Hi,

My daughter is studying in Vincenza this summer and wants to take some side trips (Venice, Pisa) . She's concerned about security at hostels. Is there a way to find out if the student hostels are safe? Any advice?

Guides like the Let's Go Italy list realistic descriptions of students hostels, plus lots of other students budget info regarding restaurants, sightseeing, and nightlife.

The website Hostelbookers.com has copious user reviews for hostel stays, so your daughter can check out places in advance. Here's an example for a hostel in Pisa:

http://www.hostelbookers.com/propert...strTab=reviews

Also, many parents post on Fodor's about their student-aged children's trips. I don't think I have ever heard of a single incident of a young person having unsafe experiences in a hostel, or in Italy in general. The rare times parents have posted warnings on Fodor's about bad experiences their offspring had, they were for other countries -- and such reports were extremely rare.

It is fair to say that most young people are safer traveling to Europe on a budget than they are traveling in America on a budget.

I want to make it clear that in my above post, when I referred to bad experiences young people had while traveling, I can't recall that any of those experiences were in hostels. None.

Hi Asp,

Also take the question to the Thorntree Forum at www.lonelyplanet.com. Many more younger folks there.

Both of my daughters traveled through Europe and stayed in hostels. They never had any problems and in fact met some nice young people from different countries. My older daughter did a study progam in Verona and on weekends did many sidetrips. She traveled with other students in her program and sometimes they stayed in a hotel and sometimes a cheaper hotel. For example when they went to Venice (I think it was 3 of them), they found a hotel that was actually cheaper than the hostel and they had more privacy. My younger daughter traveled through Europe for the summer with 2 other friends and they stayed in hostels the whole time with no issues.

My advice for hostels would be to make sure they book the room ahead as the better hostels fill up quickly. Try to get a room that has less people (like 4-6 beds instead of 12). There is often a choice of female only instead of coed dorms and some girls feel more comfortable with that. Many hostels have private or semi-private rooms which might work depending on their budget. Many private rooms in hostels are not any cheaper than a hotel. Hostels also have lockers so as long as personal items are under lock and key, there shouldn't be a problem with that.

Zeppole mentioned hostelbookers.com. Another good site is www.hostelworld.com. I would read the reviews ahead of time to find out about shower facilities, lock-outs (some hostels close during the day for cleaning, etc).

Your daughter will have a great time and be perfectly safe. Again the booking ahead is probably key for summer travel. The only time my older daughter had a problem was in Dublin and it was minor. She didn't book ahead and her preferred hostel was full for the night. She went to another one which was known more for partying. The only room in the hostel was a mixed dorm room with about 12 beds. In the middle of the night, a few of the guests returned home and had a hard time locating their bunk. Woke everyone up with their partying. The next day, my daughter was able to switch to another hostel where she met a nice French girl and did some sightseeing with her.

Your daughter should reads the reviews and book sensibly, figure out a way to protect her valuables, and have fun. It's not wise to leave an iPhone or cash lying around, for example, but it's extremely unlikely that any serious threat will befall her. I think that a woman sleeping alone in a dodgy hotel is much more at risk than in a hostel. Pickpockets, when she's out touring about, could happen no matter where she stays, so she should have a plan to thwart them too.

Willtravel-You're right about a dodgy hotel. However when I mentioned cheaper hotels, my daughter was never traveling alone. This is only when she had others to share a room with. They were also very careful to check out the neighborhoods before they booked the hotel. Same thing for a hostel so that is why I suggest that the OP's daughter reads reviews.