It is important to spend some time before starting your holidays to have an overall impression of the different accommodations and prices in the places you will visit, write some address or phones down or even make some reservations.
There are two questions to consider about accommodation. What kind of accommodation you are going to stay in and if it is better to make reservations before the travel starts.

Well, if you have planned carefully the trip and you have already selected the places to visit it should be convenient to make reservations (if possible) before arriving there for several reasons:
- probably it will be cheaper.
- you avoid having problems there with availability in high season or special events.

The problem comes when the stay is going to be long, for example the backpackers.
The Pros of booking before are the security of having a place to sleep when you arrive and the time you save when you don´t need to look for a bed.
The positive aspects of travelling without booking are the complete freedom to travel wherever you want and the possibility of changing the plans on route. But it should be also taken into account that it is probable that you find more expensive prices if you take the accommodation in the same day of arrival.

You have to consider that there are some places and some periods where finding a room could be easier than others. Pay special attention if are arriving in a city on a Friday or Saturday without advance reservations. Finding a room during a weekend, depending on the season and destination, can sometimes be very difficult. Of course that this is a very personal decision, but our advice is to make some reservations in places that you foresee that will be crowded, and also some reservations for the first days of the travel, so you can start smoothly to get used to how these countries run about accommodation. The aim of this advice is to reach an equilibrium between both options (to have security and freedom at the same time) because if you arrive without accommodation for any day you will spend many efforts and time looking for, specially if you plan to visit many places.

This situation changes if you plan to stay at hostels as many of them don´t allow to make previous reservation, only some days before the arrival. It would be smart to call two days before to book, as you can find that the day you arrive it is complete.

The selection depends on the duration, the budget, the country, the itinerary and your preferences. And there is one fact about accommodation that almost always is fulfilled: you mainly remember the worst places. So loose a little time thinking on that before the travel, as it could be a key point.

Today hostels provide affordable, safe, clean lodging for travelers of all ages worldwide. Though conditions can vary, the one constant is that from the bedroom to the bathroom, the facilities are shared.
Hostelling means to travel from hostel to hostel, it is considered a philosophy of adventure travel in which you can never predict who you might meet or where they may encourage you to travel.

Some hostels have rooms with 2 to 10 beds (bunks usually), while others offer dormitories that pack in 20 or more. These rooms are usually single-sex (only males or females), though many hostels also offer private "family rooms" for couples or groups. Sheets, pillows and blankets may be available for a small fee, but it is preferable to travel with a sleeping bag or sheets.

Bathrooms are also single-sex and can vary a lot in size or cleanliness.
There is only toilet paper, you must carry the rest of things. In fewer cases you will need to pay a small fee to have a shower.

Hostels use to offer lockers to keep backpacks, clothes, toiletries and other non-valuable items. Many offer room with keys. Depending on the hostel, guests may even leave these items in the dorm rooms.

Kitchen facilities where guests can prepare meals are common. This is a great way to save money and meet travellers. In the absence of kitchen there are refrigerators and areas to store food. Hostels sometimes provide breakfast or offer meals at an additional price.

The larger hostels offer day-trips and activities at low prices. Many of them have communal areas, where it is easy to know people.

There are some rules that you must know when you go to a hostel. First, usually the doors close at an appointed hour and do not open until the hostel officially opens in the morning. Second, the lockout, that is the time during the day when the hostel is closed and all guests need to be out. This enable the hostel to be properly cleaned and encourages guests to go out instead of sleeping. Third, some hostels impose a maximum number of nights that a guest can stay in the hostel, avoiding using the hostel as long-term housing and making travellers keep moving.

Phone to the hostels some day before the arrival to make a reservation to avoid finding it full.

Pros

Hostels offer a cheap, clean, safe place to stay and the communal atmosphere makes it easy to know friends, pick up travel tips or even find travel companions. Many offer advance booking (online or by phone), which is advisable in main cities and places, or even always.

Cons

You have little privacy and conditions of safety and cleanliness can vary a lot. Sleeping at hostels could become difficult if you are a light sleeper as you will find people snoring, coming in and out at all hours, lights on and off in the middle of the night, although it has to be taken into account that in general you will be so tired at the end of each day that you will sleep deeply.
Do not expect to sleep for long at hostels. People get up between 7 and 8 a.m. to sightsee and even some roommates get up very early to catch a plane or train.
As hostels are usually single-sex rooms, if you are a couple or a little group (3 or 4) with boys and girls maybe you will prefer other kind of accommodation.

HI Official hostels versus independent hostels

The hostels can be divided in these two groups. An official hostel belongs to the Hostelling International network (HI). All hostels that are not members of this network are considered independent. Although the HI hostels assure some standards, most independent hostels offer the same.

The Benefits of the HI hostels over the independent ones are that hostels are generally cleaner and better-run, there is a good environment for families with children or large student groups, they usually offers a quiet sleeping environment and within a country, prices in official hostels are standardized. On the other side they have highly restrictive timetables and it is more difficulty to know friends (they are larger, less friendly). They are o ften located on the outskirts of the towns and the rates tend to be a little higher.

The independent hostels offer more flexible rules and sometimes provide a more personal atmosphere. Easy to find fellows, cheaper than HI hostels and located in the town. On the negative side they are more noisy and less convenient for families and children.

