Help! my best friend and i are traveling to Rome first week of April. We need budget accommodations. My friend wants to stay in a hostel to avoid paying too much, but we've got friends and family telling us horror stories of girls in Rome. We're looking for anything that wont break a students budget? Suggestions? (and any suggestions on how to calm the nerves of the folks around us?)

www.eurocheapo.com

Best wishes,

Rex

I travelled to Rome in December by myself (I'm an 18 year old female) and stayed in a hostel with no problems at all. It was in a really good location, only a few minutes walk from St. Peter's Square, had storage lockers, free internet access and was very cheap. It's called Hostal Ottaviano and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. I have stayed in hostels in quite a few places in Europe now and I prefer them to cheap hotels. It saves you money and you meet lots of people from all over the world. Check out www.hostelz.com for descriptions, photos, reviews and online booking for hostels around the world. Have a great time in Rome!

Go to a bookstore or online and get yourself a copy of the book "Bed and Blessings." It's a compendium of monasteries where you can stay for very little money, and I'm sure there'll be some in or around Rome. THAT should help to calm the adults' nerves

Wonderful!!! Thank you! I will look into all your suggestions... we are really looking forward to our trip... and by the way asha...Thanks.. knowing that an 18 yo female found a hostal that she felt safe in is perfect for us! Ohhh i'm so excited!

If you stay in convents/monasteries be sure to ask about curfews. Some are as early as 11pm.

If I were 18-20 years old and going to Rome on vacation a convent would be the last place I would stay - what a drag on any nightlife. If you can't misspend your youth when can you live it up?

I would advise against the monistaries as well. My daughter and two of her friends, all 18, traveled for two weeks last summer. Started off in London, then Amsterdam, and ended up in Rome. They booked hostels in London and Amsterdam and loved it! The accommodations were not high class but they really enjoyed meeting all of the other young travelers, and sharing information about where they had been that day, etc.

In Rome, they rented an apartment and, while they really liked having their own shower, they missed the interaction with other kids which affected the amount of 'fun' they had in Rome. It wasn't my daugher's first trip to Rome and she still loves it, but she wished they had stayed in a hostel.

Crime in Rome is 95% pickpocketing! Watch yourself and you'll be fine.