I wanted to share with you guys some photos of the place I stayed at while I was on holiday in Fuerteventura. I opted for a villa at Bahaizul Villas & Clubs in Corralejo over a hotel room because I was really intent on having a kitchen. In addition to my personal dietary preferences, I happen have a host of food allergies that makes it damned near impossible to eat food like a normal person. (Spoiler alert: it sucks.) I figured that having a kitchen would allow me to cook for myself and also save some money in the process.
The villas themselves were nestled away a few miles from the center of town. Although aspects of the villas were showing their age, overall the stay was lovely. The staff was super accommodating, the breakfast buffet was delicious, the on-site spa was incredible, and 24 hour security made me feel secure, especially as a female on her first solo holiday. The bungalows themselves were all equipped with their own private pools (unfortuantely it was still a bit to cold to dip in, although I jumped in once on the principle that I was paying for it so I might as well “enjoy it”), rooftop grill area, kitchen (as mentioned above), living room, and sleeping accommodation for up to 6 people.
As I mentioned in a previous post, due to the nature of the bungalows, I was pretty much left to my own devices. Being secluded would have been perfect, had I been traveling with a significant other or my family, but in the end, for a solo trip it was not idea. I also ended up eating the majority of my meals outside anyway, which meant all that money I thought I would be saving on cooking wasn’t actually being saved. I made about one dinner in the villa and ate out the rest of the week since I was basically wiped out every day from surfing. (I did, however make sure to doggy bag meals and re-heat in the villa.) When solo-travelling, it’s highly unlikely that you will actually muster the energy to cook your own meals. Lesson learned.
Being in a more social environment is something that I realized is really key for solo-travelling, so for my next solo trip, I will definitely be opting for a hostel or surf camp. Bonus points? They’re a hell of a lot cheaper as well. I would still definitely recommend vacationing in a bungalow as long as the holiday fits the location, a relaxed beach trip for couples or families being the ideal.
My biggest takeaways concerning travel accommodation?
The key to travel is matching your accommodation to the kind of trip you will be taking. In the end, I think that all kinds of accommodations have their place depending on the kind of trip you want to take. A bungalow might be perfect for a romantic getaway in the Bahamas, but a cheap hostel bed is more the sufficient for a weekend city trip.
Decide where you want to put your money. The same amount of money will get you different things. If you are looking for more of a relaxed luxury trip, then invest it in your dwellings. But if you are more interested in exploring everything there is to see, a hostel stay will be more then sufficient. The other thing to keep in mind is that fancy luxury trip could also fund 3 shorter less glamorous trips somewhere else.
You don’t have to stick to just one form of travel. I tend to like all kinds of trips. The super cheap ones where I save a ton of money and get to soak in all the sights and sounds of a place or a more relaxed trip where I’m all about chillin’ at the spa. And that’s totally fucking fine. No one said you have to be into only one form of travel.
Photography: Rae Tashman
Don’t forget to check out the podcasts & sign up for LFB’s conscious living challenge.
