Does anyone stay in hostels when they travel?

[karinothing]

I don't, because I am kind of snobby about my accomodations lol. Plus, I think I am too old now. Isn't there an age cut off?

ETA: I do think it is really cool that you can meet a bunch of people. I try to stay at smaller places like bed and breakfasts so that I can have that same experience.

[mbcdefg]

I'd be willing to try it at least once, but MH is not on board.

[mrshabious]

After college I traveled though Europe and stayed at hostels. It was great until I got bed bugs. I won't do it again. There are loads of other ways i can meet people.

[Deleted]

Jan 7, 2013 10:28:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I don't, because I am kind of snobby about my accomodations lol. Plus, I think I am too old now. Isn't there an age cut off?

:Y: :Y: I refuse to share a bathroom with anyone but DH when I travel. I do wish I'd taken advantage of opportunity to travel internationally more when I was younger, poorer, and far less snobby.

[Deleted]

I have a lot, especially when I was travelling with girl friends rather than DH. Met interesting people, did some really fun stuff, and really enjoyed the vast majority of them.

Now that I'm old, I kind of enjoy a private bathroom and my own light switch, though.

[raangoli]

Jan 7, 2013 10:28:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I don't, because I am kind of snobby about my accomodations lol.

This is pretty much my reason as well. I love to find awesome hotels for vacation, that's part of the fun for me.

ETA: I don't think either MH or I would be down for staying in a hostel. He'd probably think that I had lost my mind if I suggested it.

[SJ]

I am so glad you enjoyed it! I could see your bubbly personality being a great fit to make friends and companions this way.

I have done quite a bit of hostel traveling. Even did the dorm-style ones.

From time to time, DH and I will go with a hostel when overseas, but we always get a private room & bath.

[Deleted]

Jan 7, 2013 10:31:36 GMT -5 raangoli said:

Jan 7, 2013 10:28:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I don't, because I am kind of snobby about my accomodations lol.

This is pretty much my reason as well. I love to find awesome hotels for vacation, that's part of the fun for me.

ETA: I don't think either MH or I would be down for staying in a hostel. He'd probably think that I had lost my mind if I suggested it.

Yup -- for me one of the great pleasures of travel is staying at awesome hotels. I anxiously await the arrival of my Conde Nast Traveler Gold List issue each year So I don't think hostels would be for me.

[Awkward]

I've stayed in hostels in Montreal and Cape Cod. I think they're a great option if you're traveling alone and on a budget, especially if you're a people person. There was everyone from teens up to retirees. You should definitely give them a shot!

The only fun story I have is from the stay on Cape Cod. My friend and I were playing a game of scrabble on a picnic table and were joined by a single middle aged man who offered us pot if we let him play. We let him play but didn't take what was offered. He whispered to me it was obvious I had studied foreign languages by the way I played Scrabble, lol.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using proboards

[sillygoosegirl]

We stay in hostels a lot. Often you can get a private room and private bath. And unless we are hanging out in the lounge swapping stories with other travelers, or cooking our own food, we typically don't spend much time wherever we are staying anyway. In Europe, there are tons of hostels offering 4 bed coed dorms, which isn't too bad when traveling as a couple--we're not stuck in different rooms wondering if the other is up yet, and only 1 or 2 strangers are there with us. We can afford to travel more traveling this way, and if we are away for a long time, we really enjoy the cooking and the socialization with people other than one another.

Most hostels do not have an age cutoff. I grew up staying in hostels with my parents. They are 60 and 65 and still regularly stay in hostels. We're 30/31 and don't plan on stopping... Though we do mix it up with other types of accommodations, and always have.

[mx27]

i've stayed in hostels in europe (i was in my mid-twenties).

hostels aren't my traveling style anymore.

