Gadling Take FIVE: Week of January 24-30

When it comes to finding places to stay, this week has turned up several options from national parks to a person’s backyard.

  • For the budget conscious traveler, Alison offers a new idea in her post Out: couch. In: tent. Instead of looking for a couch for a sleeping arrangement, there’s another network where travelers can find a place to pitch a tent–like a person’s backyard. If staying in a stranger’s house seems unnerving, staying outside a person’s house may feel more comfortable.
  • Brenda has given us the dibs on the Hostel Trail in Latin America. After telling about her personal experience at a guest house in Popayán, Colombia, she presents tips about how you can find the same kind of deal–the type that leaves a person beaming, just like she’s beaming in the photo.
  • In Kraig’s post The World’s Best National Parks, follow the link to National Parks Traveler. Along with descriptions about the top 10 parks, you’ll find links to the parks themselves and places to stay if you go. For example, here’s the link to places to stay in Fiordland, New Zealand, number one on the list.
  • In Budget Travel: Detroit, an installment of our series on budget destinations, David Landsel, editor of the New York Post’s Travel section offers many suggestions for where to stay in Detroit. The Inn on Ferry Street sounds the most unique and interesting.
  • If you want to avoid the dirtiest hotels, one place to look is Trip Advisor’s 2009 Travelers’ Choice Awards.

And one more. If it’s late and you have no where to go, Annie suggests that you try 2itch.com, a site that will find places near you that are open.