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Hostels might sometimes get a bad reputation, but they normally get those reputations from people who haven’t really stayed in them. The truth is, a hostel can be a great place to stay and even in popular European destinations you can find them for less than $20 per night.

So what is a hostel, exactly? Basically, it is a “no star” hotel. While they might market themselves as being for twentysomethings, anyone can stay in them.

As a general rule, the more beds that are in the hostel room the less the room will cost. Private rooms are available, too, which might include your own bathroom.

You can find hostels located in old dormitories, houses, lighthouses, former prisons, boats, and even castles. They typically offer a small breakfast and the majority have cooking facilities. You can usually find internet connections there as well. While you won’t get your bed made for you, they will clean the bathrooms and kitchen areas.

Hostelworld.com is by far the best hostel booking search engine. Aside from searching through literally thousands of hostels, it also searches for small inns and apartments, too. You book and pay for the room online, the same way that you would book and pay for a hotel on Expedia.

Here are some examples of hostels in Europe and the savings that you can clean from them…

London- With the high price of London, coupled with the exchange rate, even a cheap hotel can cost upwards of $85 per night. However, a bed in a 6 bed-room hostel in the center of town might only cost $18 per night. There is one hostel in London called Globetrotters that provides a large kitchen, a small grocery store, a cinema room, internet cafe, and little curtains on the bunk beds in order to offer more privacy.

Vienna- While not as pricey as London, Vienna is still pretty expensive. A hotel room near the Ringstrasse can cost you $200 per night. A small hostel or apartment near the same area, however, can cost as little as $12 per night.

Prague- Prague is still pretty cheap in comparison to most major destinations, but it is getting to be more expensive. You can stay in one of the luxurious hotels and be set back $200 or more per night. Or you can stay at the Hostel Tyn, located literally steps from Old Town Square, for $16 per night. The only downside to this hostel is that it doesn’t offer a kitchen.

Marbella, Spain- Beautiful Marbella, located on the Costa del Sol, is a great place to visit nearly any time of the year. But it can be pricey, too. A hotel near the water can cost around $150 per night. A private room with private bath in a hostel across the street, though, only costs $20 per night-and you get breakfast with it!

Dublin, Ireland- You can stay in one of the new, modern, cookie-cutter hotels and spend hundreds of dollars, or you can stay at the Kinlay House Christchurch or Ashfield House and pay only $17. Plus, with their centrally located positions, you can easily walk to a multitude of pubs with your new friends that you make over breakfast.

Of course, not every hostel is going to be the same. You’ll have good experiences and bad experiences. There will be some that you stay at where you’ll met tons of new people and some that you don’t need anyone at all. With the money that you save, however, you’ll have a lot left over for seeing the real attractions, though.