Choosing Travel Accommodation: City Trips vs Self-Drive Adventures

Travel Accommodation | With a limited budget, I often have to make trade-offs when planning my trips, but accommodation is one area where I won’t compromise: a clean, comfortable place with adequate privacy is a must. In this article, I’ve summed up the accommodation booking tips I’ve picked up over the years from both city breaks and road trips. Following these tips usually ensures I avoid any pitfalls. However, when I get lazy and don’t stick to them, things can go wrong…

You might be interested in：Tools & Deals｜London Travel Guide｜Rome Travel Guide｜Amsterdam Travel Guide

Phillip Island Glamping, Photo Credit: Airbnb Host

How To Choose Accommodation For City Breaks

1. Choose the Right Location

When travelling in a big city, staying in the city centre is the only right choice, as these cities don’t encourage visitors to drive within the city. This means you’ll need to rely heavily on public transport or walking.

When I was younger, I often chose more remote accommodation to save on travel costs and blindly sought "space". As a result, I ended up spending a lot of time and money on transportation. After trying to stay in the city centre, I found the time and costs were much lower, and I’ve never looked back—designer lofts or unique B&Bs are now reserved for road trips!

When choosing hotels on booking platforms, don't be misled by "X minutes by drive" because you're not on a road trip! It’s better to use the map view to check the location or copy the hotel address into Google Maps to confirm the actual "walking distance" to your itinerary.

Real example from Ka：Take *Rome* as an example, I booked the MDM Hotel near the Vatican, which is just an 11-minute walk to St. Peter’s Basilica, where I needed to be by 6 am the next day. For more details, click here：Hong Kong｜Taiwan｜UK.

2. Read The Reviews

Choosing the right location isn’t the end of the task—remember, remember, remember (it's so important I’ll say it three times) to check reviews from other travellers! Always choose hotels with a rating of 8 or above, especially those with over a thousand reviews. For me, cleanliness is the most important factor.

My Bad Experience：When I was in *Amsterdam*, I booked the Aston City Hotel, which had a super convenient location near the museum district. In my rush to book, I didn’t check the reviews properly, and the result was a disaster. The only thing good about the hotel was its location — the room even had a strange smell, and I ended up leaving early the next morning. Later, feeling frustrated, I tried to leave a review and realised that countless other travellers had already given it poor marks for cleanliness.

3. Facility requirements

Everyone has different amenity requirements for travel accommodation. Some people need to join local tours or watch the sunrise early in the morning, in which case, a hotel *offering breakfast* becomes crucial. For example, during my trips to Taiwan's Qingjing to watch the Hehuan Mountain sunrise, Cambodia's Angkor Wat sunrise, and the Barceloneta beach sunrise, having a hotel with breakfast made me feel incredibly happy. However, if there's no need to rush for an early schedule, the breakfasts at city cafes are usually cheaper. In that case, choosing accommodation *without breakfast* can help save money.

Also, *Double bed or twin beds* (for light sleepers, this is more important than life itself), *non-smoking room* (some hotels in Europe still have smoking rooms), *toiletries* (in Europe, toothbrushes and slippers are often not provided), *WIFI* (essential for digital nomads), *gym* (some people are incredibly dedicated to this), *parking* (for road trips), *airport shuttle service* (especially if you're travelling with children or a lot of luggage), are also common requirements. Be sure to check these details or leave special requests when booking.

4. Recommended Booking Platforms

I'm a big fan of * Expedia Hotels Search *! Once, while planning my next trip, I was surprised to find a hotel completely free. It turned out that my previous stay had earned me quite a few points, and those points were used to offset the cost of my next booking, saving me a decent amount! *Hotels.com Taiwan * is also owned by Expedia, so they share resources. The points and offers may vary slightly.

Ka's Tips：While choosing a fully refundable option may increase the cost of your accommodation, it's crucial to protect yourself with the flexibility to change your plans, especially in itineraries that are likely to change.

I booked an entire century-old traditional house in rural Japan.

