I am going to be 50 years young this year and will be setting off to Europe for a month with a backbpack on my back. I cant see the point of paying for a hotel room for just one person so I am considering youth hostels. Will I look and feel completely out of place? I will be spending quite a long time in Rome - can anyone reccommend a good youth hostel there?

Few hostels have age limits.

The Beehive is highly recommended as an excellent-quality, non-party hostel. It books up really quickly, though, so book well in advance.

Someone on another board reported meeting ladies in their 70s at a hostel in the UK.

If you read the reviews at http://www.bugeurope.com you should be able to figure out if a particular hostel will be a good fit for you.

Ironically, the HI/YHA hostels are often the most suited to older people because they tend to have slightly stricter rules. http://www.hihostel.com

I wouldn't think twice about using one if the style of holiday suited it. But you're much older than I (at least 2 years!!)

I stayed in several hostels while in my 30s, and I felt out of place. Not because of my age (I could have passed for 20s), but because of my vacation style. I found some of the places to be totally depressing - everyone would be sitting around all day smoking cigarettes and eating bread and jam as their meals. I'd wake up at the crack of dawn raring to go, and would have to tiptoe around everyone else with their hangovers who wouldn't be getting up for another couple of hours. If you can find a great hostel, preferably one with private rooms, go for it. Otherwise, I'd say a few euro more could get you a budget hotel or a tiny studio apartment where you'd be treating yourself a bit more like what you've become accustomed to over the years. And please do splurge on a good hotel once in a while - you're worth it! Have a great trip and happy birthday!

That's why the reviews are so important. I haven't encountered any hostels of that sort. They all had people buzzing around starting by 7 AM in the morning or so, and there wasn't a sense of people lying around and not doing anything.

I encourage you to keep doing your research on this topic. The internet is such a valuable tool. I know there are some hostels with age restrictions, but I've also read posts and articles from "senior citizens" much older than yourself who have gone this route.

Another bulletin board to read is Thorn Tree at www.lonelyplanet.com. Loads of hosteling folks there, and also a special branch titled Older Travelers.

I will be 40 this year. I haven't hosteled since 2000, but I plan to do so this year in Switzerland. Like others have said, hostel quality can vary greatly, so I would do some research first. Let's Go usually has a good hostel listing for every town it covers. But even still, you (well, I) have to guard against selecting a Let's Go recommendation that is little different than a frat house.

Generally, my rule is that hosteling makes more sense in the north because the cost savings over even a pension is pretty sweet. But in the south (Italy and Turkey are my experiences in southern Europe), the cost saving is small and hostel quality is usually low.

When I visit the Berner Oberland region in Switzerland I will stay at the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald. Hands down it's the best hostel ever. 20 SF per night, clean, orderly, great people, and views that no 5-star hotel can touch:

http://www.mountainhostel.com/

Interesting observation about north to south, and varying country to country. Makes sense. On another BB/poster mentioned the hostel in Vevey, Switzerland was the best they'd had in all of Europe when we were discussing that region.

i don't have any real experience to share, however, for the question of whether you will look and feel out of place....

in europe, there tends to be less of a feeling that things are appropriate for at certain ages. for example, germans in particular are pretty good travelers who in many cases do things on the cheap even at an older age (rucksacks, hostels, etc)...you will not be alone, nor will you feel funny. youth hostels should be approached with care as you can get many that are as described by other posters. however, budget/alternative accomodations are out there and while i have none to recommend, it will be worth the research.

i think that you will feel less out of place than you would doing the same in other parts of the world. go for it and don't worry.

Last time I stayed in a hostel it was on Islay, and they had 4 people rooms which the two of us who were together were able to share. It was just like havinga private room.

Whether "few" or "many" hostels have age limits depends on how you definge those terms. But it is not unusual for hostels to have upper age limits--so check first. Others might not have an upper age limit on private rooms, but have one on dorm rooms.

