When traveling abroad, accommodation can be a major cost. Monastery stays are a fun and unique way to lower the cost, and can often have more amenities than an average hotel room.
It is also just as easy to book. Many monasteries and abbeys have web sites, and some look similar to any travel site you may be familiar with, such as Orbitz or Expedia. They have a list of amenities, prices, photographs of the rooms and grounds, information of surrounding sights of interest and reviews. Booking can be done online either through e-mail or even with a credit card.
For centuries, Europe's convents and monasteries have provided inexpensive lodging to visitors, though it remained mostly those in the know, as they did not advertise and were not often included in guidebooks.
Now, some are featured in guidebooks, such as the books by Rick Steves, which cover Europe extensively. His books on Italy refer travelers to a web site, Monastery Stays, that provides an overview of the majority of available monasteries and abbeys throughout Italy.
As a result of the increase in popularity, many are booked in peak season. It is now best to book well in advance, especially if the abbey or monastery is centrally located in a tourist heavy area.
Some visitors stay at monasteries for religious reasons, but most are ordinary travelers looking for an alternative to hotels.
"Twenty years ago, nobody was going to monasteries unless they were into religious tourism," Andrea Moretti, a travel consultant at the Italian Government Tourist Board, told the New York Times. She estimates that between one and five percent of Italy's 93 million annual visitors stay in religious lodging, with Americans in particular, being drawn to them.
"Now even if they're not interested in religion, people consider a monastery because they like the pace and feeling," Moretti said.
In addition to all the benefits that a monastery stay provides for travelers, the additional income is often indispensible to the religious orders.
"The income from overnight guests is a necessity," Arnulf Salmen, a spokesman for the Association of Superiors of German Orders, said.
The tradition of religious houses offering accommodation to overnight guests dates back to the sixth century, under the Rule of Saint Benedict, a document that laid out the ways of monastic life. It included a chapter on extending hospitality. Since that time, monasteries have offered shelter to individual travelers and those seeking solace, as well as church groups and organized retreats.
Some religious houses do have rules that do not exist at hotels, such as curfews, which have to be kept in mind if booking.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
