Walter S

How do you find them? How do you make sure you've got a secure place to put your bicycle? Do you require a place to let you put the cycle where you sleep? Do you find people willing to let you?

staehpj1

I have stayed in one a couple times when on tour. They had a place for bikes that seemed safe enough to me.

How to find them? I never really look for them so I don't know. I am more likely to camp and here and there get a regular motel room. I have only ever set out to stay in a hostel on tour when I was starting a tour in Seattle and someone recommended one there. I just ran across one another time.

spinnaker

I have stayed in hostels many times in the US and in Europe. Some of the places I stayed were very unique and would cost far more than the price paid if it were a hotel. I have stayed in palaces in Italy and lighthouses in the US.

This is a view from my window in Montara



How to find them?

HI Hostels ? Youth Hostels USA & Backpacking Cheap Budget Travel | HI USA

I think I paid $80 for a private room just a few years ago.

I would not use any hostel that is not an HI hostel.

Most hostels have a secure place for your bike. Many you don't even need to worry about security.

fietsbob

IYHA like Scotland, GGNRA, Montara and San Pedro.. there's one in Seaside Oregon

and a sailors and travelers Hostel Here.. The Norblad ..

Bunch of them in Ireland used when the weather went foul .. they usually have a Bike Shed ..

there is a string of independent hostels there .. didn't have to go away daytimes with those ..

once again, good for waiting for a weather front to Pass ..

theres Pubs in some Hostels in Belgium & NL.

Machka 

I have a lifetime membership with Hostelling International
Hostelling International Canada - Auberges de Jeunesse du Canada
Hostels & Backpackers | YHA Australia | Quality, fun & affordable

And I have spent many nights in hostels on cycling tours and also during other travels.


How do I find them? Well, the Hostelling International network is huge and it only takes a quick search online to locate them. But you can also pick up books/brochures, etc. in tourist information centres. And if you don't have access to either of those, just look for a sign with the HI or YHA symbol/logo. If you're not familiar with it, it looks like the logo on the upper, left corner of the YHA site I linked to above. There are other backpacker organisations as well ... once you start looking, they're quite easy to find.

How do I make sure I've got a secure place to put my bicycle? I ask them for a place to put my bicycle. I've never been provided with an insecure place. In Europe and Australia, many of the hostels expect people to turn up on bicycle.

Do I require a place to let me put the cycle where I sleep? No. And if you're travelling through Europe and staying in either hostels or hotels, the chances of that happening is very, very slim.


Now let me add this ... I've stayed in a lot of hostels in Australia and they were great. I've stayed in a few hostels in Europe, and they were good too. Rowan and I stayed in one in Japan which was lovely. I've stayed in a couple hostels in Canada ... one was good although a little heavy with the rules, the other was pretty bad. And I've stayed in a couple hostels in the US ... one was marginal and the other was pretty bad. So your experience may depend on what part of the world you're in.

Tourist in MSN

As spinaker noted above, the HI internet link lists many:
https://www.hihostels.com/

Some are not part of the HI network and won't be at that link. I have stayed in some that I found by google search that were not part of the HI network.

If you join HI, they used to have a 2nd night free coupon. When I stayed in Washington DC, the annual membership for a new member was cheaper than their cost for one night, so we bought the membership to save money since we stayed there several nights and could use a second night free coupon.

I have called and asked about bike storage. Some have it, some do not. And, the level of security varies. Bring your own lock. I think most will not have enouh room for several bikes in your room, so do not assume that you can do that.

I stayed at the one on Fishermans Wharf in San Fransisco a couple weeks ago, they had indoor bike storage.



Some have lockers for your gear, bring a padlock. You can see the lockers this hostel used under the bunks, each locker had room for four panniers, a handlbar bag and just a bit more space than that.



If you are a light sleeper, you might want to bring earplugs. I do not use them but I know some people that do.

The rooms you stay in do not have a lot of space for lounging around, you do that in common areas. Some prohibit alcohol, from the bottles on the tables in the photo it is obvious that this one does not have such a prohibition. One common theme is that virtually all do not want food stored in your room. They want all food stored in one place, you can see shelves against a wall below where we put some of our food, the cold food was in a fridge that is also in the photo.



If there are two of you, a Motel 6 might be cheaper than some hostels, but the experience is quite different.

spinnaker

Curious. When you stayed in the bad hostel was it HI? I was going to stay in a hostel in Santa Barbara that was not an HI hostel. I even paid and checked in. When I got to the dorm room I found people that were visibly drunk and a number of other drunks wandering about the hostel. We left immediately. Ended up getting the last room in Santa Barbara and paid something like $200 for the room but it was money well spent by comparison. Unless I hear really good things I would never stay in a non HI hostel again.

