A week in a hostel

Traveling on a budget? Hostels are the way to go. For those who’ve never stayed in one, it’s surprisingly inexpensive. Seven nights in a hostel roughly equates to one night in a nice hotel. The catch is that you’ll be sharing quarters in a 4-6 person, but if you’re a social person and not afraid of meeting people, this shouldn’t be a problem for you at all. Think about it: why waste time paying for a five-star hotel if you’re going to be exploring the city, anyway? Plus, there’s still added amenities included, such as Wi-Fi and continental breakfast.

I stayed at Berlin One 80 and I really valued my hostel experience in Germany. I roomed with two college students from Afghanistan, and I learned a tremendous amount of their culture and customs in a short amount of time. Since they’ve been in Berlin for half a year already, they took me through a typical nightlife scene for people our age. Had I roomed by myself in a regular hotel, I probably would have spent the night watching YouTube—I’m glad I didn’t. But I did save hundreds of dollars, and I didn’t have to switch to Geico to do it.