Nadia-Newstead
Traveller
1 comments
Posted 14 years ago
1) Book hostels in advance - it gives you peace of mind that you know you have a bed for the night, also you can book one hostel for the duration of your stay and won't need to move to a different hostel every day of your stay in one place which is what some people we met ended up doing.
2) DON'T book a place based on the pictures you see on the internet and the reviews may not always be that reliable either which is what we found with one hostel that we booked - it wasn't really a hostel at all more like a strange student house run by a very questionable person - we left after one night and we only stayed there at all because we arrived too late to find anywhere else...
3) Take a guide to Europe with you that has the names, addresses and phone numbers of reputable hostels in it so that should you need to find somewhere else you have all the info with you and don't have to trapse across the city with all your luggage just searching for a place. Tourist info are very good at knowing places to stay which are well-known and inhabitable if you don't have a guide
SiDUDe
Traveller
752 comments
My opinion
1) Book your hostel a day in advance, that way you get to remain pretty flexible, but dont turn up somewhere without a place to stay. Internet cafes are pretty cheap, so when you know where youre going, get booking!
2) [ux]https://rail.shop/hostelworld[/ux] is pretty good. Obv if the place only has a couple of reviews it might be not what you expected, or it might just be new!
3) A guide is a pretty useful idea, we never used it for hostels, but for getting an overview of the place, some basic maps, history etc its really good!
roryroryrory
Traveller
39 comments
I found:
1) Location isn't everything. Just because a hostel is in the centre, it doesn't mean it is better than one a couple of streets away.
2) Price isn't everything. A couple of extra euro or pounds or whatever can be worth it just for the atmosphere or comfy beds or whatever.
3) Listen to other backpackers on your journey. If they say a hostel is good, then trust them. They're usually right.
And finally be friendly and talk to everyone. You'll have more fun that way.