Ask Bakpak Dave
Got questions? Whether you want to know about traveling to Europe or just backpacking and hostels in general, just fill out the form below and Bakpak Dave will get back to you.
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Should I pay a hostel booking fee for US hostels?
With the birth of third-party hostel booking engines came the booking or reservation fee (on top of the 10% deposit for your entire stay). Prior to this, you may have booked hostels without paying a fee through student travel agenices but they generally marked up the cost...MORE
With the birth of third-party hostel booking engines came the booking or reservation fee (on top of the 10% deposit for your entire stay). Prior to this, you may have booked hostels without paying a fee through student travel agenices but they generally marked up the cost...MORE
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Comments
7 comment(s) on this page. Add your own comment below.
Hi there,
Me and the girlfriend are planning on a trip backpacking around the USA, and planning on making some overnight Greyhound bus journeys to save some cash. Problem is that I've heard some terrible reviews, is Greyhound as bad as many reviews and websites make out???
Hi Dave! My friend and I are planning on doing our own roadtrip across USA from LA to new york. What budget campervan hire do you recommend? We have a pretty low budget. Or is it just as easy to buy an old one and then sell it at our destination? Thanks. Laura
Hi Dave,
My friend and I will be in USA starting Nov for 6 weeks. We want to know the best and cheap ways to get around with the most independence. Driving would be ideal but we have a budget of around $570.
What can you suggest?
Hi Dave,
I am planning on taking a trip through the east coast of america, we have a limit of £2000 including flights.
Do you have any suggesstions for cheap hostels along the way?
Also, as Jordan asked above, are Greyhound buses all that bad??
Hey Dave, my friend and I are traveling to the US from february to the end of April, (3 months) and we were wondering how much money we would need?
our trip: Orlando-Miami-the bahamas-miami-San diego-Las vegas-San fransisco-Minneapolis-Chicago-New York.
We have bought our plane tickets + 1 week at the bahamas including hotel, and besides we have a place to stay in Minneapolis for 2 weeks for free (old host family).. do you think that $9000 will be enought? - Sofie
Hi Sofie,
Thank you for writing, I do apologize about the delay in responding during the holidays. First off, sounds like you and your friend have an exciting trip planned. I think that $9000 for both of you should be plenty, depending on where you stay and what you want to do. All the cities you mentioned have hostels that will run you about $20-30 per dorm bed per night. Plus all the cities you are going to have tons of free things to do and cheap eats. And Vegas now has unbelievable deals on hotels so you can skip a hostel there and of course drinks are free if you are gambling.
How will you be getting to the cities - with the plane ticket you purchased? or do you need to buy transport? Do you want to take any tours of the grand canyon, bryce canyon and zion while you are in Vegas? How about wine country tours or yosemite when you are in San Francsico? There's a very good backpacker tour company that covers those areas.
Let me know and I can provide more info.
happy new year, Bakpak Dave
Hi Dan, there are good, reasonably priced hostels in most east coast cities. New York has many to choose from (see our New York hostels page at http://www.bakpakguide.com/usa/hostels/new-york-hostels/index.shtml), then Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC have a couple each (Baltimore has 1). You might also want to check out the Cape Cod/Nantucket Islands area of Massachussetts as there are cheap hostels there too. Dorm beds range from $20-$30 a night, with New York and Boston being the most expensive but you will probably find deals this time of year.
How long do you plan to travel and how far north/south will you go on the East coast. Assuming you will be arriving in New York or Boston?
As for Greyhound, they have nice new buses with free wifi. For the east coast, I would also check out Megabus.com as you can get fares as low as $1!!! (like Ryanair in Europe).
Let me know a few more details and I can get more fine tuned info to you. cheers, Bakpak Dave
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