Also it seems that a lot more older folks like me stay in euro hostels where in the US it tends to be a younger crowd but I have always found the youngsters to be very well mannered and polite.

spinnaker

Many hostels have private rooms. Most times you don't have your own bath but every time I shared a bath I never knew the other people were there.

If you stay in a dorm, try to get a bed next to a wall and place your valuables between you and the wall when you sleep. There are lockers but not sure I would trust them for valuables.

10 Wheels

I stayed in three of them......no complaints from me.

Austin TX, Tucson AZ, and San Diego,CA

Louis Le Tour

That sounds like paradise! Can you elaborate?

jamawani 

Unfortunately, the HI movement in the U.S. is in decline - - although they say their numbers are constant. Originally, hosteling was very decentralized with local councils offering rustic accommodations so that young people and others might be able to travel and explore new places / new cultures on a budget. Contributing to upkeep by small chores was a central part of hosteling. There used to be hundreds of hostels in state parks in Ohio, Michigan, Washington - plus lots of home hostels in small communities across the country.

Today, AYH concentrates on a small number of urban hostels which are huge and serve foreign and American young people hopping from New York to Chicago to L.A. But the rustic hostels in places like Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania on the Youghiogheny River Trail are long closed. A few of the older style hostels persist - such as those on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard Islands or Pigeon Point in California.

But since the mission and purpose of the AYH (and most likely hosteling in general) has changed, it mostly is about cheapo accommodations in places where it might cost $100 to $200 per night, otherwise. Since non-HI hostels have fewer standards and oversight - they often can be little more than flop houses. Not always, but certainly a strong possibility. I am glad that I stayed in many of the park hostels on bicycle trips in the 1980s - they were wonderful, but a thing of the past.

Machka 

That was the situation in Japan.

Machka 

The one in Canada was HI ... in Edmonton. That was in 2007. I don't know if it has improved, but I did find out later it had a bad reputation.

Edit: I just had a look at a few websites, and it seems as though they have done some renovations. That would help ... a step in the right direction. When I was there, the washroom was atrocious! Not clean, two toilet stalls but one was out of order, the showers only worked occasionally, and they had one old-fashioned sink in the ladies with a small ancient, half blackened mirror over it. And I'm guessing the only light was about a 20 watt bulb ... so dark. All of that shared by several dorms of women. I see by the pictures that it looks like they've got decent washrooms now.

Edit Again: I had a look over the reviews over the past several years, and found a couple posted in October/November 2007, which is about when I stayed there, and the reviews are horrendous ... but they describe the situation perfectly. It was an awful place then. However, the more recent reviews are a lot more positive and it seems that the new manager is making an effort.


The one in the US was not HI ... at least I don't think it was. It was located near the University in Boulder, Co. We stayed one night and then moved into a hotel. That was in 2005.


And yes, those who stay in hostels in Europe and Australia tend to be older ... or any age for that matter. There's quite a range from just out of high school to retired; individual backpackers to families with children. So it tends to dampen down the party atmosphere. Although Queensland, Australia is a bit more party-ish.

spinnaker

What?? Places you don't need to worry? I would have not been too concerned in Montara or Verona. If I had to leave the bikes in a non secured part of the property I would have been able to sleep those nights for sure.

spinnaker

yeah there are exceptions in Europe too. When I stayed at a hostel in Menaggio, it was mostly a younger crowd. My buddy and I were put in separate dorms. He was with a bunch of young guys from holland. I was in the room with a bunch of motorcyclists from Britain. I thought how lucky he was and how I would not get a wink of sleep that night. Wow was I wrong.

That evening I got to the dorm and the motorcyclists were already in bed. There was a pair of ear plugs on my pillow. I just said "what's this". One of them said "you're going to need those mate" and they all chucked. That was the last I heard from them for the night. They really could not have been more nice. One did step in line in front of me for dinner making me wait a significant amount of time for the next serving to be prepared but I'll chalked that up to him not being aware I was waiting.


The next day my buddy told me about his night. Turns out his roommates were out drinking till 3AM. They came in loud and drunk trying to get the girls into the room. One ended up vomiting on the floor in the room.

Louis Le Tour

The Japanese are notoriously honest!!

