The hunt for a (cheap) place to stay

Choosing a hotel depends first and foremost on the budget you had in mind - how many stars, location, if inclusive of breakfast/dinner/supper.

Today with the internet, it is easy to look around for hotels, hostels, backpackers. It is best to plan ahead as with like most things, both availabilty and price get affected as time passes.

Take notice of the reviews done by other travellers. These will give you an indication of what to expect from your hotel, location, staff, the rooms and if applicable the meals. Go through all or most of them - don't dwell on just the negative ones or just the postive ones. Keep in mind that a holiday is a personal experience - so a person might have had a bad experience in the hotel or the holiday and it will reflect badly in the review.

Also note the distance from landmarks. You might be thinking that you are getting a good deal with taking a cheap hotel, then ending up paying alot in cab fare or having to leave clubbing early as the trains only work up till 1 a.m.. Besides this, there is also the 'cost' in lost holiday time. You might think that half an hour isn't that much... do the trip to and from your hotel a couple of times, and you'd have wasted 2 hours.