Hostels.com

Hostels.com is a reliable and up to date database for hostels worldwide. Visit their website @ http://www.hostels.com/.

With the credit crunch and difficult economic climate, budget accommodation websites are now the best way to find a bargain.

Budget accommodation does not have to mean only dorm beds and shared bathrooms, now you can book and stay in private en-suite rooms with private bathrooms in Hostels, the only thing you are not getting when you book a private room with a budget accommodation website is the big bill.

Dorm rooms also are not bad, they are much cleaner than what they used to be, and are a great way to meet people when your travelling.

I booked with a lot of these budget accommodation websites, like http://www.hostelbookers.com/ but my favourite of these hostels and budget hotel accommodation booking websites is definitely http://www.hostels247.com/
I booked with them a few times and they are easy to contact, they have a telephone number at the top of their website.

For anyone who has a bit of cash this is the best time to travel, just pack your bag, you'll be surprised the type of bargains you can find online.

Hello treatwood and welcome to the forum!

Good source of info, especially since you' ve tried them! I agree with you, at this period you can find very good prices and discounts, almost everywhere!

You sound like having interesting experiences from traveling! If you feel like it, it would be nice to give us some tips on favorite destinations!

Nice to have you here and keep traveling!

My passion in life is travelling to new places and meeting people. I have been to countless cities and numerous countries and made many friends along the way.

I just came back from nearly 2 months in southern and West Africa, I spent some time in Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Accra in Ghana, Lome in Togo and Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria. It was my must do for the end of 2008 and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I came back in Mid January.

I have been to many places in Africa from Cairo and Sharma shake Egypt to Marrakech in Morocco, One of my favourite places in Africa is Tunisia, its great value, only 2 and a half hours form Gatwick, you can travel to Tunisia for less than going to Amsterdam in Netherlands.

Other Places to Check out are:

Havana in Cuba, which is still un-spoilt, one of the best ways to save money in Havana is to book accommodation in a family run guest house, some of these guesthouse the family still lives in the guesthouse, such as MARTHA GUEST HOUSE, you get authentic Cuban home cooked meal and a family atmosphere.
Bangkok in Thailand, very cheap, you can spend a whole month for only a few hundred pounds.
Reykjavik in Iceland at the moment pretty cheap to get to and accommodation is very cheap, the affect of credit crunch has made Reykjavik a cheap place to visit.
Krakow in Poland another bargain destination, cheap to get to and accommodations is even cheaper.
Prague in Czech Republic, Prague is equally another good place to visit for a couple of days or a long weekend.

Other must visit cities are New York in USA, Rome in Italy, Paris in France, Hong Kong and Macau in China, Amsterdam in Holland, Berlin and Hamburg in Germany are equally lively places to be especially weekends and summer period, Barcelona and Madrid in Spain not forgetting Ibiza, it does get crazy in Ibiza during Summer time but its still a good place blow off steam.

Dubai in UAE, is another one of my favourite places, but Dubai is getting a bit expensive but definitely worth a visit, the cheapest way to enjoy Dubai is a stop over for few days if your en-route to South East Asia or Far East, some Air Lines like Emirates have offers for a few days stop over for free accommodation.

Buenos Aires in Argentina another cool place to check out, it has a European feel but with an exotic twist.

Rio De Janeiro in Brazil, best during carnival an absolute bargain.

These are just some of the cool places I've been to myself and I can recomend.

Another key to enjoying yourself is to remember your away from home, and not expect the same fish and chips and buses running on time.

For anyone not from London, London now is a lot cheaper than it has been, with pounds exchange rate low compared to EURO and DOLLAR its a great time yo visit London also.