Machka 

I will add that if you're going for a private room, in many places you might as well go with a motel. A bed in a hostel dorm for one person might be anywhere from $15 to $30 ... but as soon as you want a private room, the price can be quite high.

It's worth doing some price checking.

staehpj1

Depending on where you are the prices can be kind of high. The places where I have priced a hostel they were as much as or at least almost as much as a motel room in the same town. If they were $15-$30 more places I'd give them more consideration. Maybe that is a difference between the US and the rest of the world? Or have I just happened to price ones that were expensive?

Hostels are a different kind of experience compared to motels. I think that is part of the attraction for folks who like them. You are more likely to rub elbows with other travelers, which can be good or bad depending on what you want.

Edited to note that the prices I checked were for dorm style, not a private room.

Machka 

Motels in the US are C-H-E-A-P ... really, really inexpensive. It would be hard for a hostel to compete, I think.


Here's a hostel in Port Fairy, one of our favourite destinations in Victoria, Australia ...

Backpackers &amp Hostels Port Fairy | YHA Australia

If you select a date and click "Book Now", you'll see that a multishare room is $23 for a bed. Meanwhile, a private double room is $70 (or $65 if you want to go with twin beds).

If you do a search on other accommodation, you'll find a Comfort Inn for $95 within the town, and that's about the lowest you'll find in town ... but just outside the town is a little caravan park where we've stayed several times. There you can get a basic cabin (no ensuite) for $66, or a double ensuite cabin for $75.


This is only one example, but we've encountered these sorts of prices in several places.

So if you're travelling on your own, $23 is a pretty good price ... but if you're with someone and you want a private room ... you've got to weigh up your options.

Incidentally, as an additional comparison, an unpowered tent site at that caravan park I mentioned is $24. If you're on your own, it would be cheaper to stay in the hostel ... but if you're with someone it would be cheaper to stay in a tent.

Erick L

Last time I stayed in a hostel, I found a syringe under my bed.

Machka 

Even in the worst hostels, I've never found that. Dead cockroaches ... but no syringes.

indyfabz

Note that in Spain and in parts of Latin/Hispanic America, "hostel" has a different meaning that what we often think of in the U.S. and other places. They are akin to pensiones in Italy. Private rooms and possibly even private baths. I stayed in several nice ones in Andalucia.

As for the HI type of hostel, I have stayed in a few (both actual HI hostels and others of the same format) with mixed results. I did not like the Seattle HI. While there was secure bike parking in the basement, it was like sleeping in a multi-bed dorm room. I think both times I stayed there my room had at least 5 bunk beds. Young people coming in late after partying and people snoring all night makes for a poor sleeping environment. At the other end of the spectrum was the relatively small HI hostel at Lake Itasca, MN. The Bar Harbor, ME hostel closed during the day, so you had to be out until it re-opened around 5:30 p.m. or so. Staff can also affect the experience. The woman running the Breckenridge, CO hostel where I stayed was generally unfriendly, as if she hated her job. I and a couple had to leave very early one morning. The woman seemed to enjoy telling us that she would not be available to give us our $5 key deposits back until at least 8 a.m. the next morning and refused to give us our $ the night before on faith that we would not make off with the keys. So we left with the keys at let her keep the $10.

BobG

I was introduced to bike touring back in the 60's through Potomac Area Council of American Youth Hostels (now HI). I lived in the DC area and there were hostels along the C&O canal and a string of them through the PA Dutch country and another out near the Shenandoah NP, and yes, those wonderful Canadian hostels along the Icefields Parkway. These enabled one to do short bike tours without camping gear. I have fond memories of those trips as a teenager and young adult.

Older forum members from New England may fondly remember the Bantam Lake Hostel in CT, the hostel in Sheffield MA and the string up Rt 100 in VT. Most of these though are history.

I lost interest in hostelling on my first trip to Europe in the 80's. I remember checking in to the hostel in Zurich and I was given a key to a locker. I was asked to keep all valuables in the locker and to sleep with the key. I had a sleeping bag stolen at a hostel in France. I found that the AYH policy of "arrive after 4 PM, leave by 9 AM" encouraged a flop house atmosphere of transient travellers. Since then I've preferred camping along with the occasional motel stay. I've never looked back.

Erick L

This was downtown Vancouver, a block or two from Hastings street. I had stayed there the previous summer and it was ok given the price and location (10$ downtown 20 years ago, and still 10$ now). But this was in march, when the crowd changed from local junkies to travelers.

nun

I've stayed in hostels in Europe and love them.....cheap, clean and you meet lots of interesting people.