Hostels & Leaving Belonging in Hostels

I've stayed in hostels in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and as I only had clothing and toiletries, I never bothered to lock my bag up. It seemed to be the normal thing, as I only saw one person actually using a locker. Do what you feel comfortable with.

Griffin, You shouldn't have any problems leaving your Backpack "open" in Hostels (however there are never any guarantees). Anything of any value should be secured in the Lockers, which most Hostels provide. In most cases, guests must provide their own Padlock. I'd recommend using a reasonably good quality lock, medium size, with heel & toe locking (talk to a Locksmith). Most Hostel Lockers are not large enough to hold a large Backpack, but that tends to vary between properties. One point to mention - most Hostels DO NOT allow sleeping bags, due to the possibility of cross-contamination. You'll have to use the Sleep Sacks they provide (sometimes in the cost of the room, sometimes for a small additional charge). You can also pack along your own Sleep Sack, in either cotton or silk (check the Travel Store on this website or Magellans for some examples). Happy travels!

Every hostel I've stayed in has a locker in your room that is the size of my high school gym lockers (maybe 3 feet tall, 1 foot wide and 2 feet deep). Bring your own gym style lock to lock your stuff up. As a general rule, lock up everything you aren't personally keeping track of, even for a brief trip to the bathroom. Hostels are somewhat notorious for petty theft of anything left sitting around. Some hostels give you your room for the length of your stay, some let you keep your room but have a lockout time, so you can store your backpack in your room (but may not have access) during the day. Others make you check out each morning and check back in that afternoon. In that case, they often offer a bank of lockers around the lobby to store your stuff. In the relatively rare case where you have to check out, but don't have a place to store your stuff. You will have to lug it to a train or bus station to put it in a locker or carry it all day.

Griffin, The points mentioned by Brad are valid concerning daily lock-outs, etc. However, that can be easily managed by choosing Hostels that don't operate like that. I tend to favour Hostels that don't have a lock-out. You might want to have a look at the HI Hostels website. They have Hostels in many parts of the world, and sometimes offer several properties in each city. I've found that they're well managed and the facilities are fairly consistent from one property to another. Having an inexpensive HI membership provides cheaper rates and preferred booking (over non-members). I've found that Locker size varies depending on the Hostel. In some that I've stayed at lately, the Lockers have been about 4' x 2' and metal construction (some use wood lockers). Cheers!

I read this advice regarding keeping money and passport safe in a hostel while showering etc. It suggested buying a waterproof gizmo that is sold to fishermen and boaters to store your valuables in and taking them into the shower with you.

When I stayed in hostels, I felt ok about leaving my luggage in the room as long as I took my valuables with me. A small lock on the bag will defeat casual theft from the bag. The only time any of my belongings disappeared at a hostel it was a pair of cheap new shoes that I left lying around. So, if you have something new, keep it in your luggage.

I have to disagree that hostels are "notorious" for petty theft. As long as you don't leave electronics lying around in plain view, there's nothing really to worry about. I stayed in several hostels without lockers in the rooms; people left their suitcases/packs on the floor or beds, and it was no big deal. When I went to shower I would just put my wallet, ring etc in my suitcase or daypack. Almost all hostel guests are middle class young travelers such as yourself. It's not a constant den of theives.

I have to disagree with everybody, mostly because I always do. I stay in rural hostels quite a bit. When somebody heads for the shower, they toss their wallets and other pocket junk on the bed and go. When we're out during the day, computers and such are all over the beds, tables, sticking out of unopened luggage, sitting on shelves in the common rooms, etc. I've never seen anybody with a lock of any kind. A couple of months ago,a gal came into the common room for a while and then headed off to bed, leaving her jacket, wallet, and phone on the couch. Eventually her stuff was in the way. Somebody put the small things in the pockets and hung the jacket on a peg by the front door. It's not uncommon to hear somebody asking for change/knife/something and the reply being something like: 'right hand pocket of the green pack in the mixed dorm'.

Hi, Will's observations and assessment are basically the same as what I have seen. In Vienna a couple of years ago a cell phone lying on the floor next to my bunk was being recharged when I got to the room. I didn't know if the owner was in the room at the time since it was a 6 person mixed dorm room. It happens he was, but his bed was on the other side of the room. There is also a directory on just HI hostels in Germany, ie, the DJH hostels locations, how to reach them, and all the pertinent information.

Lockers big enough to hold a large backpack that carries a tent & sleeping bag in a hostel? Probably not that big. I've seen everything from absolutely no lockers at all, to small cubbies with doors where you can fit your wallet, iPod & cell, to skinny, narrow gym lockers. I've had the same experience as Ed and some of the others. Even the hostels I have stayed at where there were no lockers weren't crawling with thieves and I saw many expensive iPhones, digital cameras, iPods, iPads and laptops left completely unattended to charge in various electrical outlets around the room or in common areas. In a year long trip I stayed in many hostels & the only thing I was ever separated from was a fleece pullover which I accidentally left hanging on the railing of my bunk as I was in a rush my final morning to check out to catch a bus. Two weeks later, I was passing back through the same hostel in the same town and I checked with the lost & found at the front desk. The fleece wasn't there. Since it was my own fault for leaving it behind, I certainly didn't consider it a "theft" and figured one of the hostel cleaning staff had probably swept it up and either tossed it or kept it since it was pretty new and very warm. I had a cable lock with me which I used for awhile to secure my pack to something fixed (like the bunks or a desk), but after awhile it just got to be a pain. I still kept my wallet locked up, but would often leave my iPod charging while I was down the hall in the bathroom or sleeping nearby. No one ever touched it. Other times I would have to check out of my hostel dorm & leave my bag for a few hours with the front desk. Often the staff would leave it in a corner of the lobby with 4 or 5 other backpacks while I was out sightseeing. Again, no one bothered with the pack.