FROM HOSTEL BEDS TO HONEYMOON SUITES

These are a few of my favorite things:

Booking.com
- Free cancellation is a gift from above. Plus there are hundreds of thousands of reviews, so you know you can trust the ratings
- This is the best engine for anything from luxury to $5 dorm beds (though for dorm beds, I typically perfer HostelWorld)
- Hints & Tips:
  - Use the filters to your advantage! There's no need to read through thousands of listings, when you can easily narrow it down to just a few that fit your perfect criteria.
  - What does my criteria look like? I always stay at places rated 9.0/10 or higher and I always prioritize location. I, personally, plan on spending most of my time out exploring, so location matters most to me. I also refine by price and only include things with free cancellation, because I'm crazy indecisive and love keeping my options open.
HostelWorld
- As the name would suggest, this site should be your go-to if you're looking for a hostel. Lots of reviews make the ratings super reliable and the ratings are all from similar travelers; luxury travelers aren't often looking for hostel beds.
- If you're looking for a solo trip, HostelWorld should be your go-to. Sort by ratings, and look for one that hosts events (bonus points for free events!) You'll be looking for "family"/hostel dinners, bar crawls, day trips, etc. Small/medium sized hostels make it super easy to meet other travelers, so you'll never feel lonely! Additionally, HostelWorld gives out awards, so looking for hostels that have won awards recently is a good way to see if you'd want to spend your time and money there.
Agoda
- This is another great aggregator, but it's not amazing if you're looking for hostels
AirBnB
- If you stay anywhere with AirBnB, I would say to make sure you're staying with a superhost and paying close attention to ratings!
- Some of the most beautiful places I've ever stayed at have been AirBnBs, but I've also had hosts cancel on me the day of, which left me scrambling!
CouchSurfing
- I really think this is a great concept: you stay, for free, on someone's couch/spare room/etc. It's a great way to meet people and see how locals experience a place! Having said that, always listen to your gut and read reviews.I stayed with an awesome human in Seattle, and he showed us around and was an overall incredible host, but you will also hear some scary horror stories.