Hostelling

You might find our 10 things to look for when booking a hostel online useful or just book a hostel online.

Then there's Seven reasons hostels suck and seven reasons hostels rock.

Couchsurfing

More and more these days, we're using the Couchsurfing network to find local people to stay with. Even if we can't get a "free" bed, we're loving being able to meet people for a coffee, beer or meal as we travel around the world. This is one of the best ways to discover a little of local life, to fin out what people are thinking, and to get off the treadmill of tourism and into the grain of daily life.

Going upmarket

If you're really not the hostel type, we understand. Maybe a short-term rental from Roomorama is more your style. They offer different sorts of short term rentals, short term apartments and furnished apartments.

When we're after a bit of luxury we often make use of last minute hotel dealsand have seriously considered some flight and hotel combos too.too.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you're hostelling, staying in guesthouses or even in five-star hotels. What matters is finding time to do what you enjoy, doing something different -- perhaps even meaningful -- in the places you visit.

If you'd like tips, tricks and ideas to help you travel well, get a free subscription to our award-winning travel podcast in iTunes. We'll bring you audio and video to help you get where you want.