Ive been using Lonely Planet and other such material to look at accomadation around South America and have been quite shocked at how expensive it is. I would compare the prices to Europe. Has anyone got any cheaper options they know of. Ive looked at hostels but when you start looking at double rooms they shoot up to hotel prices.
Any advice would be gratelly appreciated
Reply to this There are many sites that you can book hostels at. Prices range from very cheap to expensive depending on if you want a private room or dorm room. I have found that the average price for a dorm room in South America is US$10. Some of these sites are hostelbookers.com hostelworld.com and more if you just search book hostels.
Reply to this Thankyou for your reply. I think my problem is as Im travelling with my partner we want a double, it doesnt have to be fancy or have a private bathroom etc, just somewhere for us both to sleep by ourselves. Has anyone tried long term rentals of apartments?
Reply to this What places are you considering visiting? And for what time period? Do you speak any Spanish?
Have you tried using websites such as www.hostelbookers.com?
I've traveled a great deal around South America though usually as a solo backpacker, staying in hostels (2008: Bolivia: 2-3 euros a night, Peru 5-6 euros. 2009: Colombia: 5-6 euros. 2010: Peru: 8-9 euros), so I don't know very well how easy/hard it would be to find an affordable double. Last month however when I was traveling in Peru with my mom I had to search for doubles too and, though most hostels did raise prices excessively, I also found several good options that demanded minimum surcharges. If the dorm was 8 USD per person, the double was 10 USD. I don't think you would have to choose between dorms and "European-priced" doubles, though it would definately be a challenge to find good rates.
Reply to this I would certainly not consider the prices in South America to be at European Level. Definitely lower. But if you do not want to sleep in dormitories and it has to be a double room you want a private room for two. And two persons use the facilities (shower, toilet, breakfast, etc) twice as much as just one person.
But European prices are at least double that.
Nevertheless, much cheaper places do exist but you may not get a good night's sleep because of the noises that come with continuous movements in and out and lovemaking.
Reply to this There is also a good web site for south america and the hostels listed there are normally in good level yet not very expensive. It is called hosteltrail.com. Be ware that prices are very different between countries. while in Peru and Bolivia it should not be a problem to find a double room for ~20$ for both, in Brazil for example it is more probable that you would have to pay double than that and more.
Reply to this I as well am traveling with my partner and most of the time we want doubles. When we were en Ecuador, Peru, or Bolivia it was very easy to do, and a lot of places only have doubles because they are smaller hostels. They still are reasonable priced, most around US$10. In Chile, Argentina, and Brazil the prices of hostels go up and a double is between US$15-20. It is still good to look at the hostel websites though, they have the option of double on their website.
Reply to this I have lived in Monthly places and generally found them by asking around and looking at notice boards in South American Explorers and on hostel notice boards, prices have varied, We have paid anything from $300-$900 a month but all of which have been excellent. Depending on whether its tourist season you can normally haggle a lower price with the owner, we have stayed in places at a quarter of the asking price. To be honest I would take lightly the advice of lonely planet, if you are going to be here for a while I suggest you book a hostel for the first couple of days you are going to be in a place then look for something else when you get there. We travelled extensively generally in the off season and rarely paid what was quoted in websites, a good business person just wants to fill the rooms, good luck
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