Accommodation

Finding the perfect place to stay

Our Quality Rating

On our destination blog posts we give each accommodation our own star rating out of 5 for quality. This is is a completely subjective rating based on:

Location and nearby amenities such as shops, restaurants, pharmacies and launderettes
Sleeping arrangements that are suitable for families with school-age children
In-room amenities and property facilities such as a pool or wi-fi

5 is the highest score, 0 is the lowest score.

Our Cost Rating

Our accommodation costs average out at £220 per night including taxes.

On our destination blog posts we include the price we paid at the time in pound sterling.

We give each accommodation a cost rating out of 5.

This is based on the cost relative to our budget of £220 per night, and the cost relative to other accommodation of a similar standard available at the time of booking in the area.

We also consider whether the price is good value of money in relation to the quality star rating.

For example, a score of 5 is the highest score and is given where a property was within budget, reasonable compared to other similar lodging options nearby, and good value for money given its high quality star rating.

A 0 is the lowest score and this is given where a property is well over our budget and expensive compared to other nearby options or felt like poor value for money given its low quality star rating.

We hope this helps other travellers gauge how much a bed for the night might cost and make informed decisions based on their own budgets.

Duration

A one night stay gives us very little time to see or do anything. We therefore only stay for one night if we need to break up a long journey or be close to a station or airport for onward travel early the next day.

Two nights equates to only one day to explore a place. We only stay for two nights if we are confident that what we want to see and do will only take a day.

Staying longer than 3 nights means we can unpack, and do laundry! It also allows us to explore at a slower pace, building in rest days in between sightseeing. Staying longer also provides a contingency in case of cancellations, poor weather or closures.

However, after 5 nights we start to get bored. We especially get fed up if there aren’t many nearby amenities or a diversity of restaurants - eating out at the same place gets repetitive and starts to feel like an inconvenient chore rather than a luxury. For this reason, we prefer self catering for long stays.

Location

Staying central means being close to attractions, but at a higher price.

In cities, particularly for first visits, we usually stay in central hotels that are well-connected by public transport. This means that restaurants and shops are touristy and it can be difficult to get an idea of authentic everyday life in that city. But this is the most convenient and time and cost-saving option for busy sight-seeing itineraries.

However, for longer stays in cities we like to stay in self-catering accommodation and short-term rentals in family-friendly neighbourhoods with a range of local amenities and good parks. Often these areas are inner suburbs, with good links to the city centre.

For example, South Main in Vancouver, Islington in London, Vestbro in Copenhagen.

In remote destinations, we accept that local amenities will be limited. It is usually the landscape and environment that we have come to see anyway. Often, distances are large and it can take a while to get from A to B. Rather than basing ourselves in one place, we travel overland between multiple accommodations to cover a wider area.

This worked really well in North West Argentina where we stayed in five different places for a couple of nights in each place; and in Iceland where we made our way from east to west, spending 1-2 nights in each place before finishing in Reykjavik.

Sleeping arrangements

Self-contained holiday lets and Airbnb accommodation often work well for family travel.

We don’t really care about having lots of in-room amenities and on-site facilities. Having said that, high-speed and reliable wi-fi is very important to us and we do appreciate any warm or special touches that make our stay feel extra comfortable and welcoming.

We tend to opt for 3 star hotels, many of which offer ‘family rooms’ or larger suites with a double bed and twin beds, enabling everyone to sleep in the same space. These are perfect with younger children. Connecting or adjoining rooms are fantastic, because we get our own space, but the kids are safely next door.

Some hostels do offer private en-suite family rooms but not all hostels allow under 18s so it is worth checking first.

Click here for our favourite accommodation so far

How to find accommodation

To find the perfect place to stay, we use Google maps.

1

Plot the sights and attractions that you want to see and do, and save them as pins on the map.

2

Zoom out to see where the pins cluster together to identify a search area for accommodation that will give you easy access (on foot or by public transport) to those sights.