well has anyone travelled alone and if you have how do you generally do it?
i’ve heard of some youth hostels where you can rent a bed so i’m assuming it’s easy to meet people there. or is it just a sausage fest of drunk students?If you’re travelling alone i’m guessing a hotel might get a little lonely in a country you know nobody?
looking for anything…any advice…searching around the net a bit,just thought i’d drop it here too.
I’ve stayed in hostels. Depending where ya at, they can be full of different people. Mine had no tail, people were rather hippy/hipster/poor but friendly. I had to lock my ish up in the rental car and essentially just take essentials with me to the shared room.
Check out couchsurfing.com or sumfin, noumsayin’?
I havent traveled alone but when i was in Stockholm I stayed at a hostel alone (my buddies booked in advance and stayed ini a hostel nearby). I was in a room with about 25 other people and i had a top bunk. At first I was worried about my stuff being stolen and wasnt really comfortable sleeping in an open space with random people. I checked in around 2ish and went exploring.I got back around 8ish to get ready to go out that night and everyone else had the same plans. As people waited for the one bathroom to shower / dress, we all started talking and it turned out to be a great group. There were other students from the US, some from Germany, a few from France, a Morrocan girl, and one from Lebenan. Since we all had to wait, we ended up playing a few drinking games and we ended up going to some club/rave together. It could be hit or miss though.
Good review system, book ahead of time, worked great for my 1 month jaunt in Europe.
Found someone to hang out with in literally every hostel we stayed in - you just have to be willing to engage them.
Keep your legs closed when sleeping.
I have. They’re not bad. Kind of strange sleeping with other people in the room. You can definitely meet people, and sometimes chicks— but typically theres a lot of couples, or bros. I was in new zealand when I stayed in multiple hostels, so there may be less tail in other scenarios/places
^ That’s why they have all those sheep.
I’ve stayed in hostels in Europe, South America and Southeast Asia. I would suggest that in places where good hotels are fairly affordable (Thailand, for example), you can have a much more enjoyable experience and it’s worth it for the improved quality of bathrooms/shared spaces as well as more peace and quiet. Elsewhere, especially in more developed countries in Europe, it may be more cost-effective to stay at a hostel, though not nearly today as it was about ten years ago when staying in hostels started to become more in vogue. Certainly, if your goal is to meet other people, you’ll have an easier chance to do that while staying at hostels.
Also, a few days ago there was a thread about Contiki tours about how the guy:girl ratio seems to be quite favorable to the guys, and the single guy can usually clean up unless he’s a complete tool. Chances seem to be highest if there are girls from Australia, New Zealand or Scandinavia in the group. Not sure if there are cultural dynamics specific to these countries, but that’s how it played out. I can speak from personal experience (I’m talking about my friend, not myself, in case compliance is reading this…)
^
yup,that’s what i was thinking.
problem is if i go stay in a hotel even if it’s cheap it’s going to be hard to meet new people unless i head to the:
1)local boozer
2)club
3)join a non-profit/get a job
the first 2 don’t really appeal to me. let’s see…
Last time I stayed in a hostel was around 4 years ago in Edinburgh for the festival. It was a big room with around 16 bunks. When I’d stayed in hostels before as a student I’d always enjoyed it but this time I was just over it all. Too much noise and too little privacy. Private rooms from there on for me!
I would say it is a good way to meet like minded people if you are backpacking alone though. Staying in a hotel on your own is depressing enough on a business trip.
Its great fun and great way to meet people. But if you are over 26, youll be saying to yourself, “this is the last time I do hostels”
I’m planning a trip with a few friends to Europe next year and would like people’s input. We want to go to Northern Europe and right now it’s looking something like:
Oslo -> Stockholm -> Copenhagen -> Berlin -> Amsterdam. We might drop Prague in between Berlin and Amsterdam. We’re going to coordinate it so we are in Berlin for Oktoberfest. Do you guys have any suggestions of things to do in any of those cities or ones to switch in their place (within a reasonable area)?
We came up with EDM, Oktoberfest, 1 Soccer Game, 1 Museum and Hookers/Amsterdam. (Side note my friend thinks paying for sex is degrading to yourself, but being paid for sex is a compliment??>!?! Thoughts?)
Anyway, interested from people
How are you planning to travel between those cities? By train? Personally, I would skip the Scandinavian cities and do something like Prague - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest -Krakow - Berlin. That would be a good trip in my opinion. Scandinavian people are (semi-unfairly perhaps) known for being a bit boring. Also the Bratislava/Budapest/Krakow part of that trip would be nice and cheap.
What is EDM by the way? Amsterdam would be the best city to see a soccer match if Ajax are playing while you’re there.
EDM - Electronic Dance Music. So our grand scheme was to end our trip in Amsterdam after about two weeks so that by time we reach it we’ve lost all our morals. The trip was going to kind of build up over time. We were thinking trains or buses. What makes Scandinavians boring? I thought they drank really heavy up north, had a good music scene and pretty people.
Yeah. LIke I said it is probably a bit of an unfair stereotype. I’d say Copenhagen and Stockholm are pretty cool cities. I’ve been in both very briefly, but only for business so can’t really comment.
I’ve never been to Oslo and I’ve also never heard of anyone travelling there particularly. It is one of the most expensive cities in the world, so if I was going to cut one it would be that. Prague is cheap and has a reputation as a bit of a party town, so that would be a better option maybe.
I’ve had good experiences. It really depends on the city and the hostel. Some are better conditioned to partying than others. Some actually advertise themselves as party hostels, while others have super strict rules and keep bibles on their bookshelves. I advise doing research in advance to figure that out. websites like hostel world etc are good for that.
Hostels can be an excellent way of meeting people and getting laid. Far superior to hotels in that regard. 95 percent of people in hotels have an agenda and it is not meeting you.
Most hotels are lonely places, unless you happen to chance upon the odd lonely woman at the hotel bar. That’s a low percentage game.
No hostels for me.
I have done it ONCE when i was younger because all my friends wanted to do it but now i wouldn’t want to do it even if i travel by myself.
In theory, staying in a hotel by yourself seem lonely but in reality, if you are travelling by yourself you kind of half-expect that you will be exploring the city by yourself most of the time no?
i don’t discount the fact that meeting other travellers can be a fun experience, though you can do that by joining local tours, going to touristy places and meet people that way, if you wish.
It is also a myth that you get more “help” staying in hostels because there are other travellers, but think about it, they are people who haven’t been to the city as well, so they are in the same boat as you! And most hostels do not have a lot of conceirge or staff for assistance, if you want to have suggestions or ask where to get cash or tickets or anything…
Safety and a piece of mind is also important for me. If you are only looking to stay ONE NIGHT, then fair enough, perhaps hostels can do the trick. But if you are staying multiple nights, imagine you have to lock up everything everyday and not knowing if they will be stolen or damaged… it’s just such a hassle!!!
I also like my private time in a hotel, i can sleep in without being disturbed by others, i can have a facial, i can take out all the things i bought and take pictures, i can paint my nails, i can do everything i can’t do in front of other people.
I don’t know why hostels is such a big deal other than the fact that it is cheap.
NANA
^ Nana likes to mast------e a lot.
really?
im 23 and i don’t see much changing till i’m 30