I stayed in hostels in my youth but eventually found the restrictions and inconveniences (which vary widely, and are sometimes quite onerous) not worth any savings there might be.

Do check on age limits before showing up at a hostel.

have you thought about staying in monastaries? i never had until i started researching budget accomodations and now i'm looking forward to stays in the convents. updated "bed and blessings" book/guide to monastaries and convents is being released 07/05, but i have already found great rec's on this board in prime locations. most, not all, have curfews that range from 10:00pm to midnight.

I stayed in a youth hostel last week and I'm 39. I rarely do so anymore, and when I do I normally go for a private bedroom (though I slept in a dormitory two or three years ago).

I vaguely feel out of place, but it's not enough to completely deters me. Like you, I'm unwilling to spend a lot on acomodation, and I don't care about sharing the shower or the bathroom. I'm not the only one doing so at my age. Quite often there's another or a couple
of people in their 30s. People in their 50s are quite rare, though. But I don't think it should be an issue. People aren't going to look at you with weird glance, and they're generally a friendly bunch.

Also, I would tend to disagree with the comment made by a previous poster. I didn't notice a trend of younsters hanging around doing nothing all day. At the contrary, they seem very active to me, generally wake up early, and visit twice as much stuff I do during the day. Actually, I often barely see anybody else in the YH. They've all left long ago when I'm ready to go.

I would point out too that outside major cities one can usually find quite cheap hotels or pensions.

Finally, I would personnally tend to avoid staying in a YH during high season, when the hostels are full,because I somehow feel I'm "stealing" a cheap room from some young student who 1)couldn't aford a hotel while I can and 2) will have more fun in a hostel with a bunch of people his age.

i guess its a good thing for everyone else that my negative experiences weren't universal! so it's probably useless to mention the amplified bullhorn that shouted, at 6 in the morning throughout the premises, "ANYONE FOR WORK?... ANYONE FOR WORK?..." over and over again, seeing guests who were willing to scrub the bathrooms to earn their keep rather than pay the nightly fee?
rest assured though, none of the hostels I stayed at were in countries discussed on the Europe board

Some hostels have no problem with youths hanging around all day as they lock you out during certain hours.

Nutella, what countries were these hostels in that did this?

If one thoroughly researches ahead of time, it will be clear if the hostel in question has an age limit, a lockout period, a party reputation, a curfew, or any other factor which might be a deal-breaker.

In October 2002 my mother (then 60) and I (then 25) went backpacking in northern Italy. In Rome we stayed at the Sunshine Hostel. It is near the trainstation and for us within walking distance of everything except the Vatican.

Because of mixups in our reservations we got to stay 3 nights in a private room with bath (which we had requested) and one night in a mixed dorm. The entire hostel was very clean (sheets changed everyday) and the staff were great. The beds were comfortable. There was no lock out period or curfew (everyone was given a key) and internet access was included. The other guests were great with lots of very funky personalities (we shared the dorm room with a Mariachi band from Mexico who were there to play for the Pope!). There was a communal kitchen where people cooked a variety of food.

In all our stay was very good. The hostel is very basic, so don't expect anything fancy. But it did was we expected a hostel to do - provided a decent bed at a very good price with no frills.

Very much recommended.

Some people only start hostelling when they retire with limited income.

Also you can get a room just for yourself there, only the showers and kitchens will be shared.

From this website I've learned about rooms in convents - are there any for men? Can be an option.

Hello. Not much for hostels at our age.... and you take big chances on finding an appropriate one. I have always done well looking up B&B's....many have shared bathrooms and the cost is not prohibitive at all! I recommend in Rome "Kerouac" B&B very friendly, shared baths, clean and good breakfast.....also convenient
to transportation, esp. rail.
Maybe a good thing to do is book a b&b for a night or so in each town, that way you know you have a room, and look around at the hostels while your touring the city during the day!
Either way, enjoy your adventures! "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!"