Telephone :
01273 749100
(Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and during clinic times)
Mon 1500hrs - 1900hrs
Tue 0900hrs - 1300hrs
Wed 0900hrs - 1400hrs
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Fri 0900hrs - 1300hrs
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01273 776244
Email :
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sussextravelclinic.com
Or simply drop into one of our clinics during opening hours.
A Brief History of Hostelling
Youth hostels, Backpackers and Y.M.C.A’s are all friendly and familiar terms to a seasoned budget traveller, yet the differences remain a little unclear to many. This is partly due to the massive recent development of the hostel as an industry, giving way to new ideas, such as ‘concept’ hostels and other such creative innovations.
It’s useful to have a brief glance over the history of youth hostels to clarify the distinctions. The first youth hostels were built in Germany as part of a youth movement to encourage city youngsters to get to the countryside and enjoy some clean air. Costs were kept down by encouraging them to maintain the hostel themselves. When the idea spread, ‘Hostelling International’ was born and nowadays there are over 4500 ‘HI’ hostels worldwide, presenting our first category. HI is a non-profit organisation which umbrellas over 90 smaller hostelling companies. HI hostels usually provoke a mixed reaction. Some travellers see them as compromising individual character to a large organisation, whilst others would argue that they represent a guaranteed standard of accommodation. Either way, HI hostels are well known and reliable and tend to set the standard for what most people imagine a youth hostel to be. They usually offer mixed or single sex dormitories, as well as private rooms with en suite showers. There are kitchens for self-catering; washing facilities and storage space, and usually breakfast is included in the price.
From HI hostels, we have ‘Backpacker’s hostels’, often abbreviated to just ‘Backpackers’. These are much the same, but they are not affiliated with any larger organisation, they are independently run. This often means they have more of a characterful identity and a certain kind of spirit, which very much depends on personal taste as to how it will be received. They usually offer similar accommodation and facilities, but standards could vary from the HI hostel norm. Check comparative websites for reviews and extra information.
Y.M.C.A accommodation is becoming rarer these days, and in the UK many have been sold to universities to provide student accommodation. The few that remain usually offer dormitory accommodation with a guaranteed safe and friendly atmosphere.
At the moment there are all kinds of innovations appearing in the world of youth hostels, expanding the classic HI idea of budget accommodation. Army Hostel is one example of these, offering tiny army themed rooms, and Japanese ‘cube’ or ‘capsule’ hostels are an entirely different species of accommodation altogether.
So, there’s a rough guide to the basic types of hostels available. The industry is on the verge of a huge creative outburst so look out for the new and inventive kinds of budget accommodation that are springing up worldwide. Make sure you’re properly covered when hostelling around the globe - Go Travel is recommended as a supplier of low priced travel insurance for backpackers.
