ASU2003

I am going to make a list of what I need to bring with me. If anybody else has some input, I would appreciate hearing it.

-Fleece sleeping bag liner
-Pajama pants
-T-shirts (? how many)
-Shorts (1)
-Pants (1)
-Tennis shoes
-Socks (4 pair ?, I might buy a cheap pack when I get there and not pack them)
-Swiming suit
-Sandals
-Underwear - http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...S_CLOTHING_TOC - I have two pair of these.
-Bathroom essentials
-Digital camera
-Sunglasses
-Cell phone (not that I will call anybody, but I could)
-Inflatable pillow
-Sunscreen
-Beach Towel - This takes up a lot of room, but could be used at beach, shower and bottom sheet on bed.
-Water bottle
-Energy bar
-Hat

eribrav

Some of this depends on where you are going.

Warm or cold place (I'm going to guess warm based on some of the items...)? Urban or rural?

Crack

Comdoms. 24 pack.

__________________
Crack, you and I are long overdue for a vicious bout of mansex.

~Halx

absorbentishe

Hopefully a companion, traveling alone sucks.

kurty[B]

Does the hostel you're staying at have laundry facilities, or a large sink you can wash your clothes in? This cuts down on bring extra clothes. Buy a 6 or 12 pack when you get there (assuming alcohol is allowed), and offer to other hostel goers to get some interesting conversation going.

ASU2003

I don't really know where I am staying yet. Do you make reservations ahead of time normally? I've never stayed at a hostel before, but that is supposed to be the thing to do when you are a young open-minded traveller on a budget.

I'm going to be travelling by myself, like always. I'm used to it, and like the fact that I can do what I want and am never really disappointed or have to hear someone else blame me for being late and missing something. But, I wouldn't mind travelling in a group, so I'm hoping that I can tag along with some of the other people at the hostel on their day trips.

And I'm not the type of person that gets off on random sex, so condoms probably aren't for me.

I do need to bring toilet paper.

And a phone card.

Deltona Couple

I get this flashback from the movie "Hostle" and have one more suggestion...bring a gun...lmfao. (just kidding!)

__________________
"It is not that I have failed, but that I have found 10,000 ways that it DOESN'T work!" --Thomas Edison

tiltedbc

I've stayed at hundreds of hostels in my travels. What to take depends on what you need and where you're going. I went to Brazil for 3 months with a small daypack. For 5 days, I'd need very little other than what I'm wearing and my bathroom kitbag. I have a rule to "always carry a condom" though.

Your list sounds fine but I would include a bar of clothes washing soap so you can do laundry such as washing socks. A smaller towel is a better idea. Big towels are heavy and take up space. They also take longer to dry. Most hostels have towels for free or charge a small amount.

A vital thing to also bring is a medium sized padlock for storage boxes in rooms. ALWAYS protect your valuables.

The sleeping bag liner is nice but not necessary. Almost every hostel supplies sheets and they're usually fine to sleep with.

I rarely make reservations at Hostels. The key is to arrive at about 10 am to noon as this is when people are checking out. An exception is when you're getting a private room, which is tougher to get than a dorm situation. Also, check the room before you pay. A room filled with other guys can smell pretty bad.

I'd suggest the dorm situation if you're traveling alone. It's the best way to meet people from all over the world. Also some girls get naked on a regular basis in the mixed dorms because they're from Europe or just like to show off. Not that I mind.

There's some good hostel search sites such as hostelz.com and hostelworld.com that let you search by country and city. It's a good way to check prices and even see photos of hostels that are available.

opus123

Take quick drying socks if you plan on washing the socks while you are there.

I take ear plugs in case I am sleeping near a snoring person or on a loud street with sirens at night or other street noises.

I take coins. Some lockers at youth hostels take coins and some take locks and some have keys that you get from the front desk.

I have stayed at 8 different youth hostels and have never had my stuff stolen, but in a big city stuff might get stolen so get a locker. You don't say what country you are going to however, so I don't know if you need your passport of not to take.

I take a pen and paper and book to read. I take notes as I walk around.

I also buy local bus tickets when I get to a city. That way I don't have to learn the bus coins and such stuff. I usually walk everywhere. Sometimes the bus is faster.

I take small binoculars sometimes.

I like that idea of buying beer and sharing it with your fellow youth hostelers as a way of joining a group or just befriending your bunkmates.

Another think I print out is a map of the city I am in, if I have never been there before.

In some cities, the youth hostel can be sold out if there is a holiday going on or if the weather is nice. So I always make a reservation.

good luck,

Jonathan

__________________
"We are sure to be losers when we quarrel with
ourselves. It is a civil war, and in all such
contentions, triumphs are defeats." Mr Colton
==================================

kurty[B]

Call the hostel ahead of time, and reserve if you can. I've stumbled on hostels that if I hadn't called a day or more ahead would have easily been sold out by the time I arrived.

snowy

--Make a reservation.
--Find out what amenities your hostel offers. Odds are it will offer some, be it free towels or clean sheets or something. This will allow you to cut down on unnecessary items.
--Shower shoes. I know you said you are taking sandals--make sure you can wear them in the shower
--A quick-drying camping towel. Your towel is just going to take up too much room, and it's likely that your hostel will provide towels.

