I will be traveling the inside passage of Alaska by ferry in July. I'm looking for hostels to stay at. Hotels too expensive for me. Anyone know about Specific hostels in ports of the inside passage? Do I need to make reservations now for the hostel you know about?

Better invest in the Milepost magazine, Marc. There is not a lot of choices and you probably need to make reservations someplace ASAP. We departed in Skagway and got our second choice hotel. There is not much in the way of hotels. Be aware that some of the towns, like Skagway are very small (pop. 800). The Milepost will give you a list of possibilities. BTW if you are tenting on the ferry, Do NOT forget duct tape. Have a great trip.

Donna,
Thank you for your advise.
But I do not know what BTW means! Sorry, what do you mean? I will not be bringing a tent, just a sleeping bag.
Also If I want to keep a flexible itinerary is it possible to "wing it" and plan on sleeping on deck and not make ferry reservations until maybe a day ahead of time? If I show up in let's say Petersburg and need to spend the night what are the chances of finding a "bed" at a hostel or similar boarding situation?
Thanks

By The Way... BTW

Sorry marc, can't help you much here. When we traveled on the Columbia is was just after it was put back into service so the ferry was running at about 1/3 capacity yet the deck chair/heat solarium area was full. We were told to get in line early if you wanted a deck chair. It looked like sleeping was also allowed in other areas of the boat but you had to be up and out first thing in the morning. Check the ferry schedule and talk to someone in reservations, maybe you can plan to use the ferry for night time accomodations. Check with each town on the route about any hostel type places. Locals use the ferry for regular transportation since it is much faster to go places by ferry than by car. Some of the stops are very small towns but you might find some place where people rent out rooms. Or you might find it permissable to sleep in a safe public area. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Since you don't require a cabin, you probably won't have trouble with last minute ferry reservations. I think a lot of people 'wing it'.

Donna,
thanks for the additional advise. I think it will be a great time and I'll just wing it like you suggest.