Budget Toronto Hotels

Hold onto your wallets, it's gonna get ugly… Finding good-value accommodations in Toronto is the most difficult and expensive part of your trip. Reservations outside of winter are mandatory – decent options are full every night from Victoria Day (around mid-May) to the last vestiges of summer. Booking ahead also limits the sting of wildly fluctuating hotel tariffs – many places charge double or triple the off-peak rates during summer and major festivals. Some hostels, guesthouses and B&Bs don't charge tax, but hotels always do. Check hotel websites for discounts.

Downtown Toronto offers historic hotels, boutique digs and lakefront properties. It can be pricey, but you don't have to spend big to be close to the action. Guesthouses and B&Bs are prolific in eastern Toronto, the Church-Wellesley Village and The Annex. Budget beds are hard to find, but there are some top-quality youth hostels around.

Toronto's thriving B&B industry caters to most budgets. Many B&Bs require a two-night minimum stay. A handy online resource is www.bbcanada.com, with around 100 city listings. Booking agencies are another way to save time and money.