Hostel Age Limit

It is going to vary across hostels. Generally, I think that you would be OK, since you are there as someone of age, but some places may not allow it. Check with each hostel for a specific policy (most will be happy to e-mail you back pretty quickly with a reply).

Ethan, Age 15 seems a bit young to be travelling independently in Europe. Are his parents OK with the idea? As the previous reply mentioned, you'll have to contact the Hostels to determine their policy on that sort of thing, and the rules may vary between countries. You may be interested in this statement from the HI Hostels website..... "Children are welcome to stay at HI Hostels worldwide, and should be accompanied by an adult. Unaccompanied children are permitted to stay in some HI Hostels, although age limits apply - and these vary between countries and hostels. Please contact each Hostel or National Youth Hostel Association directly for information."
Please be aware that unaccompanied minors are not allowed to stay in dormitories, and can therefore only stay in hostels where a private room is available and booked in advance." Good luck!

I would suggest that you contact European immigration and confirm that they will let him in and what documentation you will need. In most parts of Europe a 15 year old is considered a child and is expected to be under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian. You may need to have the written permission of his parents, have sufficient funds to cover the whole of his trip and so on. It is better to make sure everything is in order, than to be refused entry on arrival.

Thanks a lot guy this has helped so much! He's my cousin so his parents should be ok... its more of an idea than a for sure plan so its not going to be a tragedy if he can't go. but thanks again for the help!

If this plan gets serious, your cousin's parents need to check into legal issues beyond European immigration. You've recognized this, I think, given your question about being considered his guardian. Don't overlook the airline(s) on which you'll fly out of your home airport, to be sure your cousin won't be considered an "unaccompanied minor" and that you can document that his parents consent to your accompanying him on the flight (i.e., "taking him out of the country", which is pretty much how the airline will look at an adult and minor traveling together). Also, you probably need some sort of consent documentation signed by his parents which would authorize you to make decisions concerning his medical care - for anything including a bad cold, poison ivy rash, or sprained ankle, or heaven forbid something worse - while on the trip. I don't know how all this should be handled, but you are wise to see that good advice and planning would be essential. I hope you get to Europe and have a good time.

The airlines will not consider him an unaccompanied minor. He may still purchase the service, but at that age he is not required to. As for traveling alone, I was 15 when I did my first international flight without a parent or a guardian... but that was back in the '90s. I do agree with some of the other people here that this might now be the best idea without someone else a little older than you. Do you have any experience traveling independently? Also, does he have a passport? Getting a passport for someone under 16 is much more difficult than getting it at 16. Another thing that has popped up is that you are strongly recommended to have a travel consent letter for him that is signed and notarized: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/cons-acs/sample_letter_of_consent_to_travel.pdf In addition, the standard requirements for entry apply: You may need to show that you have enough money for your trip and a return ticket.