The Portal for Hostels Abroad Articles on Hostels Abroad Worldwide Hostels Portals Worldwide Hostels Hostels provide reasonably-priced accommodations and will put you in touch with travelers from around the world as well as with locals. Just as hostel guests range in age and travel style, there is no such thing as a typical hostel. The accommodations can be anything from a dormitory room that sleeps 30 to a private room in a castle. Hostels may be located in an urban high rise or a five-mile hike from a remote village.—Kent St. John from Hostels Are the Best Deals

Eurotrip Hostel Guide, www.eurotrip.com/index.html, is a European youth hostel search engine and review.

www.guideforeurope.com. This very well-done website offers a wealth of information about hosteling, including instructions for making a sheet-sack. Check out its list of castle hostels!

HoboTraveler, www.hobotraveler.com. The hostel and hotel section is excellent for finding one of a kind lodgings with many suggestions by hobo readers.

Hostelbookers.com, www.hostelbookers.com, offers an online hostel booking service for destinations worldwide. No booking fees charged.

Hostelling International, www.iyhf.org. The site for the granddaddy for budget travelers worldwide is well designed, well run, and very useful. The news section keeps you well updated on new and renovated hostels. Hostelling International USA. 301-495-1240; www.hiusa.org. Join the American branch of Hostelling International so you can stay in hostels all over the world at low cost—often in private family rooms. (Over 80 percent of European hostels have family rooms.)

Hostels.com, www.hostels.com, lists private hostels worldwide featuring a search engine, forum and extensive posts from those who have participated.

HostelTrail, www.hosteltrail.com, is South America's fastest growing hostel and tour network providing travellers detailed information and photos of some of the continent's top sights and cities.

Hostelwatch.com, www.hostelwatch.com, showcases some of the best hostels in Europe.

Hostelworld.com, www.hostelworld.com, provides hostel bookings, forums, guides and travel help.

Hostelz.com, www.hostelz.com, is a reservation site and search engine which prides itself on the no-nonsense approach to the hostel experience, with lots of feedback from backpackers.

Mega Hostels, www.megahostels.com, is an international hostel directory.

Travellerspoint, www.travellerspoint.com. The philosophy on this great interactive site—which provides booking and many other forms of travel information—is that those who go to hostels should be able to form friendships and contacts, and they provide the tools to do so.

Elements Hostel, www.elementshostel.com/madurai/, is the most luxurious, affordable, safe and comfortable place to stay in Madurai for backpackers and any other kind of travelers. The hostel is in the city of Madurai in India where the world famous Meenakshi Amman Temple is located, and situated at one of the most dynamic and exciting areas in the city, with a remarkable cosmopolitan atmosphere. Elements Hostel is an ideal replacement for an expensive hotel.

Travellers Inn Hostel, www.travellersinn.pl. A friendly, relaxed Hostel in Krakow's Old Town We’ve opened our hostel on the 1st of August. It is a small hostel (up to 30 beds), situated it in the middle of Krakow’s Old Town (between the Main Square and Kazimierz). We offer comfortable, mostly dormitory accommodation for backpackers. We aim to create not just a decent hostel but also a meeting place for backpackers from all around the world.

Villa Saint Exupery, www.vsaint.com, is located in Nice, France. A student residence and hostel open all year round. Visit the web site directly to make a booking.