Hostel questions..

Ok, folks..I'm new to the forum, but not new to European travel. I've made around a dozen solo trips in the past three years. What's different now? My budget! I'll be in Europe for three weeks in September/October. Visiting Istanbul, Florence, Naples, Barcelona and Lisbon. I'm staying in hostels the whole time.

I booked it all through hostelworld, only booked hotels with great reviews and preferably female only dorm rooms. However, I couldn't find a good hostel in Barcelona or Lisbon that had female only rooms.

This makes me slightly uncomfortable..my only hostel experience was one night at the Bulldog in Amsterdam. Co-ed room, 12 people. Bunk beds. I didn't dig the whole experience..but then, people go to Amsterdam to party, I was in the Red Light district, and the Bulldog has it's own "coffee shop". So..yeah. Taking all of that into consideration.

I know there's probably lockers for valuables (not that I will have much, maybe just my iPod) and I plan on bringing a lot for my suitcase. I am just a teeny bit worried that I will end up being the only girl in a room full of guys. Yeah yeah, I know some girls would probably love that! :-) But i want to make sure I'm safe and not gang-raped by a bunch of drunk frat boys visiting Barcelona..

Any words of wisdom you care to share?

Three trips and you still use a siutcase?

You can get private or double room in some hostels, and double up with some other girl.
Some of them have lockers but no locks. I stayed in one that had lockers and locks, but they hadn´t any keys for them.

Take a cable type bicycle lock wick combo lock. Thread it throughall your gear and to the bedframe or something that can´t be moved to steal it.

I never book ahead unless its high season or holiday. Yes I´ve done two hour hostAl searches but it gives me a better idea of the town layout.

You can buy a backpack at a garage sale. That way it won´t cost much. And you can confer with other travellers about what pack to spend big money on, instead of an expensive mistake.
I like roll along backpacks because of tall stairs or rocky turf. Otherwise I never put it on my back.

Conny Francis? How ´bout Wayne Newton? Pat Boone maybe?

Solo is deffinately the best way to go.
I hope you talk with lots of "foreigners". One of our bad reputations is we only talk with other yanks. The old world has much to teach us. They´ve been through all of history. We yanks are only the teenagers of the world who think they know everything.
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WE TRAVEL TO LEARN, WHETHER WE THINK SO OR NOT. pARTIALLY ABOUT OURSELVES.
But youth hostels are a good forum for that.

Welcome to TT forum. A great addiction.

Oh, way more than three trips--about a dozen at this point! Just not backpacking. yes, I still use a suitcase..I'm not a "backpacker", this is my first time really hostelling. I don't want to use a backpack; I'm not so much concerned with being robbed as I am molested...

Thank you for your post..I wonder if the hostel can book me into a double and match me with another girl? I guess it doesn't hurt to ask..

I love going solo. It's the only way to go.

If your not bothered about people having sex all night in the room you will be fine in mixed sex dorms - Barcelona will probably mainly be couples in mixed sex dorms. I hate mixed dorms as well. I have slept in them twice. Once I was the only female - this didn't bother me. The second time it is like a knocking shop. However, I am just prude and I understand most people haven't got a problem with other peoples sex lives. Some people really get off on it.

HI hostels usually have seperate male and female rooms and less of the party crowd. I always wear a modest sleeping outfit though as even there you can end up with coed rooms if the hostel is full. That being said, I have had no problem from the guys. Aloha

Look for hostels that do not explicitly advertise towards the party crowd. So not the "this is a cool, hip, funk hostel nearby the party district,and it even has its own all-night bar. No breakfast served, but hey, who needs that". But the "This is a clean, family-friendly hostel. It is in walking distance to the railwaystation and all this sights. Breakfast is included, and packed lunches can be ordered". SO look for the hostels where people book because they need a bed (They are exhausted after a full day visiting things) and a shower - and not for a hostel that attracts the 'hey clubs are closing at 5am, so we might just as well ahve some sleep or continue partying in the hostel' crowd(horror) - your amsterdam example is the perfect illustration.