Accommodation Tips For Road Trips

If you plan to go on a road trip, you might consider the following two accommodation options: Airbnb and budget hotels along the highway.

1. Airbnb Tips

Let’s get straight to the point: A vacation home ≠ cheaper than a hotel.

Whenever I get the chance during my travels, I can't resist trying out spacious or uniquely designed vacation homes, or opting for special accommodation experiences like glamping.

I've stayed in some truly unique places during my travels. For example, I once rented a five-storey luxury house with a private elevator in the luxury district of Taichung's 7th Phase (for just two people), stayed in a glamping tent on Philip Island in Australia under the stars, booked a villa from a Korean drama scene in Jeju Island, and even spent the night in a hundred-year-old traditional house and a private hot spring ryokan in Japan. And the best part? The most expensive of these stays never exceeded 3500 HKD per night. For longer trips, usually over 7 days, I like to treat myself to one or two nights in such luxurious places, then balance out the rest of my stay by choosing more affordable hotels to manage the overall accommodation budget.

When booking accommodation on Airbnb, I filter based on the following criteria:

Superhost or Ratings Above 4.5：equivalent to 9/10. I've noticed that travellers tend to be more critical of hotels and more lenient with Airbnb properties. So, I adjust my standards accordingly and require a higher rating for Airbnb — I generally look for places with a rating of 4.5/5 or above.

Entire Property：My top choice is a standalone property or an independent cabin located in a private garden, as they offer complete privacy. If I opt for a single room, it must come with a private bathroom. I typically avoid places with shared bathrooms.

Self Check-in：The biggest difference between a vacation home and a hotel is the personal touch. Some hosts enjoy greeting guests in person. Although I’m an introvert, I don’t mind interacting with the host. However, if I’m planning to arrive late, I prefer not to keep the host waiting late into the night, as that adds pressure. So, I’ll consider whether I need to opt for self-check-in depending on the trip.

2. Budget Hotels Along The Road

As mentioned earlier, if I plan to stay in a more luxury vacation home for one or two nights during the trip, I’ll balance it out by staying in more basic hotels for the rest of the time. For road trips, I usually opt for chain hotels along the highway.

In the UK and Europe, there are Travelodge, Days Inn, Premier Inn, Holiday Inn, and others.
For Japan, there are APA, Dormy Inn, Toyoko Inn, and others.

These chain hotels offer reasonable prices and generally ensure consistent service quality. (However, speaking of which, the Ibis in Paris was an exception to this, and I'll share that rare failure in my Paris travel story later.) They are usually located near major highways and often offer breakfast services (which is different from city trips, where it's essential to have a hearty meal before hitting the road).

You can easily book the above chain hotels via Expedia Hotels Search ｜ Hotels.com Taiwan . Different regions have their own promotions, and the loyalty programme is calculated separately, so be sure to check the relevant region for the best deals.

Hong Kong Grand Hyatt Hotel – During the two years stolen by the pandemic, I spent my staycations in Hong Kong.

Hotels VS Airbnbs

Let’s get straight to the point again: A vacation home ≠ cheaper than a hotel.

For me, the biggest difference is that hotels generally offer more flexibility, especially when it comes to check-in times. Some hotels allow check-ins as late as 4 a.m the next morning. In contrast, with Airbnb, you’ll need to choose self-check-in to enjoy more flexible check-in hours.

The advantage of Airbnb is that you can truly experience what it's like to stay in a local home or a countryside villa. However, when it comes to pricing, it really varies. I don't agree with the idea that Airbnb is always cheaper than hotels. Some Airbnb properties in the city centre can be quite expensive, especially when you factor in cleaning fees and minimum stay requirements.

Budget Considerations and Practical Tips

Booking In Advance：This allows you to access better options and prices.
Loyalty Programme：Using points to offset future travel costs.
Package Discounts：You can enjoy extra discounts when you book your hotel and flights together.
FlexibilityAlthough choosing a 'fully refundable' rate may be more expensive, it's important to keep your plans flexible.