For many backpackers this is the least of their concerns, all they need is a place to dump their stuff and get their head down. We decided we wanted a bit more than that, privacy for a start, so sharing a dorm was not really an option never mind sharing a toilet and bathroom. We also appreciated air conditioning and although wifi and TV are now pretty common everywhere these were also some of our requirements.

Now the benefit of a hostel is primarily that it’s cheap, but actually if we were paying the equivalent of £10 a night each for a hostel wouldn’t we be as well to pay a little bit extra and get a hotel room with all the benefits above?

Indeed when we compared the price of staying in hostels, particularly in a private room, the hotels or AirBnB often came out cheaper. This was particularly the case when staying for longer periods and during quieter months.

South East Asia

Hotel rooms for less than £30 per night are plentiful eveywhere, indeed we often paid half that amount. We generally only booked our next stay in advance and often we would just book a couple of nights in one hotel, to decide if we wanted to stay in the area, before then either extending or moving on to somewhere more interesting.

All the usual booking companies operate in this area:

• Trivago
• Expedia
• Tripadviser

However the one that we discovered while we were there and generally had the best deals was Agoda.

AirBnB should also be considered particularly in the larger cities. One of the other benefits of having your own apartment is that it cuts down on the expense of eating out. Being able to cook your own meals also helps if you are a fussy eater!

Where we stayed: