Five Thousand Places to Meet People: Youth Hostels

To Steinbeck and thousands of other independent travelers like him, the essence of travel is not where you go, but the people you meet along the way. Usually, it's where THEY take you experientially that ends up being the most fascinating part of your journey.

That concept brings me to the topic of this article: hostelling.

For GenX travelers (and anyone else, for that matter) staying in youth hostels is the fastest, easiest way to meet people and to truly experience the place you're visiting. The concept of hostelling is simple: put some bunk beds in a room, charge a cheap nightly rate, and "voila!" instant people connection!

Don't be surprised if the individuals staying in your hostel dorm room hail from six different continents and speak a dozen different languages. Those people could become travel companions for the day, lifelong friends, or anything else in between.

Most hostels are affiliates of Hostelling International (HI) or local hostelling associations, while a handful are independent establishments. Most charge between $10 and $20 a night, separate males and females into separate dorm rooms, and offer breakfast. Here's a quick rundown on how the whole hostel thing started:

Hostelling International, now the largest chain of accommodations in the world, began in Germany in 1909 as a network of way stations for young German hikers. It didn't take long for different-looking but similar types of dorm-style accommodations to join up with HI. Since then, thousands of hostels have sprung up across Europe and around the world: 5,000 hostels in 70 countries, to be exact. In 1934, the United States' affiliate, American Youth Hostels (AYH) was founded, and today consists of some 35 separate local councils (each overseeing several hostels) between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Hostels can take the form of an old brownstone apartment, an old farmhouse, a castle, a former church, even a ship or Native American teepee.

In general, you don't have to be young or a member of HI to stay at hostels. Still, a membership can be a great deal (members pay a lower nightly rate and get discounts on food, car rentals, etc.) if you're planning to travel extensively. In the United States, a yearly membership with Hostelling International is free for anyone under 18 and $25 for everyone else. Memberships are sold at all Council Travel offices, most youth hostels, and HI Travel stores. Once purchased, a HI membership is good at all 5,000 affiliated hostels worldwide.

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