The 4am train trick that halved my hostel costs in Rome

I was booking a weekend in Rome last spring and hostels were running 35 euros a night near Termini. Then I noticed the night train from Milan arrives around 4am, so I planned my sleep on the train and showed up with a day bag. The hostel let me leave it in storage for free, and I only paid for 2 nights instead of 3 by using the arrival day as a full sightseeing day. Has anyone else worked overnight travel into their booking to dodge a lodging night?

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oscarc5319d ago

The "showed up with a day bag" part is key, I've done almost the exact same thing in a few cities. I always book a sleeper or an early train that gets in before check-in, then hit the ground running with my pack locked up at the station or hostel. Honestly, the only catch is you have to be okay with being tired by like 2pm, but a quick espresso or a siesta on a park bench fixes that. Also, some hostels will charge a small fee for early bag drop if you're not staying that night yet, so I always message them first to confirm it's free. It's a solid trick to save 30-40 euros, but make sure your train actually arrives on time, otherwise you're just sitting in a station lobby at 6am with no sleep.