If the word ‘hostel’ conjures up images of school field trips with barbarian geography teachers making you take cold showers at 6am before spending the day in a cagoule counting sheep, then think again. Staying in hostels and backpacker accommodation can be one of the best bits of travelling - an opportunity to make new travel buddies and have loads of laughs.

Booking ahead

For your first night after touch-down in a new place, it’s definitely worth securing a room in advance. Many hostels allow you to book online; others you’ll need to phone.

Get your hands on a good, up-to-date guidebook or surf the net – you’ll find lots of hostels to choose between, so get choosing. Make sure your chosen hostel is within your budget and in a good location – i.e. quite central but not next to a railway station or motorway slip-road, nor in a red light district… have you got the picture? Listen out for recommendations… and warnings… and take heed.

There are various discount cards that can save you money in hostels all over the world. It’s worth looking into these – you may have to shell out a few quid, but it won’t take you many nights before you make it back in savings.

What to expect

• Basic, simple accommodation, most likely décor of the '70s era, even pine-panelled walls and ceilings if you’re really lucky.
• Shared washing facilities and bedrooms – dorms of up to 20 people, some mixed, some single-sex – your choice.
• Friendly, happy people.
• Alcohol.
• Annoying times, great times.

Arrival/ checking in

• Don’t be scared – any tales of being bog-washed by Aussies drunk on petrol are completely imagined.
• The hostel is a friendly habitat - everyone is in the same boat and in a chilled, holiday frame of mind.
• Settle yourself into your room and if you’re in a shared dorm, introduce yourself to your roommates.
• Break the ice by asking where stuff like the bathroom and kitchen are – people secretly like being know-it-alls.
• Ask where the nearest bar is, and you’re away.

Your first night, lying in bed, you may well think: “S***! What have I done?!” or you may well be passed out in a drunken haze and won’t think it until the next morning… All you need to remember is that everyone thinks it at some stage and you will get over it and go on to have the best time of your life.

For the first couple of days, keep yourself busy. Get down to the social room and see where everyone else has been and where they’re planning to go, chat up the receptionist and get booked on some excursions and events and send emails home to assure everyone of your safe arrival.

Securing your stuff

Check out where you can stash valuables such as passport, travellers’ cheques and documents – if anywhere. The best bet is to keep these on you in a money belt at all times, but if this gets annoying, enquire about safes. Under no circumstances stuff valuables under your mattress – contrary to popular belief, items do not become untouchable if ‘hidden’ here.

Familiarise yourself with fire exits – it doesn’t take a second but could save your ass – you know it makes sense.

The next step

Before long you’ll probably have made a gang of new mates and be gallivanting onto your next destination together, which means you probably stop reading about here *sob*.

But don’t panic if this isn’t the case. If you’re not getting on in this hostel, there’s nothing stopping you from moving on to another one – or another town altogether – after all, you’re a free agent and the world is your oyster now!

Get up bright and early, pack a daypac with essentials for the day and any valuables – most hostels will store your backpack for a day reasonably safely – and do some legwork. Stock up on maps and tourist guides and wander round at leisure to familiarise yourself with the area. You’ve arrived!

Some useful hostelling kit:

• Sarong – a multitude of uses including bedsheet, wall-covering, towel… also handy for a quick cover-up if caught with your pants half-mast.
• A sleeping bag and / or sleeping bag liner – some hostels don’t provide such bedding.
• Earplugs – you know somebody is gonna snore.
• Plenty of padlocks
• Torch