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Planning a city trip? Discover the best websites and apps to search & book your stay.

If you really want to get to know a city inside out, spending just a day won't cut it. To truly soak in the vibes, you gotta stay longer and book yourself an accommocation for one or more nights. But how on earth do you pick the right place? Before you make any decisions, it's worth considering these key factors:

Location & transport on site

If you want to do everything on foot, it could be useful to make a map in advance of the things you definitely want to see/do and to look for accommodations nearby. If you don't mind taking public transport, you can also make sure that your accommodation is located near a metro station or bus stop.

Budget & number of fellow travelers

If you only have a limited budget, it can sometimes be more interesting to look at hostels. Even if you don't like to share a room, because hostels often also offer private rooms. And if you are with a larger group, booking a dorm, an apartment or an entire house can often be a lot cheaper.

Extras

What else might be important for your choice? For example, if you go by car, it can be useful if your hotel has a (free) parking or is located near (affordable) public parking. Or would you like an (indoor) swimming pool, wellness or other extras? Then you can use these criteria to filter out a lot of places to stay.

The best websites and apps to search & book your accommodation can be found on this page:

Websites to search and book your accommodation

AirBnB

Are you travelling with a large group, do you like to stay in an unique location or do you want to feel like a local? Then AirBnB is a good choice to book your accomodation.

Do check first whether your AirBnB stay does not have its own website on which you can book, because there's a good chance that you will have to pay less on that website because they will not have to give a percentage to AirBnB.

I have booked my stay on AirBnB a number of times, at the following locations:

And in Paris, but I can't seem to find the link to that apartment anymore.

Booking.com

Although it can sometimes be cheaper to book on the website of your hotel / hostel / apartment, I usually book my stay on Booking.com. Because if you book your accommodation regularly via this website, you can use their loyalty program (Genius) and unlock an extra discount. Moreover, I think their app is quite handy and you can also add your booking to your Apple wallet or save it as a pdf on your phone. Plus via Booking you can often cancel last minute and book without prepayment, which is not always possible on the website of the accommodation itself (and is not unimportant, if something unexpected comes up).

Via the widget below you can enter your destination, period and number of people and immediately search for a hotel:
 

I have booked my hotel or hostel at these locations via Booking:

Plus a few others, but they don't seem to have a page on Booking anymore.

Hostelworld

Are you traveling alone, on a limited budget or would you like to book a room for a large group? Then a hostel is often a better solution. Some hostels have their own website where you can book and many hostels can also be found on Booking, but Hostelworld is a website that is specifically aimed at hostels.

I have booked three hostels via this website:

  • Amsterdam: Ecomama (2017)
  • Lisbon: Lisb'on Hostel (2012)
  • London: Meininger Hyde Park (2016) - unfortunately permanently closed

Apps to search and book your accommodation

These websites also have an app:

 

AirBnB

Available in both the Apple App store as in the Google Play store.

Booking.com

Available in both the Apple App store as in the Google Play store.

Hostelworld

Available in both the Apple App store as in the Google Play store.

Man using map app on phone against blurry new york street

There are probably many other websites and apps where you can compare hotel prices and/or book your stay. If there is one that should certainly not be missing here, you can always pass it on to me.