Youth Hostels In Ireland

From Shetland to the Borders: seeking refuge in a hostel environment

I can report that the oldest independent hostel in Scotland is still in business and still coping with tired and hungry pilgrims, still drying their clothes and still providing a safe haven from the midges.

Gerry’s Hostel at Craig, near Achnashellach in Glen Carron, opened in 1964. It’s an old railway cottage and the train rattles past the front door several times a day as it makes its way between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh.

Gerry Howkins, and his white beard, has lived here for the past half-century, happily keeping the traditions of the 1960s alive, with iron bunk beds, a log fire, a long wooden table with dripping candles and a cassette player. He proudly boasts “No TV”. There’s certainly no Wi-Fi and not much mobile-phone reception either. Peace, perfect peace.

But he has one of the best drying rooms in the business and a shower that even I can figure out, which is more than can be said for the average Scottish hotel. All this for just £16 a night, plus £1 for a bedsheet and you pay for anything you need from the small food store or bring your own food with you.

I spent a very comfortable and peaceful week here last month, climbing the ten Munros in Glen Carron. Sometimes the hostel was empty, at other times it was completely full with walkers, cyclists and car-tourists from France and Italy who had spotted Gerry’s Hostel on the internet. They got the family rooms on the upper floor, the rest of us had to make do with the dormitory.

Gerry would descend each evening with his large black register, like Moses with the tablets of stone, and ask you to sign in and pay your dues. Then he would sit with his feet up in front of the fire and discuss the issues of the day, with a laugh thrown in between each sentence.

A surprising number of people don’t know such independent hostels exist. For them, Scotland only has B&Bs at £30 a night or hotels at £50 plus.

Hostels in Dublin | Articles Studio

Living in hostels is one of the most enchanting experiences of life. Hostels are made to accommodate people jointly. A hostel is usually considered to be a living place of school, college or university students who are away from their hometowns and families, but in Europe, hostels are low-priced residences for low-budget travelers.

Living in a hostel adds color in your travel. You get to socialize. When people from different social back grounds and school of thoughts live together, they generate a great atmosphere. This is why hostels are far better than hotels for you if you are young and are traveling alone. Living in hostels can save almost 60 to 80% of your usual overnight expenditure. No doubt hostels are the most excellent lodging for a budget minded tourist

In the charming county of Dublin, hostels are the best option if you are on a tight budget. The youth hostels in Dublin offer their guests more than a cheap overnight shelter. Besides cosy old buildings, originally built for the hostel’s point of view, you may also find many houses in picturesque delightful countryside environments as well as in large cities.

Intelligent people prefer to stay in hostels and get many advantages which are not available in the isolated atmosphere of hotels and make their vacation more exciting and interesting. In hostels, a person rents a bed instead of the whole room, he shares the washroom with his roommates, living room and kitchen with other hostel mates and thus he learns to live together. Living in a hostel creates the beautiful sense of sharing in a person.

There are a large number of hostels in Dublin, located in both city centres and uptown areas. Welcoming, clean and budget accommodation provision is the main objective of all the hostels. If you are new in Ireland and looking for a safe but inexpensive place to stay then you only need to consult our Hostels Guide.

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