Hit 50 nights in hostels this year and saved over $2,000 compared to hotels in Europe

I was tracking my spending in a spreadsheet and realized I paid an average of $28 a night across Portugal, Spain, and Italy instead of the $80+ for even cheap hotels, and the free breakfasts at most hostels probably saved me another $300 on food alone; has anyone else crunched the numbers on hostel vs hotel savings for a full trip?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnthompson3d ago

Those free breakfasts really do add up. I did a similar spreadsheet for two months in the Balkans last fall and found my hostel breakfasts saved me around 4 euros a day, which is basically a cheap lunch or a beer later. But what about the nights you actually want to sleep in or leave super early for a bus? Did you factor in any wasted breakfasts or did you always make it down to the common room?

aaron6773d ago

Oh man, I feel you on that. It's a real struggle trying to time the free breakfast right. I actually had a morning in Belgrade where I had to catch a 6am bus to Sarajevo, and of course the breakfast didn't start until 7. So I was just standing there in the dark hallway, looking at the empty breakfast room, knowing I paid for that meal. I did factor in a few "wasted" breakfasts in my spreadsheet, usually 2 or 3 a month. It hurt to log those zeros but it made the savings feel more real. Honestly though, even with a few missed mornings, the money saved still beats buying a sad airport croissant for 8 euros.