Hostels - August & September
 

Me and my girlfriend will be traveling Europe during all of August and September. I've got a good list of hostels in each of the cities we'll be in and where they are located in respect to where our train arrives. Will we need to phone the hostel a couple days in advance to make a reservation or should we just wing-it? We're hoping to stay in the largest, lowest priced mixed-dorm rooms in each of the hostels we visit.

August is a very busy time of year, I highly recommend having reservations. September is a little less busy, but it still wouldn't hurt to call ahead.

The fact that you'll take the cheapest dorms will definitely help you get places, but there are two of you. But the more popular and better-reviewed the hostel, the harder it is to get a place.

If you are traveling for two months, you and your girlfriend might get pretty tired of 20+-person mixed dorms with no privacy, night after night. Might you consider occasional stays in some smaller towns where you could get private rooms for 40-50 Euros per night?

<u>More</u> than a couple of days in advance. In August and at least the first half of Sept you will not have much chance of getting any private rooms (or even 4 to 6 person rooms) unless you book well ahead.

Mixed dorm rooms?

You must be planning to stay in private (non-HI) hostels?

For those, yes, book ahead.

It's hard to say, not knowing exactly where you're going. However, Germany (and other countries) has about 600 HI hostels, many in castles and fortresses, that in August and September are often surprisingly available. HI hostels get most of their business during the school year from school groups. School ends in July and school groups don't start hosteling until October or so again, freeing up lots of rooms.

HI hostels often have private double rooms available too - they build these for the leaders that accompany school groups. You should check out the HI's as an option if you haven't.

Many HI hostels have mixed dorm rooms also .