Hostel Prices in Europe - does this sound right as a guide
 

Been looking at hostel prices just for approx costs does this seem roughly right???

Prague - 6 nights £70.00
Olamouc - 5 nights £40.00
Krakow - 5 nights £25.00
Budapest - 6 nights £40.00
Zagreb - 5 nights £70.00

These are all via booking.com and are average score of 7 or above??

That would mean I could travel from 4th November to 1st December for under £300.00 for accomodation.

I then move on to Western Europe

Germany
Holland
Belgium


For the length of time I am stayin in places am I best looking for apartment? And where do I start with this search?

Two good sites for booking hostels are

http://www.hostelbookers.com/

and

http://www.hostelworld.com/

hostels would be better than an apartment to keep costs down, plus you will meet other travellers

and consider this for a carry on suitcase which can also be used as a backpack

http://tinyurl.com/94b5zpd

You can find some apts for 5 plus days, but there isn't any way in the world you are going to find apartments for those prices.

I don't know prices in some of those places, but even though Central Europe is cheaper than, say, Paris, I think your rates are a little low. I'd look at more like 15-20 euro a night in some of those places (9 GBP in Prague may get you something not really in the city). This is the only hostel I know in Olomouc (a city I liked) http://www.hostelolomouc.com/
and it is more than 8 GBP a night, even in the rooms with 8 beds. It is 300 koruny which is 12 euro.

the prices I searched for were all through booking.com just as an initial idea.

I just searched the main city and the picked to show order in price for single person sharing dorms. I did think this was very cheap also but I guess if need be there will be rooms for that prices.

Thank you all for posting your links

Oh i've been on the Hostel Olomouc before, looks like a definate bed for the 5 nights I wish to be there :)

K

Another thing to look into is www.airbnb.com, BUT do your research carefully!

Or maybe try couchsurfing -stay with locals for no or nominal cost

http://www.couchsurfing.org/#

I'd make sure to take a quick look at a map of where they are and maybe transport options if you can be bothered. Look at a couple of sites (I generally use hostelworld because I like its filtering options and I've been a member for so long I get free booking) and read some of the written reviews rather than just looking at stars (but take them with a grain of salt - one person moaning about noise might just be unlucky, 20 people and maybe you should worry). If you don't want to shell out for single rooms, a good option is female-only dorms, if available.

I would seriously check the location of each hostel. The prices seem quite low, even for Central Europe. You don't want to be way outside the center city and have to return early because of public transportation.

I'd also consider some single rooms rather than sharing dorm rooms all the time. That can get a bit tiring. What are the locker facilities? Are lockers available? If so don't forget to bring a combination lock to secure your pack.

You could never get an apartment for the hostel rates you quoted.

Are you sure those hostel prices are not per night? I know the HI in NYC is about $45 per night for a bed in a shared dorm room and a locker. Central europe may well be less - but those seem incredibly low. (And there are some hostels that are truly awful - have you checked these out on the resources below?)

Most people here don't stay in hostels. For info on the best choices try the Let's Go student guides or the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely Planet Website.

I believe the Hosteling International ones are usually reliable - but am by no means an expert.

booking.com is a reputable site. If it says those are the prices, those are the prices. However, personally I like to see at least an 8.0 review rating. I also check tripadvisor.

You need to decide, too, whether you want party hostels or quiet(er) hostels. The reviews should make clear which are which.

But the problem is if you search for a hostel in Prague and then just pick the cheapest, what may show up on booking.com is a hostel in the general Prague area, but not really in the city or not in the center, in any case. So you just hve to be aware where the hostel actually is in the larger cities when you just search by the lowest price.

They do have cheap hostel prices in central Europe around 8-10 euro a night sometimes.

http://www.livingprague.com/hostel.htm
this is a link to the Living Prague website and gives the low down on cheap accommodation and hostels.
I know the guy that runs the website ( he is English but has lived in ther Czech Republic for nraly 20 years now), been friends with him for years and he knows his stuff, the whole website has lots of useful info so take a good look at it.

Thanks Unclegus

I would use Hostels International as a good guide on prices for a hostel that needs to meet certain standards for membership. Locations are not always City Centre, but often are, and they will give enough information, including maps, on each individual hostel site for you to understand exactly where they are:

http://www.hihostels.com/

I see the Hostels International top-rated Prague hostel is E16.81pn (mixed or women-only dorm, random dates next month) so that is not far off your £70 for 6 nights.

I agree that although apartments can be cheaper than hotels, they are still much more expensive than hostels. However, one possible exception which occurred to me was that if you are looking to stay longer in some places (as I think you mentioned you might, in Germany at least?), once you arrive you might see ads in the street - particularly around university areas - for rooms/beds in student flatshares. But since you're travelling not that long after the start of the academic year, maybe it's not the best time for that (except maybe over the Xmas/NY holidays?) - plus I think that would still not be as cheap as hostels.

sounds OK for Budapest. In high season prices can go up though (June - September)

http://www.inyourpocket.com/ has useful online guides for a number of cities in Eastern Europe.

Krakow seems a little cheap... I would check the average price of those ones again