Hi, I was wondering if anyone could share experiences about the hostel in Washington DC, particularly in regards to transportation around the area.

Our family is planning a European trip for 2012 and I thought it would be a good idea to practice train transit and hostel accommodations here first. We've booked train tickets to Washington DC and one night's accommodations at the hostel.

I've done some research already, and I can call the hostel to get details, but I was hoping to tap into the wisdom here about what to expect. If you had child(ren) with you, how old were they? Were you comfortable walking in the area? How did you travel around the city while you were there? From what I can tell it's only about two miles from Union Station, which should work well.

Of course, any other tips would be great as well. We've been to DC before but it was a hurried trip -- hoping to be a bit more relaxed this time around.

Kandace

Is there only one? Is this the one you are referring to?

http://www.hiwashingtondc.org/

Hostelling International-Washington, DC (HI-DC)
1009 11th Street, NW; Washington, DC 20001

The area is fine in my opinion. You are not far from the Penn Quarter which has lots of restaurants. You can take Metro to get around.

The area used to be "iffy" a number of years ago, but has changed significantly and is as safe as any DC area is. It's a convenient area too. I've commented on DC a number of times, so if you click on my name, I think you'll see threads I've posted to. Enjoy, and thank you for visiting us.

I agree. If it's the one on 11th St NW., it's perfectly safe for families with children of any age.

Thanks so much for your replies! Yes, it's the hostel on 11th Street -- the only one I found in DC. We are looking forward to our trip, and this eliminates one of my worries. Thanks again --

Kandace

Hosteling International usually runs reliable hostels - and I believe mostly allow children. However, don;t assume this is what you will find in all hostels in Europe. You must investigate those carefully - some are essentially party spots - with lots of drinking and some drugs, quite a few don;t allow small children - and there are huge differences between them. the good ones tend to book up early - so you should research and reserve far in advance - esp to ensure they allow children.