The only thing you will have to live with is that in the first type of hostels, people will tend to be a bit older.

And frankly, I never never had any problem with people having sex in mixed dorms. Must be something that is typical in a certain kind of hostels. Most official YHA hostels have female only dorms by the way.

Not all hostels are going to be like one in Amsterdam's red-light district. In terms of being the only female, I would imagine most women wouldn't go for a hostel in the red-light district of any city anyway, for obvious reasons.

That said, I've stayed in plenty HI hostels across Europe, in many mixed-sex dorms and never felt uncomfortable, nor have I ever been the only female in a mixed-sex dorm. Plus, by the time some group of guys gets back to their hostel, it's probably late, they're probably tired and probably intoxicated enough that they'll just want to fall asleep instead of fumbling around in the dark looking for some action. The main issues I've experienced were noise (people coming in and out of the dorms) and the occasional annoying person who turns on the lights and wakes everyone up.

Anyway, I know there are a number of convents in Italy which offer accommodation for female travellers; this may be something you could look into for Spain as well. The only downside are that many have strict curfews. Good luck!

donstefano, thank you-maybe the one in Barcelona (Mambo Tango) won't be so bad then-even though it's co-ed, their spot on hostelworld says in huge letters "NO DRUNKS!" and a few other comments..they seem pretty strict, which is a good thing.

For the record, I'm saying at Hotel Sampaoli in Florence, Giovanni's Home in Naples, Bahaus Guesthouse in Istanbul (this one seems like a bit of a party place, but at least I'm booked into a female only room), Mambo Tango in Barcelona and Travellers House in Lisbon (this may change, I may be hostelled out by that point..)

As for people having sex in the dorms..that would make me jealous! LOL (ah, the life of a single girl) I like to have fun, don't get me wrong, but I'm not a "party girl" by any stretch of the imagination. My idea of a fun night out is the latest French film at the local indie house, then a discussion of the movie at a coffee house afterward..Paris Hilton I am not! :-)

And Arsen, thank you, I will check out those links!

I feel a lot better after reading everyones msgs..I love travelling solo, but I figured I'd go the hostel route this time to save money, and who knows I might make friends at the hostel! Always like to meet knew people..

Thanks everyone, you rock--

If amenities are your number one consideration, definitely stick with HI Hostels. They are, in my opinion, the most bland and boring hostels imaginable. They have all the necessities, so that seems to be what you're looking for.

Interesting point, Focusphere, and I guess you are correct. Probably that is the reason why I often go to HI. Bed-shower-breakfast. Clean, and not too much noise. All I need. The rest of the day I'm out anyway. Leave the hostel at 8.30am, and come back at 9.00pm, shower, read a bit and sleep.
Never understood why so many people like to hang around at the hostel, often hour and hours, while there is a city around them thye haven't yet seen.

Sant Jordi- la sagrada de la familia, it is an apartment style hostel and u can book your own room or share one room with another person, i thought it was geat and it also had free laundry.

For #10: I think it all depends on what you're looking for. I think many people, especially those who travel by themselves, need hostels that are social in order to find others to see the sites with. If you are comfortable being on your own, or if you are with a group of people who don't wish to interact, than an HI is probably a better choice.

OP - Yes, Hostelling International hostels are good. Website: www.hihostels.com.<BR><BR>Last year my daughter and I stayed in a female dorm at the HI hostel in Lisbon, shown as 'Lisbon - Centre' on the site. Currently they have beds @ 16 euros per person per night. Excerpt from the site: "Bed(s) in Dorm female, Sheets included, Breakfast included, male/female rooms (not coed) 16.00 EUR (per night, per bed)". Well-located.

Do carry a small lock that you can use for the locker in the dorm for your valuables; the lockers were quite spacious - about 1.5 ft for each dimension from what I can remember.

Lisbon - Centre
Rua Andrade Corvo, 46
1050-009 Lisboa
Portugal

Tel. 351 213532696
Fax. 351 213537541
lisboa@movijovem.pt