I think the magic of travelling is about where you stay and the people you meet along the way – as well as the wonderful location you are exploring! In the past, this was very different – I didn’t really mind where I stayed as long as it was cheap and I could spend most of my money on things outside of my hostel/hotel. Although I still do like to save as much as I can, I’m slowly enjoying the experience of having more options out there.

What is Airbnb?

In short, Airbnb is a fast growing online community for travellers and hosts – it allows you to book a place to stay by hosts who post their accommodation.

5 Reasons Airbnb is perfect for travelling yogis:

Meet some amazing people, including other yogis!

One of the things I do love about this website is that the hosts get to put up a profile of who they are… and there are some very interesting people out there! It’s also a great way of choosing a place where you can feel at home on your holiday.

There seems to be a great community out here of yoga lovers/teacher hosts… I recently found out that you can even search for yoga studios that offer rooms and sometimes free yoga classes! Perfect 🙂 I can’t think of a better way to find a place where I can enjoy the 2 things I love most… travel and yoga!

Tip for your search: The easiest way to find this in a search is by going to google and typing in “Airbnb Yoga + Location you are staying in” and a whole list of Airbnb links to hosts/places will come up.

Booking is fast and everything is online

One of the great advantages of this method is everything you need to know is right there for you when you book and plan – the price, booking dates (although it’s worth confirming this with your host before booking too), any extra charges (from Airbnb or the host for cleaning etc), the map, the host’s profile and house rules and the check-in/out times.

Safety is a common question when staying with strangers, but this website has its verification methods and encourages trust/communication between hosts/guests before the stay… Check out their system of trust in who your host/guests are and terms and conditions to put rules into place. It’s also worth doing all the research of what other guests have said first before booking… this will be a good indication of who the hosts are.

It usually works out cheaper than many hotels, with much more privacy than hostels

The prices do vary but generally, I found that it works out cheaper than hostels/hotels, especially over longer periods of time. It’s well worth looking and comparing prices.

Hostels offer a great social side to travelling, but maybe privacy and noise can be an issue. I have found that staying in alternative accomodation through Airbnb can give you the best of both… more privacy in your private room, plus some social interaction with your host (if they are open to it, they usually say this in their profile!)

Get first-hand information from locals about where you are staying and the best places to go.

Websites and travel books are great for finding out more about a travel location – but nothing beats getting tips and advice straight from someone who actually lives there! It seems that most hosts are very open to sharing this information so make the most of it I say!

Choose some unusual places to stay the night

With Airbnb, you can be as adventurous as you like… I mentioned in the first tip that you can spend your nights in a yoga studio – but you don’t have to stop there! There are tree houses, wood cabins, tents, caves… you name it. Airbnb puts up a lot of beautiful spots around the world that will add to your overall travel experience!