[jigsy]

On my recent trip to Costa Rica, we stayed in 2 hostels. I like it for the same reasons you listed. You get to meet really awesome people.
The first one we stayed at was in a surf town, and was pretty bare bones...but the second we stayed at was like a hotel (we had a private room). There was a pool, and this great little bar right in the courtyard. Plus we could get discounts on all the adventures we wanted to take through the hostel. We got tickets to the local hot spring resort for $25, usually they are $60!

[marylou]

I've stayed in a hostel before. I'm way too private, I did not like it at all.

[Deleted]

Not now...I feel too old now anyway. But I backpacked Europe alone & with friends & stayed in hostels all over. Mostly Youth Hostels (under 26yrs) & it was usually fun.

[birdmom]

My parents stayed in one in Australia (they are in their mid fifties). The room was tiny, but they had their own bathroom. They hardly spent any time there, so it was no big deal that the room was so small.

They went to visit my sister who was studying abroad. Originally, they thought they would be able to stay with her while they were there. Because of her roommate situation, they couldn't. Hotels were very expensive in the area, so they checked into staying in a hostel, and they found the one that they ended up staying at, which was very clean and inexpensive. My mom enjoyed the experience, but I'm not so sure my dad did. My mom is more adventuresome, my dad is more of a snob...lol.

[hbomdiggity]

Jan 7, 2013 10:31:03 GMT -5 @carmensandiego said:

Jan 7, 2013 10:28:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I don't, because I am kind of snobby about my accomodations lol. Plus, I think I am too old now. Isn't there an age cut off?

I refuse to share a bathroom with anyone but DH when I travel. I do wish I'd taken advantage of opportunity to travel internationally more when I was younger, poorer, and far less snobby.

Same here. At this point, I don't want to share a bathroom and more likely to want some more luxurious than utilitarian.

We did stay a few nights at a b&b type place during our trip to New Zealand and it was nice. We stayed up drinking wine with a small group of Aussies.

[kateross]

It's a fun way to travel when you're single and young. I did it with a GF when I was 33. We met people from Australia, Europe, etc. I got to flirt with one boy who was staying there at the same time.

We stayed in a 4 (2 bunk beds) room with 2 other females. It was a shared shower. But the shower is huge, like gym-size with several stalls, so it's nbd, really.

It had a library, a large kitchen to eat at, etc. You have a locker in your room.

My only con really was the location (it was close to a large University, and far from the main part of town).

My cousin in law manages a hostel. It looks like fun since they make breakfast/lunch together, etc.

If I was younger and not married, I'd do it.

[annael415]

I'm trying to plan a trip right now to Ireland and hadn't considered a hostel, but after this thread I'm looking at some. If it says twin private, do you think that's one twin or two? A friend and I are traveling together and I prefer the idea of having a private room as opposed to the dorm style.

[lahoagie]

For a lot of our travelling we stay in a tent. We have tented through Iceland, Australia, and Namibia (which I highly suggest because they have a lot of nice camp sites in Namibia). We will not be camping in our upcoming trip to Borneo because it is just too hot.

I am open to staying in hostels. We stayed in a couple in Iceland when we needed a break from the tent (it rained the whole time we were there). I like them and we got to meet a bunch of nice people.

Glad you had a great trip and I can't wait to read your blog.

[Bob Loblaw]

The last time I stayed in a hostel I was woken up by people having sex a few beds away, at which point I decided I was over hostels.

[kateross]

Jan 7, 2013 10:41:19 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

Jan 7, 2013 10:39:27 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Yeah I like the b&b idea like Kari suggested also.

I wasn't going to do a post about my trip, but maybe if people are interested I can be an AW lol.

However, I am definitely going to blog about it. I did 1 very short blog post yesterday, but plan to do each location (hopefully) over the next 2 weeks. Just need to get all my pics organized.

I am sure plenty of people would like you to AW here! I am a bad blog reader so unless you remind me to check that I won't remember.

I would love to read your blog!

