How to Find a Great Airbnb & Our Favorite Stays
It’s a special trip when you’re Airbnb rental makes the destination more memorable! We spent 85% of our stays during long term travel in Airbnbs. So we consider ourselves experts in finding a great stay through the app.
Today, we’re sharing the 3 aspects of an Airbnb that takes it from a good to a great stay!
1. ONCE IN A LIFETIME STAYS
Sometimes Airbnbs are about so much more than a place to rest your head at the end of the day. We have stayed at some places where I have relished every moment there because I just felt so, so lucky. A riad in the middle of the Medina in Marrakech. An apartment with a private pool on the island of Paros. A glamping pod on a working farm in Great Britain’s Lake District. We promised ourselves that we would return to each of these stays one day. Only if it made leaving them a little easier.
2. THE PERFECT NEIGHBORHOOD
Some people check Zillow or the stock market for fun. I scroll through Airbnb! I may have spent hours upon hours digging through Airbnbs and reviews, but it was worth it. Reviews tell you so much more than information on the accommodation itself. They’re full of information on the neighborhood, what grocery stores are nearby, the stay’s proximity to great restaurants and the beach. Neighborhoods have been a make or break moment for our time at Airbnbs. Don’t skimp on knowing more about where you’re staying. Another great way to find our about the neighborhood? Google Street View! Check out, virtually, what the area is really like? We also love to use the “Want to Go” flags in Google Maps to identify what we want to see at the destination. It also helps us identify neighborhoods to stay in that are near the places we want to see and restaurant where we want to dine.
3. EXCEPTIONAL HOSTS
We’ve stayed in many good Airbnbs. But the number one reason that made an Airbnb great was its host! In Cambodia, we saw, and chatted, with our host daily. She made us delicious, French breakfasts every morning and let our kids jump on her child’s trampoline in the afternoons. During our stay on the farm in the Lake District, our host taught our kids how to send out their dog to round up the sheep in the evening. Even hosts that we quickly got to know in person through the check in process made the stay so much more special. We scribbled down notes on which hawker stands to try from our host in Singapore and picked up Medina tips from our hosts in Marrakech. We’ve had hosts pick us up from bus stations, coordinate tours for us, and one even set up doctor appoints for our kids! T even got his hair cut at the salon our host also owned in Istanbul. We are also always fans of trying local cheeses and wines when hosts leave them for us as welcome gifts! Make sure to leave glowing reviews to show your appreciation for amazing hosts. They deserve it!
OUR FAVORITE STAYS
Below are some of our favorite Airbnb stays throughout our long term travels. Click on the picture for the link to the Airbnb profile.
