There are a number of things to consider and weigh as you plan your trip. Cost, convenience, spending more time doing more things, arranging housing and transport, what to see, do, and eat, and how to get to those places.
It will always be a tradeoff. Cheap hotel? No problem. But it will probably not be where all the things are that you would like to see. So you will spend your time and money on transportation to those spots.
If you have limited time someplace, do you want to spend your time finding a hotel, organizing transportation to it, finding out where the things are that you want to see and then sorting out transportation there? Or, do you want to be met at the airport by a driver to take you to your hotel to meet your guide? There you can drop off your luggage and take off to see your itinerary.
I have done both extremes – sometimes on the same trip. During a relatively recent one, I booked, ahead of time, a hotel in the Little India area of Singapore. After traveling 31.5 hours, I didn’t want to have to hunt a place down. It was supposed to be an 85 sq. ft. room. That, in case you were wondering, is small. But it was three blocks from the metro that came directly from the airport. And the metro was air conditioned.
However, my room was smaller. It was an “L” shaped room, 2’8” x 7’ in one direction, and 2’8” x 6’10” in the other. And yes, I measured it. The overlapping 3’ was the end of the bed and some shelves. In part of the crook of the “L” was the bathroom. 2’ wide and 4’ long. To brush your teeth you had to have the door open so you could lean over. In order to use the toilet, you had to drop your drawers before stepping into the shower (yes, I did intentionally say the shower), scoot halfway around the protruding sink, start to sit down so your thigh could go under the sink, swing your bum around to find the toilet. Sigh. The end of the toilet was actually under the sink. And the toilet paper was outside of the bathroom. Because…shower.
It was not the room I booked online.
In spite of it being marked on the evacuation floor plan as the storage closet, complete with filthy walls and mold everywhere, it had great air conditioning and wifi. And the best part was that it was directly across the street from a store that stretched for three blocks – six levels, and open 24 hours a day. Now that was great. The whole place came alive at about 9 pm and there were people everywhere. Need to use a money exchange? No problem. Book a flight? The travel agent was open 24 hours a day.
I had a cheap ($45 a night in one of the most expensive cities in the world), hotel, with a/c and wifi, across from a store that had everything and was open 24/7, within three blocks of the metro station. Sadly, it wasn’t a room I wanted to spend any time in.
It even came with a personal pet. Which I accidentally stepped on.
Oh my goodness, I would have run the other direction had I seen that “pet”. Not sure I could have stayed in that room. Oh the adventures of traveling!
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