[emilyinchile]

There is some hostel stereotyping in here. Back in the day there were age cut-off, only dorm rooms, curfews, etc. Some are still like that, but I've never stayed anywhere like that. There are a lot of hostels that are basically just less expensive hotels where people mingle in common spaces.

I've stayed in a bunch of hostels primarily in Latin America but also in Europe. I think I'm pretty much over dorm rooms and shared bathrooms (although I wouldn't say never again, since sometimes you just need the cheapest option), but it can be nice especially when you're traveling solo to have the option to talk to other people even if you spring for a private room with private bathroom. I don't usually choose to cook on vacation, but if you're traveling longer term that can be another plus.

[jigsy]

Jan 7, 2013 11:16:31 GMT -5 annael415 said:

I'm trying to plan a trip right now to Ireland and hadn't considered a hostel, but after this thread I'm looking at some. If it says twin private, do you think that's one twin or two? A friend and I are traveling together and I prefer the idea of having a private room as opposed to the dorm style.

It is probably just one...In my experience, they will say how many beds per room. So Mixed 8-bed, Private 2-bed...

[cookiemonster]

I've stayed in hostels on a couple trips: once on a trip with friends when we were young and broke, and once when I was older and could have afforded better but I was traveling alone, so I wanted to force myself to meet people. It was fun, I hung out with people I probably wouldn't have otherwise (I can be pretty shy).

I haven't stayed in hostels when traveling with H, but I wouldn't be opposed to it in the future. There was definitely a wide assortment of people and rooming options in the hostels I stayed in - young, old, and even a family with a baby. I'd get a private room in the future though.

[Deleted]

I did in college. If I was single, I would.

[jigsy]

Funny story about shared vs. private rooms in hostels...

On our recent trip, we had a friend with us. He is a young, attractive, single guy and pretty much had his pick of the ladies in the first hostel we stayed at. We had hung out the first night with a group of girls the the Netherlands, and they were basically waiting to see which one of them he would choose to pursue. They were in the same room as us.
the second night a new girl from Sweden came. She also showed interest in our friend, and she had a private room. He pursued her when we went out that night.
In talking to the other girls at the bar that night, they all said they realized it was a lost cause once the new girl with her private room showed up.

So the lesson---you want to hook up, get a private

[runblondie26]

Jan 7, 2013 10:28:41 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I don't, because I am kind of snobby about my accomodations lol. Plus, I think I am too old now. Isn't there an age cut off?

ETA: I do think it is really cool that you can meet a bunch of people. I try to stay at smaller places like bed and breakfasts so that I can have that same experience.

Lol, same here. We usually don't plan our lodging out in advance when we travel, and have done hostels a few times out of last resort when we need a place to stay.

In the past couple years we've really felt the shift....we feel old compared to all the other "kids" hanging out. They're talking about what classes they'll be taking next semester, etc. and we're just side eyeing each other like, "when did we get old?"

I agree...the bed and breakfast places are more our taste now.

[mollybrown]

I tried it in my early twenties when we travelled Europe. It sounded like a good idea until one of our roomates had a crazy stalker guy that she invited over try to break down the door in the middle of the night. And, there was a toilet in the shower. We switched to bed and breakfasts from then on.

My H would definitely not be on board.

[liveintheville]

Yep. Many times when I was younger. At 25 I did a cross country road trip with a friend and that was primarily hostels. Plus several in NYC and Chicago while in college.
Now, I'm too old to share a room, share a bathroom, and to bring my own bedding. I book the fanciest hotel I can afford or have points for.
But seriously, I think everyone should do a road trip at some point. My friend was from Ireland and it was hysterical traveling with him. He had no concept of the distance we were driving or size of the states or of wild animals. He'd be reading guide books and we'd stop at a national park and he'd be freaked about bears even though it was off season. He was like, "I"m from county Cork! There are only sheep there! We're going to eaten!"

[heliocentric]

Nothing about a hostel appeals to me. I don't even really care for B&Bs. I like my accommodations to be the place I get away from people, not the reverse.