Our Top Five Airbnb Stays In Europe

We spent four glorious months travelling through 12 countries in Europe. It seems like a lot doesn’t it? Believe it or not, it’s only 24% of European countries.  As most of our stays were through Airbnb, I thought it appropriate to get a list of our favourite places together.

1. Hope Barn – Fowey, Cornwall

Where to begin? This was by far our favourite place. I was a little nervous considering Hope Barn. It was the first time we were renting a “private room” rather than the whole place. I didn’t know what to expect. Would it be awkward? Are we going to be stuck in our room the whole time?  But from the minute we arrived, we felt at home. Victoria and Andrew are fantastic hosts and oh the scones she makes! Best we ever had 😉

Kasm hit it off with the boys, Barnaby, Rory and Monty right away and loved playing with Polly the dog and Moon Cat!

Let’s not forget the chickens! Every morning while enjoying the fabulous breakfast Victoria laid out for us, we got to enjoy  “live chicken entertainment”. You’d be surprised how mesmerising they can be!

You can check the post about our stay in Fowey and I bet that’ll convince you to visit Hope Barn. I guarantee you will love it as much as we did!

2. Georgian Room – Oxford, England

This place was a very last minute reservation. We were only spending a day in Oxford and had booked a hotel but two days before arrival, our hotel cancelled our reservation and we had to scramble to find something quick. I came across this place on Airbnb. One word to describe the accommodations, Museum! This place was a feast for the eyes. Everywhere you looked there was something that made you go “WOW”. Our room was comfortable and the place was just a few minutes away from the University. We had access to most of the house and felt very comfortable. If you are visiting Oxford, definitely check this place out.

3. Casa Rurale – Siena, Italy

Oh, how we loved Italy ! And what a welcome we had at our Airbnb in Siena. We took an overnight ferry from Croatia and then three trains so you can imagine how exhausted we were. Due to the short transfer times between trains, I wasn’t able to get in touch with our hosts and had to find our way to the apartment on our own. It’s a bit (ok a lot) of a hike uphill and as we arrived, they were sitting by the front door looking a little concerned. They had planned on picking us up from the train station. Paula just couldn’t believe we walked! We heard the expression “Mamma Mia!” a few times 😉

We had our own apartment on their property. It was a very well-equipped one-bedroom place. They had a welcome basket filled with Pasta, Cookies, Bread, Wine… Just wow!

We asked about the grocery store as we needed to get some food before settling into our place and they offered to bring us to the store. Really?! No argument there. But not only did they drive us to the grocery store, they came in with us and helped find everything we needed.  I was about to get some tomatoes but then Paula told me she has some for me already. Once we got back, she brought us fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini from her garden. Can she possibly spoil us more?

Throughout our stay, we got more fresh fruits and vegetables, got fed some delicious cake and all and all treated fantastically. And I can’t forget to mention how they saved us from a near disaster when they rushed to the train station with my purse as we were about to leave!! I left my purse in the apartment and didn’t even notice it was missing when we were waiting to catch the train to Bologna. Antonio was so relieved when he handed over my purse to Bruce. I’m only sorry I wasn’t there at the moment to thank him for it.

So in conclusion, if you can handle a little bit of “walking”, you should definitely stay here when visiting Siena.

4. Casa Verde – Rioja, Spain

Spain was fantastic. We spent two weeks driving along the northern coast to Santiago de Compostella and back towards Rioja. We loved Rioja so much that it deserved its own post. That was definitely partly due to the awesome bed and breakfast we stayed at. I found Casa Verde on Airbnb but for some reason wasn’t able to complete the booking through the site but no fret as they have their own website.  The house is owned by a Canadian/Spanish family who are currently abroad teaching English and the place is being taken care of by family members, Pilar and Andrew. Casa Verde is nestled in a gorgeous chasm in Rioja with an incredible mountainous rock as a background. It’s one of the most serene places we’ve spent time in so far. Pilar was the perfect hostess and went above and beyond making sure we had the perfect stay. If you are visiting Rioja, this is a must-stay place. Make sure you spend some time with Pilar so she can give you some ideas of what to do and spend a night in having dinner at Casa Verde. Andrew is a great cook!

5. Traditional Basque Farmhouse – Elortza, Spain

This place, hands down wins the “most interesting” award. We found out about it through an English couple we met in San Sebastian. Since our road trip plans were open, we decided to give it a try and am I ever glad we did. This was our last stop during our Spanish trip. The Airbnb is run by Phil, an expat Scotsman. One of the most generous hosts we’ve come across. Not only did he share his home with us, he cooked all our meals, and took us on a forest trek with his awesome donkeys to “his cave”. And some cave that was! Do you want off-the-beaten-path? Look no further, this is definitely the place.

There were so many amazing places we stayed at and it wasn’t easy choosing just five. But these were definitely our top favorites!