HOSTEL & PERSONAL SAFETY
 

Everyone's responses on here have been so great & helpful that I have decided to ask yet another question! I'll be backpacking throughout ALL OF Western Europe July-Sept & will be staying in Hostels during my travels. Aside from Hollywood movies portraying them in such ways like Hostel or Taken, how safe are the majority of them & how safe is my stuff being shoved in a locker with a lock. I have many worries about my stuff getting stolen inside the hostels, let alone in certain countries. I have got a money belt & a cable wire cord that goes around my backpack as well as multiple locks but want to know of any other precautions to take. Thanks for your advice!


Side note: I plan to travel a lot buy the Euro Train & sleep on it as well. Any tips for myself & things while traveling on that too?

<i>HOSTEL & PERSONAL SAFETY
Posted by: Alexandra_Breen</i>

Alexandra,
I suggest that you post on your other threads and not keep starting new threads for more or less the same questions. Read the other responses and study the info in the links. I don't know what the Hollywood scripts say. Probably the usual crap. Hostels are sex segregated and you just have to protect your valuables.

Hostels can vary a lot and I think it's very important to select in advance ones that have reputations as being well-run and secure (there are a relatively small number that are hot beds of drugs, theft and heavy partying). In most you should be fine with your belongings in a locker.

As for traveling overnight by train - doing so in a seat - if the train has them - leaves you subject to petty theft. (A fiend of mine had her camera take even tough if was jammed between her body and the seat. And getting a compartment is 1) very expensive - not covered by passes and 2) leaves you subject to both the honesty and good sense of your stranger compartment mates. I wouldn;t do it as a single.

I don;t think there is any potential problem with personal safety - but petty theft is another thing entirely.

Andrea seat61.com for pictures of the couchettes on night trains they are NOT secure they SUCK to sleep on and you will pay a surcharge on your pass that you should not buy to possibly lose all your stuff. eurocheapo.com hostelbookers.com top hostels are pretty save do leave expensive stuff at home and clumbusdirect.com for backpackers cover. Just do day trains like a local pass the pass sleep in top hostels or budget hotels odds are great you will do fine.
Tryto stick with travel buds if you elect to party in strange places with strangers buy your own drinks and watch them mixed. ricksteves.com travel.state.gov good tips on crime safety scams. Eastern Europe the worst for this.

www.journeywoman.com/ccc/ccc-general.html
Good tips no bling expensive elctronics no bling dress down to blend and columbusdirect.com or other insuremytrip.com comp cover always wise.

As long as you are aware of the people and your immediate surroundings and take obvious security measures. Dont leave you bag out of sight, if necessary get a bike lock and either lock it to the luggage rack or even your self. My daughter has just travelled from UK to singapore overland (no planes at all). Using night trains/buses ferries and has had her faith in human kindness restored (after living in london) many times and encoutered no problems, apart from smelly passengers. From people on trains taking her to the bus station and putting her on the righ tbus to people taking her to her hostel. So go unafraid, be be observant of your environs and most of all enjoy your travels

PS do not belive hollwood movies most of europe is probably as safe as you can get

Theft in hostels: Not all hostels have lockable lockers. I wouldn't keep anything that I could not replace or could not bear parting with in my pack. Valuables go in your money belt.

"Hostels are sex segregated..."

In most hostels. But you can expect to come across some unconventional arrangements.

Mixed-gender dorm rooms are commonplace in the Netherlands - even at the official HI hostels. I've slept in them. I have even shared a unisex group shower stall with the opposite sex in the Luxembourg HI hostel. Interesting experience.

Alexandra: I'd encourage you not to sleep on trains - mostly because you won't sleep well. Sometimes you'll be getting off groggy-headed for a 4 am change of train, that sort of thing, or you'll miss your change station, or you'll notice your stop at the last second race off the train and leave you're camera because you are semi-alert, that sort of thing. But I suppose there is also a certain element of danger when you getting on or getting off trains in the wee hours in any city.

If you are this concerned, then you should go into Hostelworld.com and look at:

1) the rating - is it rated at 97% or at 65%? These ratings are a composite of what all the reviewers have said about any one hostel.

