在意大利住了四個星期，基本都是住在民宿。自從認識了airbnb後，每次出門都在這裡找住宿。出門在外，住酒店的感覺不太好，特別是要長期住在酒店更焗促。
Airbnb提供了一個很好的平台，讓一些「個體戶」把自己的地方出租給旅客，我喜歡它一般空間比較大，也比較有家的感覺，而且在歐洲這些民宿跟背包客棧的價格差不了多少，而生活環境寬敞得多了!
發覺在意大利的住宿，縱使是同樣一個房間，一人和兩人住在價格上是有區別，而且很大。就算是多人間的床位也一般要花上每人25歐元。
我們兩個人找民宿，目標價在60歐元以下，要求獨立房間，一般浴室也和屋主共用，有些會有自己的浴室。能用厨房也是必須的，我們幾乎每天的早晚餐都在家中解決，除了省錢，當然也因為在歐洲不像香港，在外面什麼都吃得到,也非常貴。我們除了意粉，有時也看能買到什麼材料，弄點新意...炒個青菜也不錯嘛！
有些airbnb上的民宿是整間屋只作出租用，主人不同住。兩個人的話如果選這種有兩個可能性，一是超細的「劏房」式單位，二是全屋的房間出租，可能和其他旅客共用屋內的公共空間。
其實我比較喜歡真正的民宿，即是我真的是租住屋主的家中的客房，和主人共用公共空間，也有機會和主人交流聊天，感覺就是到了朋友家中借宿一樣。
而且一個房子有人在生活是不一樣的，屋主也不介意你共用他們的消耗品，如烹調的調味料，吃他們的一大堆餅乾和意大利粉!比到了一間很整潔但空空如也的房子舒服多。
有人生活的地方設備也更不容易出問題，有問題也可馬上解決。我就看到朋友租的獨立房子有各式的問題，我們也試過網絡出現問題，找屋主又聯絡不上，實在很煩。不過，如果一家子人出門，租下整個單位是最方便的。
最後，我們也還會看其他客人的意見，會看到很多也許屋主本身沒有註明的詳情。有些房子雖然看來不錯，但一個留言也沒有，我們也不會選擇....生怕入住的都是有入無出!哈哈!
希望我們這些經驗對你們有用!! 祝大家旅遊愉快!!
By: Jo
It has been a full month in Italy, and we
basically live in BnB. After getting to
know airbnb, I have been using it as my source for accomodation. Being away
from home, it does not feel great at hotels, esp on an extended period of time.
Airbnb provides a very good platform for
individuals to lease their property to tourists. I like to stay in bnb for it is a lot more
spacious and the price of bnb is similar to that of backpacker hostels in
Europe and offer much better quality of living.
In Italy, even for the same room, the
charges for one guest and two guests are different, actually quite different.
Even if we look for dorms that take 6 people, it will still cost 25 euro each.
When I was searching for bnb, I use 60 euro
as my target price ceiling and look for private rooms with shared bathroom with
host. Some of them have private bathroom as well. The use of kitchen is also a must, we almost
always cook our own breakfasts and dinners.
Apart from saving money, Europe just cannot compare to Hong Kong for the
variety of dining options and they are all expensive. Apart from pasta, we
will, depends on what we can get from the supermarket, cook something slightly
different, such as simply stir fry vegetables.
Some properties are solely for guests, i.e.
The host does not live there. If we only have two, you either can find a small
studio apartment or you may have an apartment with multiple rooms that are all
for guests. In that case, you share the public area with other guests.
Personally, I prefer to stay in a real bnb,
and live in the guest room of the host's own apartment. We love to share the
public area with the host and chit chat with them. This feels like you are
visiting and stay with your friends.
Moreover, an apartment that has someone
living in is different. The hosts would not mind you using the consumables such
as seasonings in the kitchen. They also welcome you to eat their biscuits and
pasta, whatever you find in the kitchen.
That is different from living in a clean but empty apartment.
In an apartment with the hosts, the
facilities are also less bourned to have problems and problems can be fixed on
the spot. We saw some friends living in a whole apartment and had various
issues with the facilities. We also had experienced wifi issues and the host
was no where to be found. But of course,
if a family travels together, renting a whole apartment is the best option.
Lastly, we always check comments of other
guests. You get a lot of information which the host may not have mentioned in
the listing. Some apartments which appears nice but have no reviews … we avoid
them also. Just wondering people who stayed there never survived .... Haha!!
I hope you find this useful. Happy travelling!!
By: Jo
