travel advice & savings
 
RAIL PASSES GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES at RAILPASS.COM Click Here
2 replies
Book a private room in hostel?
ejwhite87
ejwhite87's profile picture
Member
MemberMember
Eurotrip Points: 103
Member: 45015
Joined: 02/07/2012
User offline. Last seen 10 years 26 weeks ago.

I heard a few horror stories about staying in dorm style hostels like:

-you have to sleep with your money close to your body because people will try and steal stuff even when your sleeping
-people will break into your locker to steal your stuff
-sometimes the people are weird/old

My friend and I are considering upgrading to private if this is true. We were looking at all F dorms or the private rooms. We are both graduating college students and have lived in dorms so we can adjust easily but we don’t want our stuff stolen!

I am leaving from Los Angeles with $5000 for 22 days
London, Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Prague, Munich, London
I am leaving from RDU with $3500 for 15 days
Dublin, London, Amsterdam, Bruges, Paris, London
I am leaving from RDU with $3000 for 15 days
Venice, Florence, Pisa, San Gimignano, Rome, Sorrento, Sicilì
I am leaving from RDU with $3000 for 22 days
Kraków, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Salzburg, Schwangau, Nuremberg, Prague
I am leaving from RDU with $3000 for 22 days
Kraków, Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Salzburg, Schwangau, Nuremberg, Prague
I am leaving from RDU with $3000 for 24 days
Prague, Nuremberg, Schwangau, Salzburg, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest
I am leaving from Raleigh, NC with $3000 for 14 days
London, Bruges, Amsterdam, Bacharach, Rothenburg ob der Tauber
I am leaving from Raleigh, NC with $3000 for 16 days
Dublin, London, Paris, Cologne, Amsterdam
mim
mim's profile picture
Moderator
ModeratorModeratorModeratorModeratorModerator
Eurotrip Points: 2362
Member: 235
Joined: 01/03/2007
User offline. Last seen 9 years 38 weeks ago.

I’ve been staying in hostels for over 10 years and

1. I always keep my money close by anyway, but nobody has ever tried to steal it from me.
2. Never witnessed or heard first hand of anyone breaking into a locker.
3. Yea sometimes you have weird people at the hostels, but they are outweighed by all of the interesting and amazing people you will become instantly friends with. And some of the most amazing people I have met have been older — like the 60-70’s Kiwi couple travelling the world for a year. Anyway, I am 30 and for the last few years have typically been one of the “older” people at most hostels.

So, long story short, no worries.

I am leaving from New York, NY and traveling for 64 days
Reykjavik, London, Lille, Berlin, Kraków, Lviv, Istanbul, Selçuk, Pamukkale, Kızkalesi, Göreme, Kars, Bat'umi, Akhalts'ikhe, Tbilisi, Telavi, Istanbul

Eurotrip Managing Editor

Ryfela
Ryfela's profile picture
Member
MemberMember
Eurotrip Points: 144
Member: 33395
Joined: 02/02/2011
User offline. Last seen 11 years 26 weeks ago.

As long as I’m comfortable with the locker, I’m comfortable with putting my money, passport, etc in the locker. However, I have a lock with a cutting guard on it, so unless if someone saw me put in my code, I highly doubt anyone’s going to be able to get into the locker. As long as you have a good lock and make sure no one sees you put in your code you will be fine. I find this is better than sleeping with your money because when you’re sleeping it’s technically undisturbed. Finally, keep in mind that some hostels do not have lockers, so make sure you pick ones that do.

And I second mim, everyone you meet in hostels are great, and I found it was easier to meet people in dorm rooms than in the common room or lobby.

I am leaving from Toronto with $12000 for 105 days
Edinburgh, Madrid, London, Segovia, Santiago de Compostela, Toledo, Córdoba, Seville, Granada, Barcelona, Lyon, Nice, Paris, Bruges, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague, Kutná Hora, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Füssen, Venice, Milan, Pisa, Florence, Siena, Rome, Pompei, Naples, Dubrovnik, Split, Zagreb, Budapest, Hunedoara, Sighişoara, Bucharest, Sofia, Plovdiv, Istanbul, Selçuk
I am leaving from Toronto with $2500 for 22 days
Porto, Guimarães, Lisbon, Tomar, Sintra, Evora, Lagos, Seville, Málaga, London
Requesting help with Transport, Hostels, Budget, Itinerary, Nightlife, Food, Sights