eating breakfasts in, and some meals, with food bought from local supermarkets. Just on hotels - for brief stays of a night or two we have stayed in some budget hotels in central London and it can be a pretty depressing experience. The big downside to us of being further away is spending so much time travelling and not being able to pop back during the day.

I always stay in Earls Ct. Great area near Museums, high street shopping, Tescos and tons of pubs and food up Earls Ct road near the tube station. Putting it in perspective, it is only 3 tube stops from Westminster on the District line.

How long in each city. If about a week, an apt. becomes cheaper.

greetings. first, to answer your question, factor in the cost of transport to the cost of the hotel. if you are staying farther away and on a tight time frame, you're going to incur high transport costs. we stayed in a less than central location in london, and ended up spending enough on cabs to have stayed somewhere more expensive and central (cabs not tube because of conveniencewhen you are in a hurry, convenience happens). but secondyou don't say how long you are staying in each place, but if you can do a one or two city 'home base' situation, you might look into apartment rentals. for example, we rented an apartment for two weeksthat's 14 nightsin the 3rd in paris...for $1000 USD. total. that's $71/night, and we had a whole apartmentthe kitchen saved us TONS of money on food, and there was a washing machine and wifitry getting that anywhere for $71/night! from our paris apartment, we took a day trip to amsterdam with cheap advance purchase train tickets. we stayed overnight at a cheap hotel (taking nothing with us so we'd not have luggagehow's that for packing light? ha!), and even then it was cheaper than most trips we've ever taken (to, say, las vegas!) have a great trip and happy planning!

Thank you all for the opinions that keep coming!! They're all so useful! Some of you have asked how many days I plan to stay. Well, I have planned 5 days in London and 5 more days in Paris. I'll be visiting other cities, such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague and Viena, 3 days in each. Hope this info helps you help me ;)
Cheers!

I would not sacrifice location. If it isn't "central" I need to be certain it is in a neighborhood with bars and restaurants. Other things I sacrifice ... souvenirs. I rarely buy anything on vacation.

Natalia, The Hotel Sibour on rue Sibour is about 1 block from the Gare de l'Est on a quiet little street Their rates are currently 70E for a double w/shower &/or bath and wc. The location is great the staff is friendly. We have stayed there twice and are booked again in March. It is a bit more than you quoted but you might consider it. Metro connections are great and if you are walkers ( as we are) you can walk to many sights. Have a wonderful trip.

For me, hotels, restaurants and souvenirs. I'm perfectly happy in a clean and quiet pension or hostel - so this is the first place I save (I choose hostels that aren't party hostels). Budget lodging in a good location will be significantly cheaper than hotels. While I don't eat food I can get at home, for me food is simply energy to keep going. I'll eat cheaply from a corner stand or buy picnic supplies at a grocery store rather than spend extra to eat at restaurants. I rarely buy a souvenir, mainly because I travel carry-on only and don't have room (but also because too many souvenirs end up in boxes in closets). For transportation I always do the math before my trip to decide the most economical way to get around. Air - I test many alternative travel days and airports to get the best deal. Train/car - I use point to point rather than a pass, second class rather than first, and consider a car whenever I have four or more people in the group. If your trip lends itself to bus/coach routes, you can save even more.