Guide for Finding Low-Cost Rooms

Details on 120 low-cost lodging facilities in North America and abroad are given in a free brochure called “The Y’s Way International.”

This is one of several services that the Greater New York YMCA offers young travelers. These include a student welcome desk at Kennedy International Airport and a reservation service for groups or individual travelers who want lodging or budget-priced land packages in North America or abroad.

The brochure lists lodging centers in 58 North American cities and 24 countries overseas. Most of them welcome both men and women. Rates for single and twin rooms, taxes, meal service and sport facilities are indicated.

You can use a coupon in the brochure to make reservations at any of the Ys listed but you will have to pay a fee of $3 for each North American location and $5 per center for foreign reservations.

Reserve First Night

It’s a good idea to have a reservation for your first night when you are tired from a long flight, but after that you may want to carry the brochure with addresses and phone numbers and make your arrangements as you go, shopping for the best arrangement.

This year, groups and individuals also can make reservations for a variety of economical foreign land packages through the Y’s Way office. The programs are organized by nonprofit youth and student travel services in 11 countries including Denmark, England, Norway and Switzerland.

For example, individual travelers who want to visit China could arrange through the Y’s Way New York office to join a program offered by the Hong Kong Student Travel Bureau. For $54 you get train transportation from Hong Kong to Shenzhen, lunch and a one-month visa. For $75 the train trip is extended to Guangzhou and one night’s accommodation is added.

In Amsterdam a three-day do-it-yourself program costs $60 per person. It includes two nights’ lodging in a tourist-class hotel (two in a room), breakfasts, a canal cruise, a half-day sightseeing tour, service and taxes.

Lodging at Farms

Travelers to Ireland could arrange a 15-day transportation pass, 14 nights’ lodging in farm or guest houses with full breakfasts for about $338. Two on tighter funds could get the same transportation pass, a two-person tent and one night of bed-and-breakfast lodging for $188 each.

Y’s Way International also offers budget do-it-yourself packages incorporating lodging, some meals and sightseeing in New York, New Orleans, Hollywood and Seattle. Programs range from three to eight days.

A four-day New York package includes three nights’ lodging, three breakfasts and two dinners at the Y restaurant, one dinner in Chinatown, a Circle Line boat tour, a 6 1/2-hour city tour and a visit to the New York Experience (a one-hour multimedia presentation). The cost is $135 per person, single occupancy, or $115 per person double.

For details on these programs and a free copy of the Y’s Way International brochure, write to Y’S Way, 356 West 34th St., New York 10001. Include a self-addressed No. 10 envelope.