Last Updated on June 16, 2024 by Ellen
It will be 100 degrees this week in Rishikesh, India. But our rental unit does NOT have air conditioning.
AC is one of the few things we usually require when renting in the tropics. Thankfully, our current apartment is shaded throughout the day, so it stays relatively cool. The various fans are all that is necessary.
Another rarity: we stayed in this same unit a few months ago. We liked the place and the price and Rishikesh so much that we’ve returned for six more weeks.
Take a look at the video below — a quick tour of Kortn’s crib.
Video tour of Rishikesh apartment
We booked our first month-long rental through Airbnb. The $663 we paid was a great price for a three-bedroom, two-bath, apartment with full kitchen, two balconies, TV, WiFi, washing machine — and a quiet location easy walking distance from restaurants and stores, yoga classes, local transport, and the famous Ganges River.
During that February stay, we also hosted my mom, Diane, on her winter vacation from Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The spacious apartment was perfect.
All things considered, we decided to return as we wrap up our eight months of living in India. (We made a one-month ‘visa run’ to Nepal in March.) This time we directly negotiated the rental price even lower with the landlord — we’re now paying under $20 per day!
We appreciate the peace of mind and protections offered by Airbnb. But as we’ve sometimes mentioned on this site, negotiated longer-term discounts are always an option with a trustworthy landlord.
For the record, furnished apartments/studios/rooms – with utilities included – are much more common outside of the U.S. Of course, exact terms are negotiable everywhere. As slow-travelers, we’ve cut deals with landlords in Malaysia, Philippines, and Spain at various times during our global vagabonding.
Finding – and trusting – a foreign landlord is key. Through shorter rentals we’ve gotten to know some good hosts. Reviews on Airbnb and booking dot com are a good place to start. There’s nothing preventing a guest from arranging future accommodation ‘offline’ after completing an initial stay. Joining ex-pat Facebook groups for a particular location is another way to get reliable host references.
We are moving on from India at the end of this month. I’m currently combing Airbnb for the best deals in Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Meanwhile, I’ve noticed our Rishikesh rent has been upped on Airbnb — likely a seasonal adjustment. We would certainly try negotiating with this landlord again should we decide to visit Rishikesh on future trips to India.
As always, be thankful and generous, happy trails & more beer.
Life is NOW!
Thanks for reading and watching, “Kortn’s Crib: Video tour of Rishikesh apartment.”
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We go without travel health insurance, but many of the principles apply to those with coverage.
I can’t recall if you’ve stayed in Türkiye before, but we adored the Caddebostan area of Istanbul and will probably stay there when we return. It’s on the Asian side, so it’s a little more economical, but is still accessible by their train and bus system.