Staying in Hostels

loadsacash

Have you looked at Airbnb?

mgdavid

The penny has just dropped that we should have known all along the UK YHA is irrelevant to the OP, after all this is the Overseas Holidays & Travel planning board.
Doh!

Chlorine7

loadsacash wrote: »

Have you looked at Airbnb?

I have looked at Airbnb but that would be the same as staying in a hotel as it would still be my own accommodation with no one around.

PompeyPete

Chlorine7 wrote: »

I have looked at Airbnb but that would be the same as staying in a hotel as it would still be my own accommodation with no one around.

Airbnb come in all shapes and sizes, and offer from the bare minimum to the deluxe. We stayed with a family in Kathmandu for a week. We had our own room, and shared a bathtoom with 2 other guestrooms.

We all ate dinner with the family [3 generations] in the evening, and if we wanted to we joined the family for a natter afterwards. One of best stays ever, humbling, culturally enriching, and very inexpensive.

In Bali the place we stayed at an Airbnb which was very much like a typical hostel.

Out of the 7 hostels [not Airbnb] we recently stayed at in Nicaragua, they were all completely different experiences. At 5 we had a private room and bathroom, at 2 we shared a bathroom. Some incude breakfast, some don't, some have a communal kitchen, some don't.

At one hostel we stayed for 7 nights, with a 2 night break at a lakeside Hostel after the first 3 nights. Each night was different as people came and went all the time. Sometimes it was quiet, sometimes we wished we were elsewhere.

So there isn't really a standard template [see #7], which is why homework is important.

Chlorine7

PompeyPete wrote: »

Airbnb come in all shapes and sizes. We stayed with a family in Kathmandu for a week. We had our own room, and shared a bathtoom with 2 other guestrooms.

We all ate dinner with the family [3 generations] in the evening, and if we wanted to we joined the family for a natter afterwards. One of best stays ever, humbling, culturally enriching, and very inexpensive.

In Bali the place we stayed at an Airbnb which was very much like a typical hostel.

Out of the 7 hostels [not Airbnb] we recently stayed at in Nicaragua, they were all completely different experiences. At 5 we had a private room and bathroom, at 2 we shared a bathroom. Some incude breakfast, some don't, some have a communal kitchen, some don't.

At one hostel we stayed for 7 nights, with a 2 night break at a lakeside Hostel after the first 3 nights. Each night was different as people came and went all the time. Sometimes it was quiet, sometimes we wished we were elsewhere.

So there isn't really a standard template [see #7], which is why homework is important.

The keyword here is 'we'. I've stayed in hostels as a we and it was not really any different to a hotel other than owners gvie great recommendations for food and the shower was shared. I'm more interested in the solo stays/experiences of sharing rooms, meeting people and using facilities. Esp more so if you're not the confident type.

I'm sure someone will find this useful though.

I'm well aware of the types of airbnb. I would not be using airbnb to stay in someone's place as a solo female. Or at least, not at the moment.

As I've said before I always do my homework, this thread being a part of that.

PompeyPete

Have a look at...

http://www.girlabouttheglobe.com/first-time-solo/

...and perhaps join the GatG Facebook community

pogofish

mgdavid wrote: »

do you know if this applies worldwide, as the OP didn't give any detail behind the question, and the thread seems to have proceeded to a point where the assumption is made that it's about YHA in Britain.

It was largely dispensed with by the last time I was hosteling abroad - The UK assocs were IME amongst the last YHAs to insist on them but sheet bags are a convenient lightweight thing to pack, esp if you are somewhere warm where a full-on sleeping bag would be rather uncomfortable, so I kept using mine.

The YHA experience is valid IMO as they do (or did) broadly adhere to the code adopted by the various international hostel associations, so experience here will be a reasonable basic introduction to the OP. Independents can be much more variable of course.

Maybe the best thing the OP could do is book a weekend at a couple of UK hostels before they go? That would give them the best intro of all!

pogofish

Chlorine7 wrote: »

Definitely not my idea of a hostel. I'm looking for travelling/holiday and meeting people and those experiences, etiquette & usage. Not cycling to the middle of nowhere and washing with a jug of water.

Sheep wandering in, I'm cool with.

The thing is, small remote basic hostels like that are amongst the very best and IME by far the most social/friendly and great for meeting people of all hostels.

Its the bigest city hostels that cater substantially for touring groups that can be the worst as everyone tends to stick to their own clique and not spend enough time in one place to meet anyone else but these should not be overlooked for economy alone and as there are often still enough independent minded people staying there who do appreciate the value of meeting others. Then there are a wealth of mid sized and independent hostels that manage to combine the best of both worlds - good facilities in great places with good people who embody all the traditional values of hosteling

SallyD

I have,as a solo mature traveller stayed in many hostels in UK and Europe. I have always felt safe and enjoyed the company of fellow travellers of all ages and nationalities. The YHA opened up a new chapter in my life. Often there are some dorms for "over 30s". I have never stayed in a mixed dorm but would give it a go if no alternative accommodation was available. I appreciate self catering kitchens and most European hostels include breakfast.

I have stayed in an Airbnp apartment in Vienna when I met up with Australian friends and the cost equated to what we would have paid for hostel beds. I am not so sure whether I would want to book via Airbnp a bed in a shared house on my own. The YWCA is also an excellent choice for solo's. I would recommend the YWCA in Rome.