Our Top 5 Favourite Airbnbs (and Why They Weren’t Perfect)

It sounds really glamorous when we say we travel full time but honestly travel comes with as many lows as highs. There are the long travel days and the packing and repacking and trying to navigate our way around in a new city. But sometimes the quality of a travel experience just comes down to whether or not we’re staying in a good Airbnb. 

In fact, we’ve stayed in a lot of crappy Airbnbs over the past two years of full-time travel. Out of the 32 Airbnbs we’ve stayed in, some of them were total nightmares. After having one dud too many, we realised that we needed to do a much better job of picking Airbnbs. 

We made a promise to each other that we would try to only book Airbnbs where we can be really happy…. because the happier we are with where we stay, the longer we can keep travelling. After all, we’re not backpackers going from hostel to hostel and trying to stick within a really lean budget. We’re travelling full time with our two little dogs and we want this lifestyle to feel comfortable.  

Of course, no Airbnb is ever truly perfect; there’s always going to be a compromise somewhere. So we’re sharing our top five best Airbnbs but we’ll also give a look at what went on behind the scenes. 

Our first really amazing apartment was in Athens. There was so much we loved about this place. It was a beautifully-designed, two-bedroom penthouse. Everything about it was thoughtfully put together; the furniture was all very high quality; the accessories were well chosen. We really loved the wrap-around balcony, which was perfect for watching the sun set.

We were really pleased with this pick…until we took our first walk through the neighbourhood. Of course we’d done our research in advance. Gillian did one of her famous map studies and found that the apartment was fairly close to the main attractions and a nice big park. We did read that the neighbourhood was a little rough around the edges. It wasn’t what you’d consider an affluent area. But nothing could have prepared us for what we found.

The nearby park was fully occupied day and night by families of refugees. The next park over was where the homeless locals were living. While that’s common for a lot of big cities, in Athens a bus dropped off dozens of riot police everyday who patrolled the area in large packs. It was a lot to face when we just wanted to pop out and take our dogs for a walk. We really loved that apartment but it was a big lesson in understanding the neighbourhood before deciding to call it home for the month. 

Our next very nice apartment was a few months later in Malta. The host renovated an old shop in a historic neighbourhood and made it into a beautiful loft-style apartment. It was technically a studio apartment but the bedroom was on a second level so it felt quite spacious. There were gorgeous historic windows; the colour selection was lovely; everything was brand new all the way down to the cups and saucers. And the location couldn’t be better: it was steps away from the beach so we went for walks there every day, sometimes twice a day. We were just a short ferry ride away from the old town of Valletta.

But — there’s always a but — the only reason that this apartment was in any way affordable for us was because it was low season. 

Malta is famous for its year-round beautiful sunny weather except for one month; the month of January, which is exactly when we were there. Sure, there were some sunny days but just as often it was cold and rainy. So we had a beautiful apartment in a beautiful neighbourhood but we were somewhat limited on our activities because of the weather. Of course, the reason that we’re travelling is so that we can get out and explore places. We don’t just want to be cooped up in a gorgeous Airbnb.

With that in mind, we decided to focus on lower cost destinations where we could easily afford really nice places at any time of the year. We had a really cute apartment in Novi Sad, Serbia and the price was equally nice. We also really liked our place in Tirana, Albania. 

However our absolute top pick in a low-cost destination was our apartment in Saranda on the coast of Albania. The inside was lovely; it was well designed, good furniture, and we were willing to overlook the lack of an oven and dishwasher in the kitchen. And that’s because the outside of the apartment was truly spectacular. We got to wake up every morning to a perfect view out across the sea. It was the perfect spot for a coffee in the morning or a sundowner in the evening.

That view would have cost so much more just in any other European coastal destinations like Greece, Italy, even Croatia. But in Albania it was more than affordable. When you’re looking for Airbnbs, those low cost destinations can really offer a whole lot of value.

Our next stop after Albania was Spain and this is not an inexpensive country. We knew that we were in for some sticker shock, especially for our Airbnb. Sure enough, the apartments in Valencia were expensive, especially because we were there over the holiday season. Still, we wanted a place that we could really enjoy. So we came up with our short list of the most beautiful apartments we could find and we asked every single one of them if they were willing to offer a better price for a longer stay.

We got a whole lot of no’s but one of them came through. That’s how we ended up in a lovely apartment in Valencia.

It was an art deco building from the 1930s with gorgeous windows and an amazing view. Everything was new and comfortable; the host had done it up in a fun eclectic style. But — again there’s that but — this apartment did come with some quirks, which we talked about in this video:

Despite the quirks, you can still get a great place even in a higher cost destination if you’re willing to negotiate a little.  

That’s the journey that led us here to our latest apartment in Antalya, which is one of our best Airbnbs ever. It’s a corner unit with lots of windows and light. It has really comfortable furniture and we just love the wood burning stove for those chilly winter evenings.

We did have to pay a lot for this apartment — the most we’ve ever paid. There aren’t a lot of stylish apartments like this on offer in Antalya so hosts know they can charge a premium. Even though this apartment is on the pricey side, everything else here is so inexpensive — food, entertainment, transportation —  that it all fits nicely in our budget in the end.

Yes, you can find gorgeous Airbnbs out there but no place is ever truly perfect. There will always be some kind of compromise. Maybe it’s the neighbourhood; maybe it’s the season; maybe it means spending time in low-cost destinations, like the coast of Albania, where your dollar can go a lot further. Or maybe you have to compromise on the price, like paying that little bit extra (or a lot extra) to stay in a wonderful apartment like this one in Antalya. 

Of course, these five were the very best Airbnbs we’ve ever stayed in. Like we said, we had a lot of trial and error along the way. If you’re curious to see what the nightmare apartments were like, you can take a look at the next post right here.

The 5 Worst Airbnbs We’ve Ever Stayed in (and How to Avoid Them)