Why Rick Steves Says You Should Never Book A Hotel For Just A Night (With 1 Exception)

When planning a European itinerary with a lot of stops, it can seem appealing to book several one-night stays. Cities, and even countries, are easily connected by high-speed trains, and you don't always need multiple days to see one location. While booking for one night may seem like the best move, it can sometimes be more costly and logistically frustrating to move around every day. This is why Rick Steves says you should never book a hotel for just a night.

In his European itinerary tips, Rick Steves discusses how to turn a travel wish list into a real day-by-day itinerary. With so much to see and do, it seems appealing to book a one-night stay in each town or city you plan to visit, although Steves suggests otherwise. His advice: minimize one-night stays. "Even the speediest itinerary should be a series of two-night stands," Steves writes on his blog, "It can be worth taking a late-afternoon drive or train ride to settle into a town for two consecutive nights — and gain a full uninterrupted day for sightseeing."

You may actually save more time and stress by choosing one central location and venturing out on trains and buses without your luggage. This will save you the effort of lugging suitcases around as well as having to plan around check-in and check-out times. Rick Steves' travel tip is "Depending on the distances involved, staying in a home base and making day trips can be more time-efficient than changing locations and hotels." Without your suitcase trailing behind you, it'll be much easier to get around Europe like a local.

While not staying in hotels for one night at a time is Rick Steves' general recommendation, there is one exception to this rule. Overnight train travel is a fantastic way to get around Europe while saving a day of travel for sightseeing at your destination. Rick Steves says one type of train is a game-changing hack for smart, scenic travel across Europe, and it's the perfect reason to book that one-night accommodation.

As he says on his blog: "The economy of night-train travel is tremendous. Sleeping while rolling down the tracks saves time and money: for every night you spend on the train, you gain a day for sightseeing and avoid the cost of a hotel." Train travel, because it connects you to two places, will help instead of hurting your time management. And, if you're getting an extra day to explore the place you're going, Steves believes it makes sense to sleep through the scenery you'll pass by train at night. If you're going to spend one night somewhere, his recommendation is to do so on a night train and then set up a home base for a few days at your destination.

Steves also notes that by not booking yourself on too tight a timetable, you'll be able to "leave some slack in your itinerary." This is good to have should something not go to plan, such as missing a bus or train, getting sick, or just deciding that having some extra time in one location would be nice. By giving yourself the time and space to travel, you'll have much more time for properly exploring each place you visit.