I ABSOLUTELY LOVE STAYING IN HOSTELS! 

There has never been a moment where I considered myself too old for a hostel.  I get that hostels aren’t for everyone but I don’t believe for one minute that age has anything to do with it.  It really comes down to preferences and what you desire from your ideal accommodation.  As a solo traveller I couldn’t think of anything worse than staying in a motel or hotel and not be expose to a variety of people to engage with.  I would consider myself a people person, more of an extrovert than an introvert but I also like my own space and doing my own thing.  For me accommodation is a place to eat, shower and sleep so I can never justify spending more money than necessary on those things.  I would rather those extra dollars go on other activities.  The following reasons are why I believe you should not be put off staying in a hostel because of your age.  You are never too old  so lets debunk some of those myths!

1. AGE IS JUST A NUMBER

The oldest person I have ever met staying in a hostel was a lady in her 80s.  This was in Dublin, Ireland.  She had been born in Ireland but moved away in her early 20s.  From there she had lived in England, New Zealand, Australia and was at that time living in Canada.  Her travelling started in her 40s after her children had grown.  Unfortunately, she had lost her husband many years ago so she had done a lot of solo travel.  She sounded proud to tell me that tours and cruises were something she stayed right away from.  Each year for the last seventeen years she had been coming back to Ireland for a few months and she always stayed in the same hostel.  I not only hope that I am still able to travel in my eighties but that I would still be up for staying in hostels.  She totally inspired me!  If a lady of eighty travelling alone is up for staying in a hostel then it proves anyone can.

2. YOU DON’T HAVE TO PARTY 24/7

If you like to party at 40 or 50 then hostels can be great place to find people to do this with.  However, it is not likely that you will be doing it at the hostel.  Most hostels I have stayed in don’t tolerate noisy drunk people keeping everyone awake.  For example a hostel I stayed at in Waikiki, Hawaii had a alcohol curfew of 11pm in communal areas.  People that wanted to party had to hit the town.  Another hostel I stayed at in Jamaica invited local talent to perform live music every Friday night.  But if you didn’t want to hang around you could sneak off to bed.  Those that really want to party will usually have to go and find their fun elsewhere.     

3. YOU WILL BE EXPOSED TO ALL AGES

I have stayed in a lot of hostels and more often than not the age range is diverse.  My first experience of staying in hostels was staying with my high school sports teams.  It was so good to expose these teenagers to travelers from around the world who had great experiences and stories to share.  I believe that the type people that hostels attract has nothing to do with their age.  People like hostels because of who they are.  On the very rare occasion come across the odd hostel that has an age limit but that just tells me I probably wouldn’t enjoy staying there anyway.  I much prefer an age variety!

4. YOU DON’T HAVE TO SHARE A ROOM

People not familiar with hostels often have this idea that hostels are places with multi-bunk dorms and people packed in like sardines. But many hostels offer a variety of options including female, male and mixed dorms to private rooms for twin or double.  If you are a group you might have the option to book a whole dorm.  Or you might be lucky and find yourself in a dorm all to yourself which is not unusual in the off season.  Probably my best example of this was getting a five bed female dorm all to myself inside the old city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia.  For anyone that has been to Dubrovnik during the peak season you would find this hard to imagine I am sure.  My preference for hostels is to get a smaller female dorm.  However, I would never limit myself to small female dorms as things come into it like cost and availability.  If I liked a hostel but a twelve bed mixed dorm was all that was left then that’s what I would book.

5. THERE ARE SO MANY HOSTELS TO CHOOSE FROM

This is especially true if you are visiting cities and popular places.  If this is the case then it is likely there will be a hostel that is just right for you.  Reviews are the key to finding a hostel that works for you and Hostel World is the only option I use when I am looking for a good hostel.  They give an overall rating and then break that down into various things like location, cleanliness, friendliness of staff etc…  It is great to be able to read what others have to say and it really is the most user-friendly option to help you make a decision.  

6. YOU WILL SPEND TIME WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE

Hostels are for people who like to get out and experience the world.  I love nothing more than than surrounding myself with people just like me!  I have done day trips with 20 year olds and sat at breakfast with and eighty year old.  People of all ages have something to offer and we never get to old to learn something new.  The people you meet in hostels will be the best people to give travel and local advice as will the hostel staff.  I can’t even count the number of amazing things I have done and experiences I have had simply because of someone I met at a hostel.   

7.  YOLO – YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

Don’t knock it until you try it.  I would highly recommend giving it a go at least once to know for sure if it is for you or not.  While living in Croatia I made friends with a girl from the USA.  At 34 she was a hostel virgin.  She had preconceived ideas about what a hostel was like and had never considered it as an accommodation option.  However, when we decided to do a trip together to Slovenia I convinced her to give a hostel a go.  We booked a four bed female dorm in Ljubljana with a communal bathroom.  At the end of our stay she said she was pleasantly surprised by the experience.  When she told me a few months later that she had stayed in a hostel in Peru I was super excited that I had converted her! 

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