Hostels, Hostels, Hostels

Ah, the hostel. If you plan on traveling during your time abroad, hostels will most likely become your best friend. Unless you’ve already experienced staying in hostels, you may have some connotations in regards to them: sites of horror movies, places frequented by backpackers with questionable hygiene, and so on. While you might find some of these stereotypical travelers in them, hostels are frequently used by younger people like you who are taking a trip while studying abroad. Hostels are also the cheapest option for those on a budget and who are planning to visit a lot of places. If you only plan on taking a couple trips during your stay in the UK, you might want to look into more traditional, nicer hotels. But for those who intend to see a lot of places, or those who just want to get the experience, should look into hostels.

The most important thing to remember when using hostels is to do your research. A good and popular site to use is Hostelworld.com. There, you can search for hostels (and hotels and guided tours, among other things) by criteria such as city, open booking dates, price range, and number of people in your party. As with any other travel booking site, pictures of the places are posted. Probably the most useful aspect of Hostelworld.com is that you can read user reviews and ratings. These are essential in getting a feel for a hostel, as you can read about how secure other travelers felt when staying at the location, its proximity to landmarks and transportation, and the amenities it provides like free breakfast. (The breakfasts aren’t fancy, but what student doesn’t like free stuff? Plus, a breakfast provided by the hostel will let you spend more on meals later in the day.) Once you’ve found one that suits your needs, it’s easy to book through the site. I never had a problem with reservations made through the site, but I always printed out the booking confirmation number just in case.

Other things to remember when using hostels:

Be aware of who you are traveling with and how many people (i.e., strangers) with whom you are comfortable sharing a room. Is your group large enough that you rather get a private room together? Are you traveling alone or in a pair and open to having roommates? Adjust your room preferences accordingly. Hostels have rooms ranging from private (housing about four people) to large dorms, depending on the size of the hostel and layout. Dorms are the cheapest room options and provide a way of meeting new friends, but there is a greater chance of being grouped with people you might have concerns about. This is rare, but it can happen; a friend and I only once had to ask to change rooms. In terms of security, if you have personal items you don’t feel comfortable leaving in the room, most hostels have a safe behind the service desk or lockers where you can stash important items.

Be open to surprises. Reviews and pictures can only reveal so much. I had some surprises while traveling, none of them expected but none of them posing a huge problem either. For instance, a friend and I had picked a hostel in northern England to spend the night at that had good reviews and was newly upgraded. It turned out to be very nice: still smelled of new wood and the mattresses weren’t sunken-in in the middle yet. After a long day of traveling, I wanted to shower before bed. Upon entering the women’s bathroom, I found that the shower curtains were completely clear. As in: These shower curtains are only here to stop water from spilling out on the floor, not for privacy. Not one for communal showers, I ending up waiting out the day until I got back to my own flat and private bathroom. That’s something I wouldn’t have found out from reading reviews, unless someone specifically wanted to write about it. I also walked in on what seemed like a makeshift hair salon in a different hostel once. One girl was sitting in a chair with a smock on getting her hair cut by another girl right in the middle of the bathroom. Interesting, to say the least.

-L.