European_Hostels

When the word "hostel" comes up, the first stereotype we all have is a dirty, smelly unsanitary place. Fortunately, we shouldn't believe every stereotype out there. I'm not saying that hostels in Europe are crystal clean but you do get what you pay for. In that I mean that the hostels are usually cleaned daily. All the ones that I had stayed at were quite sanitary.

If you're still not convinced, there's always the option of trying to find an HI Hostel (Hosteling International) in the city you're at. HI Hostels is a hosteling association that places certain standards that must be fulfilled in order to carry the HI logo. Standards include providing clean sheets, bathrooms and rooms. They also tend to have cheaper rates. In order to use their facilities, however, you must purchase an HI membership card (approximately 20US).

Throughout my entire trip, I only ended up staying in one HI Hostel. That was enough for me. What HI and other people fail to tell you is that these hostels are generally away from the main sights or centre of the city. This means that not only do you have to find a way to get there because walking is out of the question, it also means that if you want to go out at ngiht, there's always that hassle of finding a way back because buses don't run late.

Another issue I found with the HI Hostels was that many of them had curfews and lockouts. I'm sure you all know what curfews are so I'll just explain what lockouts are. Lockouts simply mean that during certain hours of the day (usually 10am-2pm) you are not allowed inside the hostel because they will be cleaning it. I found this to be quite inconvenient and didn't want that extra stress.

So would I recommend buying an HI card? If you haven't guessed by now, the answer is no. There are plenty of hostels that are great places and easily accessible when you get off that train that there's no need to go looking for them because they find you.

Athens
Student and Traveller's Inn

Situated in the Plaka district slightly below the Acropolis, this hostel get's an A for location. Because it's in the main district, it also means that people are everywhere. If you're a light sleeper, you may want to bring a pair of earplugs along with you. What I really liked about this hostel was the lounge it had. Here, you're able to meet a lot of people and get advice or give advice about the Greek islands which I highly suggest going to.

Ios
Far Out Camping

Conveniently placed along the beach, this had to be one of my favorite places. What's suppose to be a hostel, seems more like a beach resort as this place has 3 swimming pools, a waterslide, basketball court, bungy jump and music pumping 24/7. This is what I call a well run operation. The only negative thing I can think of would probably be the fact that it's a 20 minute walk to the main city where everyone ends up partying at during the nights. Taking the bus there is not a problem but it's just walking back a little intoxicated that may turn into an adventure. (Warning: If you're there during the summer, I would NOT suggest sleeping in the "doghouse" as it gets extremely hot and very difficult to sleep in).

Depending on when you go should determine if you should book ahead. If it's during the peak of summer (June-August), then it would be the best choice to make. If it's during the spring (April-May), you may have a 50/50 chance in finding a place. Or if it's any other time of the year, then it's not that necessary, though it keeps you the peace of mind that you won't be sleeping in the park. Here's the deal though. When you go during the summertime, the business that the hostels get make it unnecessary for them to take reservations. They often get filled up by 10am in the morning. So if you can actually get someone to book a reservation, consider yourself lucky. If you're heading into main cities, you'll find that the hostels in the guidebooks are usually the first to get booked up. There are, however, people that hang around train stations looking for people to stay in their hostels. Though this sounds a bit shady, most of the time they are legit. I would use caution though, in taking this approach.

They say that the early bird catches the worm and I would have to agree as the earlier you can get to a place, the greater chance you'll have in finding a place to stay. What I often did was take overnight trains which allowed me to arrive into a city early in the morning to ensure that I would get a place. This, however, is not allows guaranteed as I found out quite quickly. No matter how early I would show up, it would still take me 3 or 4 attempts before I found a hostel with vacancy. If you're planning to arrive later than 12pm, then I highly suggest you make sure you have a place to stay when you get there because you may either end up paying a ridiculous amount for a hotel or end up sleeping at the train station (not the safest place in the world). Also let the hostel know that you will be arriving later on or they may give your bed away.