It’s finally that time of the year again, when travel plans come to fruition, when the last-minute rush to fulfil New Year’s resolutions begins…and maybe when you get those year-end bonuses. If you’ve yet to make any plans (why?), or if you’ve bought air tickets but haven’t got around to booking accommodation, you really should get a move on — being stranded at home or overseas without a place to stay isn’t something you’d want to experience during the festive season.
To help you along, we’ve worked our way through the thousands of listings on Airbnb to hunt down some of the most affordable (yet cosy) homes in popular cities to visit, as well as some really fancy ones — just because we like stalking other people’s houses.
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul’s become a really popular country to visit in recent years, thanks to its rich culture, famous street food…and K-pop. But if chasing after celebrities is not exactly your thing and you really just want a quiet place where you can tune out, this apartment might be something you’d be interested in.
Alternatively, splash out and rent out and entire hanok, or a traditional Korean home. There’s nothing better than taking a trip back into the past, while being able to enjoy the comforts of modern technology (read: WiFi).
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo’s a notoriously expensive place to visit, even with the relatively weaker yen these days. A night’s stay at a decent hotel could easily set you back a couple hundred dollars. So it’s a win if you manage to find apartments that cost you about SGD100 per night, like this one:
Or you could stay in this stunning countryside home on the outskirts of Tokyo, away from the hustle and bustle of Harajuku and Shinjuku:
New York, US
This is the apartment you’re looking for if you’re leading the #lifeofaninstagrammer, and need your daily fix of natural sunlight for all the #OOTDs you’ll be taking.
But if you need a bigger space, or maybe even more sunlight, why not rent out a whole studio?
Taipei, Taiwan
Ahh, Taiwan. The land of street food and night markets. It’s definitely fun to trawl the streets, but at the end of each day, you’ll really want to go home to a clean, beautiful room where you’ll be able to recharge. This could be something you want to consider:
If you’re one who needs to workout even when on holiday, though, then you might need this house with a swimming pool, which will cost a staggering SGD1,800 a night (it even comes with a café, so you get fed after exercising, I guess?):
Hong Kong
The thing about accommodation in Hong Kong — which I unfortunately learnt the hard way — is that many of the more spacious rooms won’t come cheap. Like Singapore, land shortage in Hong Kong is a real issue, so rather than expect to have enough space for a workout, it’s more realistic to search for one that’s in a good location and which you’ll be comfortable staying in, like this one:
Or go all out, and rent the most expensive place on this list (which isn’t even on land) — a boathouse.
These are only a fraction of the homes we managed to find; some, of course, are prettier than others. And if you needed proof that trolls exist everywhere on the Internet, check out this SGD1,500 listing.