A Reader's Questions Answered

Hi Travelers,

? ? ? Had a question from a reader who wanted to understand more about hostels, especially those for elders, and how feasible it might be to plan a European trip around them. I started out to answer the email, then decided there may be others who'd like a bit of a "refresher course" on this subject.

So here's my email-turned-post on the subject.

I'm not an expert, but I'll try to answer your questions.

As I'm sure you know, hostels started out as youth hostels and catered mainly to traveling students. They offered large dormitory-style rooms and there were a great many rules, age limits, curfews, and a long part of the day when you couldn't be in the hostel (lock-out time).

All that has changed, and there are only a few countries where hostels are limited to youth. Now almost all hostels are open to adults of all ages and some allow children, so whole families can use them.

Rooms have changed greatly and while hostels still include dormitories (which may be male, female or mixed rooms), these dorms generally have fewer beds to a room, and many hostels now have private and semi-private rooms, some with bathrooms in the room (ensuite) and some with shared bathrooms. Some have actual apartment units.

As a rule, there are kitchens that guests may use, lockers or locked rooms where things may be stored, no lock-out times or curfews, and various recreational facilities. Instead of the old fashioned "warden," modern hostel owners and staff are, by and large, friendly, helpful people who can offer all kinds of information and tips.

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Now, as to "elder" hostels, there really aren't any that I know of per se. You have probably heard of "Elderhostel," but that is actually an organization that arranges full-service trips for seniors that usually include educational components. These trips are excellent, but too expensive for many people, and they are very structured. Here's a link to their website if you'd like more information about it.

But most hostels simply now include adults of all ages. Some are more friendly to seniors than others with more small or private rooms, elevators and wheelchair-friendly accesses, and quieter atmospheres. The best hostels for seniors have good public transportation or parking areas nearby as walking is often a concern.

BTW, there are definitely hostels out there that are known as "party hostels" which would most likely not be of interest to the mature traveler!

Modern hostels are still inexpensive compared to hotels, (and many seem more like small hotels) and the over-50s travelers who want to see the world and meet lots of different people while holding to a small budget, can find hostel accomodations very suitable.

People who are used to luxury travel, however, must realize that hosteling is not luxury travel. It's simple but adequate, clean, inexpensive and fun. And there are hostels all over the world--in an amazing array of different buildings and styles, often with fascinating histories, making them much more interesting than ordinary motels.

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The best way to find out if there are hostels you would like to visit in the places you want to go is to explore them through the link on the left sidebar of my site. Just put a city, a country or a hostel name in the search line and click. Each result gives you loads of information about the individual hostel, its rates and what it has to offer.

Some have their own websites you can visit to learn even more. Others are part of a type of chain, in that the owners have other hostels in other cities, as well. They won't be all alike, but the management should be consistent.

My reader's query asked about taking a trip that includes parts of Germany, Italy and the Greek Isles. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? In fact the resources to explore the hostel possibilites are all right there in that search panel. For instance I found:

The Sunshine Apartments (private double ensuite $39.65/person/night) in Baden Baden in the Black Forest Region of Germany



and the Summer Lodge in Maleme ($20.51/person/night) on Crete in
the Greek Isles.






And check out Rome just two posts down. These are just quickly-found examples from my search panel. You can research a lot more in the full search results.

If you'd like a bookful of European hostels with first person reviews, scroll down the page to my Resources post or click here for Paul Karr's great book on hostels in European Cities. Why not use the Amazon search panel in my Resources post to find books on Greece that include hostels?

I hope I've given you a start to discovering how hostels might be just the ticket for your next great trip!

Happy traveling!

Kristi

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