Thursday, October 17, 2024

I backpacked across Europe for 2 weeks. Booking Airbnbs in small towns to save money was the most unexpected highlight of my trip.

A composite image. Left: A tree-covered mountain with green grass meadows, houses, and a body of water below. There are clouds just below the tip of the mountain. Right: The author in a cap and blue polo stands in front of a tub-shaped brown building with trees and grass in the background
Business Insider's reporter booked Airbnbs outside of cities in Europe and found some hidden gems in Germany and Switzerland.
  • I backpacked across six cities and four countries in Europe in 2022, including Berlin and Zurich. 
  • I booked two Airbnbs in the suburbs to save money, and the towns surprised me.
  • These crowd-free places were hidden gems. And if I weren't on a budget, I never would have seen them.

When I planned my two-week backpacking trip through six European cities across four countries in October 2022, the last thing I expected was to be blown away by my budget bookings

Berlin, Vienna, Venice, Rome, Milan, and Zurich were the destinations on my itinerary. For most of these stops, I booked accommodations within city limits. But to save some money, I stayed in two Airbnbs about an hour outside Berlin and Zurich by train. 

Slube, a tiny home hotel in Neustrelitz, Germany.
A tiny home hotel in Neustrelitz, Germany.

When I visited Berlin, I spent two nights in a tiny-home hotel in Neustrelitz, Germany, for $140.

My hotel was a 20-minute walk from the train station.

A 3D map of Neustrelitz, Germany found in the town square in October 2022.
A 3D map of Neustrelitz, Germany, found in the town square in October 2022.

Sure, it would have been easier to wake up in Berlin. But to my surprise, I enjoyed starting and ending each day with a relaxing walk through a place I'd never heard of, where I spotted the occasional backpacker among mostly locals.

I thought it was a peaceful town with charming cobblestone streets. And if I hadn't been traveling on a budget, I probably never would have visited it. 

A composite image of two cobblestone street scenes in Neustrelitz with signs in the foreground and buildings across the streets behind them.
Quiet streets in Neustrelitz, Germany.

When I left Germany with stays in Vienna and three Italian cities ahead of me, I was already looking forward to my final accommodation several nights later in Switzerland. 

My last stop in Europe was Zurich, and I slept in a tiny wine-barrel home in a small village named Roggwil for two nights for $400.

A cyclindrical tiny home next to another small building with two deck chairs in front of it, at night.
The author's Airbnb in Roggwil, Switzerland.

Roggwil rests in the rolling hills of Switzerland, and to me, it had the most striking scenes of the entire trip. On my final night in Europe, I took an unplanned hike in the area and caught a gorgeous sunset over the village. It was an epic ending to my two-week adventure, and like in Neustrelitz, I couldn't help thinking if I hadn't booked that specific Airbnb, I never would have seen it. 

A sunlit field.
A sunlit field in Roggwil, Switzerland.

I expected nothing more than a place to sleep in these towns, so I was pleasantly surprised that they felt like hidden gems. Neustrelitz and Roggwil were relaxing counterparts to my travels in Berlin and Zurich.

Next time I backpack through Europe, I'll find more accommodations in small towns to experience the quiet, slower pace of suburban life while photographing landscapes in less-visited areas of the continent — and save some money.

Read the original article on Business Insider


from All Content from Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/book-airbnbs-in-small-towns-while-backpacking-europe-2023-8
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