Hostelling International Membership card

You need the card to sleep in any of the HI hostels. The card can be bought at your country (probable at the Youth Hostel Association of your country.

You can also acquire a "welcome stamp" at your arrival to a hostel out of your residence country. Not every country sells these stamps. You should check if this card is worth the cost by comparing HI hostels prices with or without card and the card price (as it depends on each country). Maybe you find that you should stay in too many hostels to compensate the card price. If you buy 6 "welcome stamps" you automatically obtain a membership card. The card offers discounts, that could be interesting specially if you don´t have a youth card or a student card.

There is also the VIP backpackers membership card. With this card you will be entitled to discounts on all VIP Backpackers hostels as well as hundreds of discounts. The card is valid 12 months and is only Euro 25. VIP Backpackers Resorts International is the largest chain of independent backpackers hostels in the world.

Apart from this option the independent hostels don't require a membership card.

Guidebooks and selection of hostels

There are some guides with all the hostels address across Europe that could be useful. Nevertheless if your travel guide book is good, it should show the address and telephone of the hostels. Another option is to ask at the Tourism Offices.
Search on-line or consult your guide book to find out which hostel best meets your needs. Sometimes, however,  the choice is not up to you, you have to take what you can get.
In order to choose one, the main points that you can pay attention to are the location, the price, the number of beds per room, the opening hours or the possibility of family rooms.

Arriving to the hostel

Once you arrive and you make your reservation you will have to decide the type of room (possible extra amount if you choose small rooms), if you want to rent sheets, if you prefer upper o lower bulk, etc. You can request to see the room before paying, which could be helpful if the hostel seems bad looking.

If you prefer your own room or you've been for long in hostels you might want to spend a night having privacy, maybe private bathroom and clean sheets and towels. Hotels or pensions can be a good deal because they usually have the same price or only slightly more expensive for groups (3-5 people) than the hostel. And perhaps a hotel is more adequate for couples. In addition buffet breakfast is often included in price.

On the other side hotels and pensions are more expensive than hostels, it is difficult to meet people and there is no kitchen. Finding a hotel having the three main conditions (cheap, nice and near centre) is difficult, specially in high season, so possibly you will have to sacrifice one of them.

Of course theses advices are addressed for youngsters, backpackers or people that look for budget travel. If you can afford a more expensive room, for sure you will have a nice hotel near city centre.

It is a very nice option. Not as cheap as hostels, but generally cheaper than a hotel, it consists on a private room and bathroom (shared or not), breakfast included. It has the benefits of a hotel but it often offers the chance to know other people (guests or owner), generally during breakfast. Besides, this is an interesting way to know people, customs and food from the country you are visiting.

One advice: eat like pigs :-) during the breakfast, as this will give you the strength for the day and this will allow you to have a lighter (cheaper) meal at midday.

There are plenty of camping sites throughout Europe , so this I a cheap way to know places. We can find great variations in their facilities and depending on each country.

The problems are the weight of the tent (that makes this option unsuitable for people travelling by train or bus), the weather in some regions (for example the rainy Scotland or the cold Scandinavia ) and their far locations from cities.

This is a nice option if you plan to travel by car throughout some countries or if you have a caravan. They allow to keep the vehicle, cook and have total freedom. On the other side there are shared bathrooms and showers, and of course it is less comfortable than a bed.

If you have an interrail, eurail card or any other train pass you can sleep in a night train (long distances) paying a small extra amount. You can obtain a litter, a compartment or a seat in a car, depending on several factors.

Pros: you save the accommodation and you travel during the night, so you have the whole day to visit places. By paying some more extra money you can get a litter.
Cons: it is noisy, uncomfortable, compartments could be full, you might sleep sit, they are frequented by thefts, so you may forget about sleeping much unless you're good at doing it. You can´t take a shower. Probably you will be too exhausted to enjoy the foreign town next day.

So this kind of travel must be carried out between two far cities, and it is better to have a sleeping bag with you. It increases your chances of getting a decent night's sleep.

People who prefer this option become a little dirty and they smell bad, depending on how long they have been this way. Some important stations have public showers (for little money), so you could ask for that when you arrive.

We recommend to do that if it is strictly necessary for your travel planning, as from our experience you are really exhausted next day.

Pay attention to your backpacks and suitcases, and keep the valuables with you ALWAYS, even going to the bathroom or sleeping.

We don't advise to be a vagrant for safety reasons, but if you are willing to sleep in airports (http://www.sleepinginairports.net), train stations, bus stations, parks and beaches then you could save some money doing this from time to time. Be aware that you are calling to the possibility of being arrested or penalized for violating the law. Try to sleep with other backpackers if possible

If you really find yourself in trouble to find a bed, don't hesitate to go to the nearest Tourist Information office. For a small fee, they find an available room for you.
During high season and or at popular tourist destinations, hostel or pension representatives are often waiting at the train station in hopes of persuading you to go to their hostel or pension. This can be great if you have no prior reservation.
Attempt to negotiate the price down, especially in Southern Europe. If you agree to take a look at the room you can decide when you get there if it is acceptable. If it's not you can always leave and find another place to stay.