best way to find apartments?

Hi all,

What's the best way to find/book month-long furnished apartments with internet?

I'm planning an RTW trip with my husband starting March 2012. We're planning to stay in different cities for about a month each and we would ideally like to rent apartments with a kitchen and internet for a month in each place. Should I be trying to find these places online before I show up or should I just book a hostel for the first night or two and ask around once I arrive? Are hostel owners a good resource for finding places like this? What other resources do you recommend?

We're going to start in SE Asia (probably Thailand because I feel like it will be easier than some other places), but would the answer be different if it were Ko Samui vs. some less touristed island vs. Hong Kong vs. Luang Prabang vs. Queenstown? (That's not the itinerary--just trying to get a sense if the kind/size/cost of city matters).

Thanks very much!

In South Africa, try http://www.olx.co.za and http://www.gumtree.co.za, where landlords regularly post their ads. In Gumtree, you can also post your own ad, specifying budget, etc. Beware con artists though, and only pay in advance a deposit by card, since card payment is usually protected and you can cash back if need be. If you need to pay in advance by bank transfer, pay a very small holding deposit.

TravellerSami wrote:In South Africa, try http://www.olx.co.za and http://www.gumtree.co.za, where landlords regularly post their ads. In Gumtree, you can also post your own ad, specifying budget, etc. Beware con artists though, and only pay in advance a deposit by card, since card payment is usually protected and you can cash back if need be. If you need to pay in advance by bank transfer, pay a very small holding deposit.

I would say NEVER pay by bank transfer or Western Union as it's almost guaranteed to be a scam.

I am a huge believer in Craigslist.

Really, I think you can do a lot of research in advance but this is going to change so much from place to place depending on the housing market- some places you need to book in advance because there won't be anything left for you to get within a few days! For specifics, I think posting to the appropriate sub-forum as far as the locations go will likely get you more responses from people who live there.

Also in super expensive cities it's often a good idea to look at nearby cities with great public transport connections at a fraction of the price. I just moved to Amsterdam and housing here is crazy- very expensive, you need to start looking months in advance, etc etc- but a 20 minute train ride away is Haarlem which is much cheaper and a nice little town in its own right.

I like the idea of staying in smaller cities nearby the larger, more touristed ones. And I'll try the location sub-forums as well. Thanks!

You basically have 2 choices: Find something to rent before you arrive or stay in a hostel for a few days and find something when you're there.

Craigslist, Hostelworld.com and Hostels.com and (IMO) the best 3 sites for finding apartments, or Gumtree if you're looking for them in the UK.

For a detailed guide check out this post on finding an apartment abroad.

Nick

VRBO.com can be a great resource but the apartments are usually more expensive than places on Craigslist.org.