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Family Travel Can Include Hostels

familytravelAnyone who’s into backpacking and budget travel knows that staying in hostels is one of the best ways to save money on the road. And if you’re a young traveler you probably aren’t thinking about anything beyond your next trip – or even tomorrow – so it may not have even occurred to you yet that someday you’ll grow up.

Yes, it’s true.

You’ll grow up, and – if you’re within the usual bell curve of humanity – you’ll start a family. So does that kind of thing mean your hosteling days are over? Well, let’s put it this way – it doesn’t have to.

A recent article on BootsnAll, Hosteling With Kids, encouraged traveling families to not rule out hostels as a good option. With a big enough family, it can be a real money-saver – but even if it’s not a huge savings over a hotel, the author argues that staying in a hostel with your kids can be an education for mini-travelers. The opportunity to spend time around people from other cultures gives kids a chance to learn tidbits of other languages and just generally get comfortable with people who aren’t exactly like them.

Now, long-time hostelers know that hostels aren’t unsafe places to stay, but when you’re staying in a hostel with your kids you may want to do more pre-trip research to make sure you’re choosing truly great hostels rather than just going with the cheapest option. If a hostel isn’t in a good neighborhood, for instance, that could really put a crimp in your style when you’ve got more than just yourself to worry about.

But even staying in nicer hostels won’t keep you or your kids from getting sick on the road – so before you leave home, don’t forget to get family travel insurance. You may not need it, but you’ll feel better if you have it.

photo by TheDreamSky