Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
COUCHSURFING AND AIRBNB
Couchsurfing
(
couchsurfing.com
)
gives travellers the chance to stay with local people
free of
charge
, with hosts verified through references and a vouching system.
Airbnb
(
airbnb.com
)
is an-
other good option for budget short-term stays, with (sometimes unusual) lodgings listed by private in-
dividuals.
Camping
The
cheapest
form of accommodation is, of course, a campsite. Most sites charge per per-
son, with additional charges per plot and/or per vehicle. Facilities can be excellent, espe-
ciallyincountriessuchasFrancewherecampingisverypopular.Ifyoudon'thaveavehicle
you should add in the cost and inconvenience of getting to the site, since most are on the
outskirts of towns, sometimes further. Some sites also have cabins, which you can stay in
foralittle extra,althoughtheseareusuallyfairlybasicaffairs,onlyreallyworthconsidering
in regions like Scandinavia where budget options are thin on the ground. Tourist offices can
often recommend well-equipped and conveniently located sites.
As for
camping rough
, it's a fine idea if you can get away with it - though perhaps an
entire trip of rough camping is in reality too gruelling to be truly enjoyable. In some coun-
tries it's easy - in parts of Scandinavia it's a legal right, and in Greece and other southern
European countries you can usually find a bit of beach to pitch down on - but in others it
can get you into trouble with the law.
Camping Card International
Ifyou'replanningtodoalotofcamping, aCamping CardInternational
(CCIor“carnet”)
,
which gives discounts on member sites, is a good investment. In the US and Canada the
carnet is available from home motoring organizations, or from Family Campers and RVers
(FCRV; 1 800 245 9755,
fcrv.org
). In the UK and Ireland, the carnet costs £5.50, and
is available from the AA in Ireland ( 01 617 9999,
aaireland.ie
)
, or the Caravan Club in
the UK ( 01342 336633,
caravanclub.co.uk
), or for members only from the Camping and
Caravanning Club ( 0845 130 7632,
campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk
; annual member-
ship £40).
