In 1908, German Richard Schirman, believing that life in industrial cities was harmful to the physical and moral development of Germany’s young people, built the world’s first youth hostel in Altena—a budget dormitory that would make travel possible for urban youth. Many hostels are laid out dorm-style, often with large single-sex rooms and bunk beds, although private rooms that sleep two to four are becoming more common. Hostels often have kitchens and utensils for your use, bike or moped rentals, storage areas, transportation to airports, breakfast and other meals, laundry facilities, and Internet. However, there can be drawbacks: some hostels close during certain daytime “lockout” hours, have a curfew, don’t accept reservations, impose a maximum stay, or, less frequently, require that you do chores.
Hostelling in Germany is overseen by Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk (DJH), Bismarckstr. 8, 32756 Detmold, Germany (☎05231 740 10; www.jugendherberge.de). Its hostels are open to members of DJH or Hostelling International (see below), but travelers can join or buy guest passes at the hostels. DJH has initiated a growing number of Jugendgästhäuser, youth guest-houses that are generally more expensive, have more facilities, and attract slightly older guests. DJH has absorbed hundreds of hostels in eastern Germany, though some still lack the sparkling facilities of their western counterparts. DJH’s German-language Jugendherbergen in Deutschland, a guide to all federal German hostels, can be purchased at German bookstores and major newsstands by writing to DJH, or from the DJH webpage, which also has pictures, prices, addresses, and phone numbers for almost every hostel in Germany. Contact information can also be found on most on most German cities’ official websites, listed under the tourist office in the Practical Information section of cities in this guide. Eurotrip (www.eurotrip.com) has information on and reviews of budget hostels and international hostel associations.
Joining the youth hostel association in your own country (listed below) automatically grants you membership privileges in Hostelling International (HI), a federation of national hosteling associations. Non-HI members may be allowed to stay in some hostels, but will have to pay extra to do so. HI hostels are scattered throughout Germany, and are typically less expensive than private hostels. HI’s umbrella website (www.hihostels.com), which lists the web addresses and phone numbers of all national associations, can be a great place to begin researching hosteling in a specific region. Other comprehensive hosteling websites include www.hostels.com and www.hostelplanet.com.
Most HI hostels also honor guest memberships —you’ll get a blank card with space for six validation stamps. Each night you’ll pay a nonmember supplement (one-sixth the membership fee), and earn one guest stamp. Six stamps make you a member. A new membership benefit is the FreeNites program, which allows hostelers to gain points toward free rooms. Most student travel agencies sell HI cards, as do all of the national hosteling organizations listed below. All prices listed below are for one-year memberships.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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