I have stayed in dozens of mixed dorm hostels and as a woman have never had any problems. Yeah I have awoken to a puking fatguy 2 feet away from me over a thrash can in his undies….but thats about the most disturbing thing I’ve encountered

Just give careful thought about whether it will bother you to undress in the dorm with several guys in the room and what your sense of personal modesty is. You can work around it, but it’s a slight hassle. For example, in order to change into my nightgown, I’d have to get it out of my luggage and head down to the bathroom with it. Plus, you might have to wear more at night than you would otherwise. Obviously it’s a personal decision and lots of women have no problem undressing in such a situation.

I would never have even given the undressing thing a thought- I mean mixed dorm or not, I would always change in the bathroom……its not that much of a hassle. I change when I shower in the morning, and change into my pj’s last thing at night when I use the bathroom. I figure you’re going into those rooms anyway, why not just take your clothes and do a quick change, instead of going into the bathroom, then coming all the way back and worrying about changing infront of others.

By all means, if it doesn’t bother you, good on you. (and no I don’t change in the bathroom for modesty issues, its not about my "bits", its about my scarring from an accident many years ago, and I just don’t want to have to answer stranger’s questions and keep talking about it, or notice them look, but suddenly look away when they know I’ve seen them looking)

I used to feel uncomfortable with the idea of mixed dorms or mixed shower rooms, but after experiencing them in a few places I found that it was no big deal. I’m pretty modest, so I like to change in private regardless. Other than that, sharing a room is sharing a room, and it feels like it doesn’t matter with whom. I would definitely advise you to try it out at the beginning of your trip. If it feels okay, you’ve opened yourself up to more places and resources, and if not, you can adjust your plans so that you stay in same-sex places the rest of the time.

Thanks for the advice…I will give them a try!

I just wanted to see what other people’s experiences were…

I never had any problems staying in coed dorm rooms either, except that boys seem to snore louder and fart more. Depending on where you’re going, you might not actually stay with many guys. In southern Europe, I found that lots of hostels kept same-sex dorms.

It’s no big deal, but I do prefer a girls only dorm over a mixed because it’s usually quiter (less snoring) and smells better (less farting).

Having stayed in both, I prefer the mixed dorms. I have never had any problems other than that found in any dorm type, ie loudness when i want to sleep, etc. For me I always change in the bathrooms regardless of room type, like posted earlier, i’m going there anyway, its not an extra trip, and has nothing to do with modesty or lack thereof. I don’t want to necessarily want to see strangers naked, and am not so sure they all want to see me naked. Just common courtesy.

But really, when it comes down to it, I just find coed rooms to be more social and friendly.

Come to think of it, I also went into the bathroom to change in single-sex dorms, but keep in mind that not everyone else will do the same.

Hi, i only stayed in 2 hostels and they had separate dorms so this time im facing the possibility to sleep in a coed and im a bit scary too cause im just very shy.

So, just wanted to ask, when in hostel at night and in front of tv is it ok to wear my nightdress ? i have this habbit, when back in home, immediately change into my night pizzamas to feel more comfortable and ,after a tiring sightseeing, im going to be in love with my bed i guess.

(for other solos, im going to be visiting france or/and italy, november 2004 or earlier and im girl aged 24, from Greece (i speak fluent english and i like ancient monuments, cafeterias, beatiful views )

I wouldn’t wear a nightdress in the common room while watching TV. That’s just my preference. Maybe instead of a nightdress you could take along a pair of casual sweats and a casual top that you could use for comfortable nighttime wear – but which also look like casual clothing that you could wear around the hostel. It’s quite likely the hostel blankets and heat will be minimal anyway.

Hey anna24…my name is Angie (21 yrs old) and I’ll be in Europe from Oct 23-Nov 10, will you be there then? I’m flying into Germany but I don’t have definate plans yet on where I’m going. Email me: hunter_down@hotmail.com and maybe we could meet up or something because it’d be nice to travel with someone else for a couple of days.

quote:
(for other solos, im going to be visiting france or/and italy, november 2004 or earlier and im girl aged 24, from Greece (i speak fluent english and i like ancient monuments, cafeterias, beatiful views )

angelgirl24 unfortunately im going to fly a bit later than i thought ,that is 13-15 november from athens to rome.

about my pizzama post,<b> Traveller</b> said something about the heat, so should i bring a sleeping bag or the hostels blankets are good?

Heat? In November? Never been to Europe in November, but I’m from Mexico, and it’s pretty chilly here right now, so I’m guessing it will be cold there as well. Maybe you want to try those fleece sleeping bags, they are not so bulky or heavy.

As for coed dorms, I stayed in a room with 9 guys and myself once, and they were the most respectable. Of course not everyone is the same, the freakiest story I heard was of a guy masturbating every morning, but never heard anything creepier, and that was an exception to the rest of the places and stories I heard. Just be confident and set your limits.

In fact, now that I think of it, I found the all girls rooms the most boring ones, I was always stuck with the ones that only want to do the museum thing, thus went to bed at 9pm.

quote:
It’s no big deal, but I do prefer a girls only dorm over a mixed because it’s usually quiter (less snoring) and smells better (less farting).

Well put Sailor!!!

I would stay in mixed dorms…all girls dorms are soooo annoying…all girls do is talk and hang out in the room…get a mixed dorm and u will meet more people…my friend (who is also a girl) we hated all female dorms…2 much drama.
_bridgette (22year old female)

Ive had a few fairly bad experiences but normally everything is fine in a mixed Dorm. The most frightening experience I had was when I was staying in Budapest and when I was showering I caught some nasty pervert masturbating, RIGHT AS I GOT OUT OF THE SHOWER! This guy was standing naked in the bathroom masturbating, while me and 3 others (male and female) were showering. I noticed when I was in the shower but was horrified, i stayted in the shower longer hoping he would leave or finish or something. When he didn’t I was forced to get out of the shower and I along with the others were shocked. Well he did finish up and I ran out of there so quickly. I have never been more scared in my life thank god I was not alone.

Im sure im not the only woman to have experienced this sort of thing.