SimplyRachel

Hello!
As some of you may have read my other topic you may already know that I have booked a trip to Spain. My boyfriend and I will be going from March 18th until April 2nd. We have made a rough itinerary of visiting the following cities: Madrid (we fly in and out from there), Seville, Malaga, Barcelona, Tossa de Mar, and then back to madrid. We have planned day trips to Toledo and Figueres.

We have planned to stay in hostels most nights, with tossa de mar being a sea view hotel as a treat. I, personally, have never stayed in hostels, nor have any of my travelling family members. The ones I have found from hostel world, and using a few of the spain guides, such as let's go or the rough guide have given me a bit of insight. I was hoping to hear some suggestions as far as staying in a hostel, how secure belongings are (in the lockers they provide), etc.

Any information you can provide I would GREATLY appreciate!
Thanks!
-Rachel

adrienne

The posters on this board generally do not stay in hostels. It's been decades since I've used hostels.

Try the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum for a more hostel-aged crowd. They'll give you plenty of feedback.

My rule of travel is never to pack anything that you can't bear to lose. Bring a combination lock for the hostel lockers. Let's Go and Rough Guide are great guide books and if any hostel were dodgy it would be mentioned in the books. Also read the ratings and comments on the hostel sites.

My advice is to worry less and enjoy yourself more.

PalenQ

Let's Go Spain the guidebook that bills itself the Bible of Backpackers and written by Harvard Student Agencies is to me the best source about hostels in general and specific ones in particular - much much better IMO than the spotty coverage in Rough Guide. A great source to have along and its expertise IMO is low-cost accommodations rating and critiquing hundreds and hundreds.

ahiddenbird

In terms of securing belongings, I'd bring luggage locks as well as a padlock along with you. I suggest a combination lock because keys can get lost. Keep all your most valuable possessions in a money belt. I find them a bit uncomfortable but they are very safe.

Have you booked your hostels already? If not, hostelz.com is good because it compares the main 4 or 5 hostel booking sites and shows you whats available on each for your trip, and the prices. It also shows all the reviews and overall ratings.

If I can, I always try to see if the hostel I find on there has its own website, though, and book through that because sometimes the rates are a bit better. For instance, for the hostel we're staying at in Cinque Terre, I found it on Hostelz.com for $39.00/night, and when I went on the hostel's website, I found the same room for $30/night, so I just booked that instead.

sofarsogood

Hostels are only as safe as the people who stay there. Which means on the whole you'll be fine as most travellers are honest and just like yourself. But occasionally thefts do occur.

As suggested take a padlock or two. Sometimes the lockers may not have their own locks or to secure your bags. Don't take highly desirable valuables and keep money and important documents on you if you can (even when going to the shower). Don't be paranoid, but be discrete with your belongings.

SimplyRachel

Thus far thank you all!

Adrienne- I just signed up and posted on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum! Thank you

PalenQ- I bought the e-book version of Let's Go Madrid, so far it's incredibly informative.

Ahiddenbird- Haven't booked anything yet, I'm actually hesitant to book anything yes as I haven't decided how long we are going to stay in any one city yet. I will definitely check out hostelz.com and the individual hostels sites (if available)

I also have luggage locks already and will definitely be purchasing a few combination locks for our lockers.

Thank you all again for helping to put at ease a big ball of nerves over here!

jent103

I would take a couple of different locks, if you can spare the space. I've encountered some hostel lockers that would not accommodate one of the big combination locks (think Master), but at the same time, some of the lockers require more space than the smaller combination locks.

In general, if you sleep in a dorm-style room, I'd keep anything valuable either on your person or, at night, next to you in the bed or locked in the locker. And don't take more than you really need - if you can get all your music on your phone, don't bother with an iPod, that sort of thing.

Reputations for hostels can change over the course of a few years, so I'd look at the most recent reviews on sites like hostelworld.com to get a sense of what it's like right now.

Finally, lots of hostels have private rooms you can book in addition to the cheapest dorm-style rooms. They are more expensive, but often (not always) cheaper than a hotel, and would give you a little extra peace of mind as well as privacy. (Do the research on each location, though. When I traveled in Ireland several years ago, we found the b&bs to be so inexpensive that staying in a hostel didn't make much sense.)