Generation Hostel
How can you travel worldwide without a lot of money for hotels? The new generation has the answer: hostels!
Copyright Thomas Alboth
A night at a hostel is sometimes eight times cheaper than at a hotel. The average price in Europe is around 15 euro per day. The biggest difference between hotels and hostels is that at a hostel you rent just a bed, not a room. You often stay in rooms where there are 4, 8 or 12 bunk beds.
“I’ve been in the army for 2 years and now I have to chill out, so I’m travelling through Europe”, says Chen Winter (21) from Israel who next week will start her job as a librarian. She is actually staying in Scotland at the moment, where she is already in her seventh hostel. “I don’t have enough money for the Ritz, but I want to travel so I just have one option: a hostel”, she laughs.
Hostels offer more integration programmes than hotels. The Budget Backpackers hostel in Edinburgh, where Chen has spent 2 days, organises daily free city tours for their customers and social evenings at a traditional Scottish pub in the city centre.
Strangers
“The biggest problem with hostels is that it may happen that you have to share a room with strangers” – says Ilaria (21), a student from Toscana who stayed at hostels in Italy, Norway and Portugal. She had just one bad experience at a hostel she visited in Rome. “That was really horrible. I was in a room with Mexican boys who didn’t take a shower and they left their socks on the floor.” Ilaria usually chooses hostels when she wants to save money. “The quality differs from country to country and from hostel to hostel, but in general I was really happy with hostels.”
Be careful
Of course security can sometimes be a problem. Damiano, a 27-year-old PhD student from Bologna, has been staying at hostels for seven years. He has been in Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, US and in Portugal where he was a victim of theft. “Somebody has stolen my camera, digital recorder, glasses and electric shaver. When the police came, I was told to go to the police station but they said that there was nothing they could do about it..”
Life style
“Hostels are not just a means of shelter, they’re a life style”, says Ania (24), a student from Poland. She has stayed in many hostels throughout Europe and met a lot of open, friendly and “crazy” people who don’t worry about the hostel’s condition or size. Her favourite hostel is located in the Latvian capital of Riga. “I met a guy there who is only responsible for the atmosphere at the hostel. He is talking with everybody and making you feel like home.”
The most famous hostel portals
www.hostelsworld.com
www.hostelsbookers.com
www.hostels.com
www.hostelz.com
Marcin Antosiewicz
