Vacations Blog

Ok, so you’re all a little bit broke, otherwise you’d hop a plane to Las Vegas or New York and relive Sex in the City with your three best friends.  That doesn’t mean you can’t have loads of girlie time and thrill in the fun of hanging out with your posse.  Here’s the secret – go to a local hostel!

Remember sleepovers when you were little?  Remember how you’d stay up all night, sleep in late, make breakfast and giggle all the time?  Remember how much fun they were?  Local hostels are GREAT places for grownup sleepovers.

Yes, you used hostels when you backpacked EuropWritee after you graduated college.  Perhaps you even used them when you studied abroad in South America during grad school.  You may have thought you out-grew such bohemian places once you got a steady paycheck and learned to enjoy the privacy of a hotel room.  It’s time to take another look at them.

Hostels have seen a revitalization recently, including more and more springing up right here in the United States as tourism to the US becomes more popular with foreign students.  So, choose a nice place, such as Huntington Beach, where there are good restaurants, things to do, and miles of beach and book one of the local hostels for you and your friends.  The benefit of hostelling with the girls is that its not only cheap, but it is also just fine to squabble over bunk beds, cook your own breakfast and walk around the entire establishment in your PJs.  It’s a chance to return to your younger days and enjoy giggling with your best buds.

* Thanks to jetzenpolis for the great photo of a Chicago hostel!

An Austin vacation won’t set you back as much as travel to some other U.S. cities (San Francisco and New York come to mind). But, I would go even one step further. I would say that Austin is a terrific city to be in if you are feelin’ broke! All you need is a bike (or your walking legs), a bathing suit, and an appetite for delicious food.

Bring the whole family, your ‘main squeeze’, or just yourself…it’s easy to have a wonderful day ‘on the cheap’!

Here is what I recommend you do…

Ideally, you should borrow a bike from your hotel (or rent one) as Austin is a city that is very bike-friendly–with bike paths that can connect you to much of the center of the city through greenbelts and parks. Another advantage to biking is that the warm Texas heat will be tempered by the breeze you create as you pedal through town. If biking isn’t your style–catch a free Dillo bus or taxi ride.

Get yourself to Zilker Park at Barton Springs Road. From here you are only a minute or two walk from swimming, sunning, playgrounds, and great restaurants.

Zilker is a large and beautiful green space along Lake Austin in the center of downtown. It has a lovely Botanical Garden, playing fields, private groves, and Barton Springs Pool. If you have a family in tow, the entrance to Barton Springs has a large playground and a passenger train that chugs around the park–slow enough that your kids can wave to every man, woman, and dog that you pass.

The entrance to Barton Springs is only $3.50 and you get a hand stamp that lets you come and go as you please. Spread out a blanket under a pecan tree and cool yourself in the shockingly cold water…because it is a natural spring, it is 68 degrees year-round. When you feel the urge, walk right outside and buy a snow cone or corn dog from a vendor and feed the leftovers to the hungry ducks and pigeons nearby.

As the afternoon progresses and your stomach starts to grumble– bike or walk the short distance across the lake to 5th street where you can eat cheap and tasty tacos out of a red caboose at Juanitas.

Once you have had your fill, wander down to Congress Avenue Bridge. As the sun drops below the horizon-watch the millions of bats stream out across the sky as you sink your road-wearied feet into soft green grass and sigh.

Life is good—and you barely had to pay for it!

Thanks to Jslander for the Barton Springs pic!