Where We’ve Slept

In the past six months we have sleep in (in no particular order):

• Hotel (1 thru 5 stars)
• Friend’s and family houses
• Hostel
• Hostal
• Tent at a campground
• Mobile home at a campground
• Train seats
• Train sleeper car (2, 3, 4, and 6 person sleepers)
• Ferry
• Airplane
• Bed and Breakfast
• Rented apartment

Some of those accommodations were booked in advance, some were not. We spent about 40% of our nights in a campground, another 20% split between hotel/hostal/hostel, 10% in rented apartments, 15% with friends and family and the last 15% divided amongst the rest.

Some nights were very comfortable, others not so much. We have stayed at campground complexes that offered anything you could possibly want, even excellent restaurants. Overnight train rides can be though, we’ve had good nights and then a tight sleeper with no air conditioning and 90 degree temperatures. Sometimes Paula and I were separated in the sleeper trains, other times we were together.

Hostels are usually very centrally located, but you have no privacy. Campgrounds are normally out in the middle of nowhere, but they usually have a lot to offer and are very inexpensive. We’ve camped in beach, rural and urban areas. We pretty much mastered the public transportation system of any of the cities we visited. A lot of times I hated camping, other times I enjoyed it.

Staying with friends and family is a real treat, so is a nice hotel. We couldn’t have traveled 5 months without a budget conscious mix of accommodations thought. Not only was it healthy for the budget but it also made us appreciate things a lot more. There is something to be said about not being jaded by the norm.