This piece is excepted from Arthur Frommer’s newest guidebook, “Ask Arthur Frommer” (Wiley, $19.99). This book is not a guide to a specific city or region but to the evolving world of travel. Arthur has a unique perspective on the changes that have take place over the past 50 years and he has developed plenty of his favorites techniques from finding great food to saving on hotels. This book is packed with everything from airfares and lodging to vacations for nudist and vegans. His advice touches on every part of the planet.
By Arthur Frommer
Most travelers who haven’t peeked into a hostel in 10 or 15 years probably harbor a lingering image of the “youth hostels” of yesteryear: dreary institutional structures featuring cavernous dorm rooms of 50 or more beds, ridiculously early curfews, midday lockout periods and lamentable locations on the outskirts of town.
The good news is that hostels have dropped the “youth” requirement and are now used by everyone from traveling families with young children to peripatetic grandparents on quirky retirement trips. Though you still get a bunk in a shared room, most of those rooms now average four to six beds each; a few are doubles and triples; and many have bathrooms “ensuite” (with private baths) rather than down the hall. Prices average €16 to €22 per bed, a bit more for a private room sleeping two to three people.
In addition to the older hostels affiliated with Hostelling International most European cities also now feature a score of private hostels, often with excellent locations in the historic center or near the rail stations; frequently with laundry rooms, cheap (or free) Internet stations, dining rooms and in-house pubs or discos; and few, if any, of those old school-marm rules (which do, unfortunately, survive at most HI-affiliated hostels).
But be warned that even if they have dropped “youth” from the name, hostels still tend to draw a youthful backpacker crowd, which means a convivial atmosphere that can often verge on one big party — wonderful if that’s what you came for, not so great if you expected to get any sleep before the thumping beat from the basement disco ceases at 3 a.m.
There is an official HI site (www.hihostels.com), but you want to peruse private hostels alongside HI-affiliated ones you’ll find far better resources at the independent site www.hostels.com, www.hostels.net, www.hostelbookers.com, and www.europehostels.our, of which the last named includes a primer on hostel travel and direct links to hostelling sites in 34 European countries.
Here is an introduction to the book from Arthur Frommer himself:
