How to Choose Accommodations for Solo Travel

Hey Travelers,
It’s me, Amanda – founder of SoFe – and today we’re going to talk about accommodations.

The SoFe Facebook Group is full of questions like…

“How do I find a good hotel?”
“Should I stay in a hotel or a hostel?”
“Where should I look?”
“Is AirBnB the best option for booking? Are we over that?”
“How do I find an authentic place to stay?

But before I answer those questions, here’s a short story for you…

Up until 2018 I didn’t really care about where I stayed.

TBH I’d book my flight, show up, and take whatever was available. 

And for a little while it was okay.

Until one day I arrived at my destination in a little town in Mexico – and booked a couple of days at a little sketchy hole in the wall that I figured would be just fine.

But later that night – I came home to discover my room had been ransacked.

Thousands of dollars worth of diving gear, photography, laptop all gone — literally everything I had.

The lesson?  Where you stay actually matters.

Things like how sketchy the neighborhood is or and whether anyone else has ever stayed there — reviews and recommendations —yep, they matter.

It’s no secret SoFe hosts meetup tours around the world
(and if this is news, click HERE 🙃 )

–  but you might not know that I personally handcraft every single tour based on my own travel experiences. 😎 

(And that includes accommodations.)

So today I’m sharing how I choose accommodations for SoFe tours, for myself, and for the overall best experience.

1— THE EXPERIENCE

If you’re like me, you like iconic sh*t. Budget aside, if you could choose between a Hilton suite or a boutique hotel built out of the side of a mountain – we’re all going for the latter (and if you’re the type of girl who prefers a Marriot to a Tibetan monastery – you should probably get off this email list…)

Here’s the truth: you won’t remember the continental breakfast 10 years from now – but you will remember a terrace under the stars in Egypt or a family run B&B built out of a cave in Turkey. So when it comes to stays… think about making core memories that’ll last a lifetime. 

A couple of noteworthy SoFe stays include:

Traditional Ryokan in Japan
Bedouin Camp in the Moroccan Sahara 
Gers in the Mongolian Mountains
Noah’s Ark next to a watering hole in Kenya 
(just to name a few!)

2 — LOCATION

This sounds simple but it actually has layers. Think about what you want out of this trip – city centers will be close to museums, nightlife and entertainment – or maybe you want to make friends, so look for expats or digital nomad hot spots. If you want a truly local experience, you might want to stay with a local family as your host to get a deeper cultural integration. 

Map out where you want to visit. Research the neighborhoods – and if you’re planning a trip to any set location, post about it in our exclusive SoFe FB group. I can guarantee you’ll get a TON of personal recommendations from other solo travelers personal experiences.

3 — MONEY PRIORITIES

For some people, a room is a place to keep your stuff. For others, it’s a home-away-from-home – where you’ll recharge, rest, and possibly work remotely. So choosing your accommodation is actually quite a personal thing. You’ve got to consider stuff like…

• how much time will you spend at your accommodations?

• what percentage of your budget do you want to spend on accommodation over, say, activities or delicious meals?

• could you split your time between a lower budget spot and then one epic, iconic spot for a few days?

• do you really care about a pool?

• do you really care about a quiet, good night sleep (and if so, maybe don’t choose the spot next to a nightclub)

A great way to reverse-engineer where and how to choose your accommodations from a budget perspective, is to use a budget planner. By mapping out potential costs, you can better predict how much you’ll likely spend and then budget for your stays from there.

4 — INTENTIONAL TRAVEL

One of the most important ways to travel ethically, is to be intentional about where you stay, who you partner with and the ways you interact with your host country. 

When I first started traveling, I chose the quickest, cheapest and most flexible accommodations I could find thinking it’s just where I store my stuff. Later, as I passed time with locals, in conversation with families and individuals – I learned that where you stay and how you stay – are the foundation of your travel experience.

👉 Your 50 euros won’t make a difference to Holiday Inn or the Ramada – but they will to an independent family owned + operated B&B that’s been in the family for 3 generations. 

👉 Checking into an AirBnB might give you the feel for a local ‘house’ but you’ll miss the experience what a local home really feels like.

Being intentional doesn’t equate ‘costs more’ – it simply requires a bit more effort. 

A couple of things to consider:

• Is it women or family owned?

• Is it locally owned? 

• Does it support the things you care about?

5 — WHERE TO FIND (HYPER-LOCAL) ACCOMMODATIONS

AirBnB, Booking.com, and Hostelworld are all major search engines for places to stay…But if you want to be intentional about how you travel and truly have an authentic experience – you’ve got to look outside the box.

⭐ For family owned hotels, hostels, B&Bs and local hosts for Solo Female Travelers – stay tuned ‘cause we’re building a list.  ⭐

In the meantime… here are some places to look: 

➡️ Other Directories: If you look hard enough, you’ll find other sources for sustainable travel – like FairBnB – a sustainable, community driven alternative to AirBnB, which gives 50% of all earnings to social projects in the community where you stayed.

You can also google things like “women-owned hotel in [insert name]” and see what you can find. Here’s one resource. 

➡️ Stay Differently: Ever heard of home swapping? It’s just the way it sounds. Swap homes with someone, or connect with someone who is happy to share their space. Check out  Home Exchange, HomeStay and Swaphouse. 

For budget friendly options, you can also check out Couchsurfing. 

Another really popular way to travel and stay are through programs like Workaway or WWOOF which essentially allows you to trade accommodations for a bit of work. 

➡️ Facebook Groups: It’s a little more effort to search up “Accommodations and short-term rentals in [name of place]” – but you can find real homes owned by real people that are up for short or long term rent. Just use your common sense as accommodation scams are a real thing. 

The SoFe Facebook Group is honestly your BEST place to find specific recommendations. With over 500k+ members, you’re guaranteed to connect with someone who will tell you where to stay and with whom. 

PS – IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THAT WE SHOULD ADD TO OUR BOUTIQUE, LOCAL HOST HOMES LIST,  please share them!

So that’s it for today – hope that was helpful. 💖

Happy Travels,
Amanda, Founder of SoFe 💖