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In England, hostels are a key way to save money while enjoying a few weeks in London or Brighton. With the ever-strengthening British pound kicking the American dollar around the international market like a soccer ball, it's natural to want to save every penny for seeing the sights around the country.

England's hostels are great way to do that. The population of the country allows for easy transportation from sight to sight and the density of the attractions means that you're never far from what you want to see next. Consider: you can see Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, Oxford, Cambridge and Canterbury without ever having to pack your bags and move to different accommodations. Each sight is just a short train ride away.

Hostels in England are of course situated in large urban centers like London, but they can also be booked for stays outside of the city and even in the countryside if you are looking for a way to get away from the city. Rural hostels sometimes fluctuate in availability, however, so a city hostel can be a better bet. Booking ahead of time in the city ensures that you will have a place to stay within easy travel of your next adventure.

Also, England's round-the-clock club and bar scene means that hostels run 24 hours a day and there is no curfew or wake-up time for guests. Don't oversleep too much though or, like a hotel, you may be automatically checked in for another night.

Some hostels in England are beginning to compete with hotels by offering lower prices on private rooms with shared bathrooms and showers. The entire hostel industry is beginning to sway in this direction—the middle ground between a hotel room and a cavernous barracks-style building—and soon hostels may overtake hotels as the preferred lodging of the common traveler.

Hostels in England start around 15 British pounds for one person, but the average is more like 25. At two pounds to the dollar right now, the average American wallet might be a little light and you'll have little choice but to rest your eyes in a hostel.

England's tourist season lasts nearly all year round, the wet winters offering an almost Dickensian experience of the city that can be exactly what is desired of the city that is represented so bleakly in much of Britain's literature.

England's hostels surround the sights that drive the tourism industry, most of which are located within a few miles of each other in downtown London. Their central location allows for travelers to see a maximum number of sights, although with so many centrally located attractions in such a large city (London is over 600 square miles compared to New York's 350) it may be the case that after a week of sight seeing, you really haven't seen the city yet.