Hostel life as a solo traveler
Aged 35 and sleeping in a bunk bed!
If you’ve never stayed in a hostel before, I recommend trying it. Everything private that you normally do in the comfort of your own home is now within viewing and listening distance of a group of perfect strangers.
On my solo holiday to Portugal, I shared a room with 7 other people and slept in a bunk bed on the top bunk. I quickly learned that I needed to set up a system and plan for things I hadn’t really needed to consider before like getting ready for the day or executing normal bodily functions...
I also constantly misplaced things. Even though I was only in one room, I only had one draw and I only took carry-on luggage, I could never find what I needed when I needed it!
I advise any newbie hostel goers to allocate extra whole hours on their holiday itinerary to account for the time needed to rifle through your own possessions and then extra EXTRA time spent being baffled as to how you can find sweet FA.
Hostels however are great for meeting other solo travellers. I met a Portugese, some Canadians, some South Africans, a Kiwi, some Germans, a Belgian, an American an Egyptian and even a few Brits. Even though I had a lot of time alone, I never felt lonely. I think it would have been much harder to connect with other people had…