2) Read the reviews. Read the negative reviews first - which will give you an idea if anyone has ever had anything stolen in that particular hostel and how it was stolen.

3) On Hostelworld, the hostels are rated in separate categories, like Cleanliness, Security, etc. The "Security" rating is probably of most interest to you.

I've found hostelworld.com to be the best of the hostel websites. Other sites like booking.com may have more reviews, but they are VERY unreliable.

You should also get yourself a small lock, like the dial locks you used in high school for your HS lockers.

Hostelworld gives out an annual award for the best hostels. They are not always the same for every year, so check into all the prior years when this Hoscar award were given. Here's the list for 2011:

http://www.hostelworld.com/press/Hos...s-in-the-world


mrgrumpy has given you some very good advice. A money belt is essential.


Finally, travel light. The less things you carry with you, the less you have to worry about. I once met a girl who was travelling for three months throughout Europe and all she had was a backpack the size of a regular school backpack. It can be done.

You may want to check http://www.hostelbookers.com/ as well. Their prices are a little cheaper than Hostel World. Or always check the hostel/hotel out on TripAdvisor before you book. Only downside is you have to pay a deposit for both sites and unless you buy the insurance, it's non-refundable. I try to check booking.com to see if the hostel is listed there and book there; it's very easy, safe, and you usually don't have to put any sort of deposit down.

I've stayed in plenty of hostels in the last 10 years (oh man, I'm getting old), single-sex and mixed (this one in Paris had only one key so if it wasn't at reception means one of your roommates was in the room anyway, I knocked on the door and a big Dutch guy in his tighty-whities opened the door. It was weird and funny at the same time). Keep an open mind, talk to your roommates, and if you don't feel comfortable, talk to hostel workers to see if you can change rooms.

As for safety for your stuff, some hostels will have an in-room individual locker for your bag and others just have a main luggage storage room. I think you just have to hope for the best and that no one in your room is an a**hole!

If there's a choice while booking, I usually try to book a room with 2-4 other beds, nothing more. Yes, it costs a bit more money (but not that much) but I feel safer that way.

Also look into this: www.couchsurfing.org

The best and easiest thing you can do for safety of your "stuff" is to NOT travel with expensive items. Things that get stolen most often are cash, ipods, netbooks, etc. If you justpack your clothing and true necessities and use a money belt (with an ATM card so you aren't carrying large amounts of cash at any one time), there's nothing for people to steal, basically.

Keep your money, electronics and documents with you in zipped bag and out of sight. Scams can happen anywhere. On a taxi ride in BA, my friend was given his money back with an excuse that it was torn. So he gave the taxi driver another note. Later he realized the money he received back was fake. My advise is always be vigilant and enjoy your journey!

I think overall, Europe is pretty safe. I have been on numerous trains (couchettes too) and slept many nights in hostels all throughout Europe and (knock on wood) I have never had any problems.

I think in general, your fellow travelers are just there to hang out and have fun just like you are. Sure, it only takes 1 bad apple to spoil the bunch but stealing stuff is not as easy as it may seem.

Even in the hostels, back in the day there was no locked room. There was just a room off to the side where everyone just threw their backpacks in there. When you came back, you just went to the room and found it. The key is to not have anything valuable in your backpack. Nobody is going to steal your cheap t-shirts, sneakers, slippers, toothbrush, socks, etc. There's no need to bring expensive jewelry, electronics, etc.

For stuff like your credit card, cash, ipod, cell phone, etc. you just need to make sure you have this stuff on you at all times. For really important stuff (passport, money, credit cards), use a money belt. I don't really use a money belt and I just wear my wallet but whenever I am in any area where there are a lot of people, I put my wallet in my front pocket and stick my hand right there. I have seen a lot of pick pockets in trains, etc. and have never been pick pocketed (although I have seen others get pick pocketed).

Couchettes on trains are pretty safe. It's 6 people in there and they are all just in there trying to get some sleep like you are. I always get the top bunk so if I lie down with my stuff between me and the wall, it's really hard for anyone to snoop.

Overall, just be alert and you will likely be fine.