4.6 KATERINA AND JOHN HOTEL IN SANTORINI We had a lovely stay at Katerina and John Hotel in Perissa, which is on the Greek Island of Santorini. Katerina and John are the friendly owners who picked us up from the ferry terminal and their family helped...
1.7 SPARTA TEAM HOTEL IN ATHENS Sometimes going for the cheapest room in town isn't in the smartest idea. Sparta Team Hotel in Athens, Greece, was cost effective, but if we were to do it over again we'd pick to stay somewhere else. Private...
2.6 PENSIONE OTTAVIANO HOSTEL IN ROME We were in Rome for a few days and chose to stay at Pensione Ottaviano for its prime location near Vatican City. The location proved to be great, but unfortunately, the hostel was the first place we...
4.1 HOTEL VIATOR IN PARIS Hotel Viator gave us the much needed relief from our Paris hostel experience. It provided a quiest atmosphere and a clean private room. It was also in an area of Paris that we hadn't explored yet, so it gave...
2.8 BLUE PLANET HOSTEL IN PARIS We had originally booked Blue Planet Hostel in Paris for six nights, but by the fourth night we opted out to stay in a private room at another hotel. Blue Planet Hostel had some inconveniences like only one...
3.9 HIGH STREET HOSTEL IN EDINBURGH When looking for hostels in Edinburgh, Scotland, we were drawn to High Street Hostel mainly because of its cool exterior. It has an old-looking castle facade on the outside, and was fun and quirky on the...
4.8 WAYFARERS HOSTEL IN PENRITH We chose to spend a night at Wayfarers Hostel in Penrith before heading to the Lake District. When we first arrived we didn't realize that staff weren't around in the early afternoon. There was a sign posted...
2.0 GEAR REVIEW: OSPREY FARPOINT 55 BACKPACK I really like that my Osprey Farpoint 55 backpack is panel loading with a single, locking zipper. Unfortunately that’s all I like about it and it failed to make my revised round-the-world packing list. A...
4.5 GEAR REVIEW: SALOMON SYNAPSE HIKING SHOES Besides picking a good backpack, selecting the right shoes was probably the most important decision I needed to make when shopping for this year-long trip. Thankfully, unlike my backpack selection, I was...
4.4 BAZPACKERS HOSTEL IN INVERNESS Bazpackers Hostel is the first hostel we've stayed in where we booked it in person instead of online. It was located next to the Inverness Student Hostel in Scotland where we had spent one night. It proved to...
3.1 INVERNESS STUDENT HOSTEL IN SCOTLAND It was difficult to return to a hostel dorm room in Inverness after being spoiled at friends' cottages in the north tip of Scotland. We only had to stay for just one night at the Inverness Student Hostel...
4.2 YHA HELVELLYN IN THE LAKE DISTRICT We chose to stay at YHA Helvellyn during our time in the Lake District and we chose right! This hostel is tucked away in the old Greenside Lead Mine area a mile from the village of Glenridding where we...
4.0 STADTALM NATURFREUNDEHAUS IN SALZBURG After exploring the town of Salzburg and touring the fortress, my friend Rachel and I hiked onto the top of the hill overlooking the town to find our hostel, Stadtalm Naturfreundehaus. When we came to it we...
