Sea Shell Motel & Hostel, Key West, Florida Review

Located about a 5 minute walk to the Southernmost Point, The Sea Shell Motel & Hostel is one of two Hostels in town. I was very disappointed with the cleanliness, room set up, bunk types, security, street noise and price. If I had gotten bed bugs, this would have been the worst hostel I have stayed in yet.

I booked two nights by calling the hostel, the reservation was non refundable unless you call a week in advance to cancel. One bunk was $56 per night, in a room with 9 other bunks, sharing one dirty bathroom. This was more than I spent in San Francisco, New York and Chicago per night.

Check in was through a window, I was given two keys on a key chain with my room and bunk number and the WiFi passcode, a set of sheets, a towel and pointed to my room. They didn't explain what the 2nd key was for or tell me where anything else was. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted on premises, the hot water was lacking and the bunks felt like they would collapse at any moment.

The Motel and Hostel does have standard motel rooms, that run around $150 per night. I got to see a room and it was in the same condition as the dorms, dirty and dark.

If you can avoid it, don't stay at the Sea Shell Motel and Hostel. However, it is a cheap place in town to rest your head.

So Many Options!

Panning a trip with so many options can be stressful! Do I go to beautiful Iceland and swim between the tectonic plates? Or do I take a trip to Tokyo to see the cherry blossoms? Having flight benefits on Delta totally has its perks, but deciding where to go for a weekend or a few month trip takes a lot of thought.

I am currently in a toss up between two trips. Either flying to Tel Aviv, spending a week there and taking a side trip to visit Petra, Jordan then off to Cappadocia, Turkey for some hot air balloon adventures and cave exploring. After getting high, head to Izmir on the west coast of Turkey for a week, and explore the beautiful architecture and delicious Turkish food, then ending up in Istanbul for a week to get lost in the Grand Bazaar Market and visit Europe and Asia in one day.

Or, I could make my way around Ireland. Starting in Dublin making sure to visit all of the pubs and having a pint or seven of some Irish cider. I would make my way to Cork to volunteer at a bake shop for two weeks, learning all I can about baking and of course visiting a few pubs there too. I'd also like to stop at a hostel for a few nights in Limerick and Galway to get a taste of the Irish culture and love. I would then make my way up to Belfast in Northern Ireland to visit Giant's Causeway, have a pint in Crown Bar (dubbed "the most beautiful bar in the world"), and go underground in the Marble Arch Caves.

I have always had "happy feet" and loved to move around and explore new areas, see new things and meet new people. And having flight benefits really enables me to keep my feet dancing. I can book last minute and if one plan doesn't work out, and off to another place because maybe thats where I was meant to be anyways.

Where do you think I should go? My plans are to travel in May and June, returning to Hawaii first week of July. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.