Also, instead of toilet paper, pack some unscented baby wipes. They're a lot more useful, and are less awkward space-wise.

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

ASU2003

Thanks for all the tips. Things are coming together, and it should be an 8 day trip now. I will need a map that I will pick up there, because I get lost easily. And I probably won’t be staying in just one hostel. I’ll be going to different parts of the town most likely. But I also want to hang out with and get to know the other travelers. More than "Hi.", "Bye."

I'll try to make reservations ahead of time, but it might not work. I don't think that this is the peak travel season, but it is still going to be busy. Are the co-ed dorms cleaner and better than the male only ones? Do the co-ed ones fill up first and that is why you need to make reservations?

I will be sure to bring a pad lock now, I would have never thought about that.

I am having a debate about if I should bring my laptop or not? I will have it with me for my business travel portion, but do I want to bring it? It does fit in a hidden compartment inside my backpack. I used it quite a bit last summer when I drove around the southwest. I can get information and find where to go/where I am. I could try to print out my things to do list, hostel phone numbers/locations, and use their shared computers to find information, it might work, but it might not. Security would be an issue and necessity is the other. If I do some prep work ahead of time and know what hostels are good, where I can camp outside (there is a national park to hike and camp in 2 hours away by train), and a bunch of other basic info so I'm not completely lost and freaking out in a foreign country, I should be ok. It is like a baby blanket kind of. I know that I don't need it and will have a great time without it, but part of me worries that I won't be free to make up my trip as I go along quite as much. Have you ever seen someone with a computer? I’m 90% sure I’m not taking it.

I checked with the airport, and it costs about US$9/day to leave a suitcase, so it would probably be worth it to lighten the load.

About the towel... I'm not exactly happy about bringing it, but I'll have to see. It would be the first thing to go. It probably won't go, but I might get a smaller towel. Does the hostel let you take their towels to the beach? I thought about it some more and the beach towel isn't going. I'll buy something there if I really need to.

So added to the list:
-pad lock
-map
-bus/ferry week-long pass US$29
-ear plugs (I’ll have those from my airplane packing list)
-fabreze/oust/air freshener, I’ll leave it behind at the end though.

ziadel

[QUOTE=onesnowyowlA quick-drying camping towel. Your towel is just going to take up too much room, and it's likely that your hostel will provide towels.
[/QUOTE]


the only Hostel I have ever stayed at, had one towel for all the guests, was callled the Yosemite Bug.

first and last time in a hostel.

__________________
Ron Paul '08
Vote for Freedom
Go ahead and google Dr. Ron Paul. You'll like what you read.

snowy

Wow, most of the ones I've stayed in have had towels. Of course, you used your towel more than one day, but you could turn it in at the desk when it was dirty.

Either way, taking a camping towel when you travel is always a good call. I have: http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...HP_CAMPING_TOC
It's a quick-drying towel--exceptionally handy. As Towlie says, "Don't forget to bring a towel!"

__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

greytone

That ex-officio underwear is fantastic to travel with. I have a couple of pair myself. Along those lines consider a microfiber towel. They take up the space of 3 or 4 handkerchiefs and can be used a variety of ways. It can be used as a throw to keep you warm, or to sit on at the beach. If you do use it as a towel it will dry easily. I always feel a little like Arthur Dent when I use m,ine on thew road.

__________________
I was there to see beautiful naked women. So was everybody else. It's a common failing.
Robert A Heinlein in "They Do It With Mirrors"

agjnm

ok here is my list:
zipplock bags
tylenol
shower shoes (thong sandles)
a hat for the sun
sunscreen
razor
tp
bugspray
purell hand sanitizer
and everything else people have said good luck, have fun, dont forget to write!

__________________

ASU2003

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...HP_CAMPING_TOC

I'll try this towel out. It will take up much less space than my current beach towel.

I will also take an alarm clock.

-UltraLite Camping Towel
-Alarm Clock (I don't have a travel sized one, but mine isn't too big)
-Foreign Power Conversion Kit
-3 outlet mini us power plug thing (I will be able to plug in three things at once, plus I use it at airports where it is hard to find a plug, you can ask someone if you can share an outlet)
-pants(2) - I'm thinking that I will need a second pair.
-Hat - I'll buy a hat locally on the first day there, but it won't go in the backpack.

?- iPod - I just bought it for running, and I would go running a few times. It is a nano, so it won't take up that much space.

? - Tent - I would have to attach this to the outside of the backpack in some way. I wouldn't mind going camping for one night there. It would be a two hour train ride each way, but it would be worth it.

opus123

So which youth hostel will you be staying at ?

My trip to the one near Forks, WA, USA was very nice. And the one on Vashon Island, WA is one of the best in the world I am told. It was great sleeping in a covered wagon in the summer.

ciao,

Jonathan

__________________
"We are sure to be losers when we quarrel with
ourselves. It is a civil war, and in all such
contentions, triumphs are defeats." Mr Colton
==================================

ASU2003

I have no idea yet. I'll have to figure it out as I go along.