Staying in hostels in Europe if under 18
 

My daughter will be 17 when she travels with friends in Europe this summer. She has heard that she may not be able to make a reservation at any hostels since she is under 18. I have heard that she can be chaperoned by someone in her party who is 18 as long as she has a letter from her parents giving permission. Anyone know anything more about this?

Each hostel will have a different set of regulations. If they are 18 and over only, a letter won't make a difference (far too each to fake/forge). I'd call or email each hostel before making reservations to make sure they will accept her, as it can be difficult some places. Most won't care that her friends are over 18 either.

I don't know much but my sister and her friends went travelling in Europe when they were all under 18 and they managed ok so it must be ok in some places :)

Look at the YHA hostels - they are generally very good hostels, and have a family friendly atmosphere. Email them in advance, and ask if its okay, or you make the reservations for her. For the most part I have had very good experiences with hostels in Europe.

I would however suggest you google for hostels in the areas your daughter wants to go to, and then take each hostels name and use a site like tripadvisor or hostelworld to see what previous clients thought of it. I don't generally book into a hostel with less than a 80% rating. I have found these very useful tools, which is probably why I have enjoyed the majority of my stays in european hostels.

If she is traveling to the UK check out my blog http://travelbritainonabudget.com/ for tips and things to do and see that are either free or for a small budget traveler.