# Have You Stayed in a Backpacking Hostel During COVID? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155 "2023-08-26T21:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/1 "2023-08-26T21:36:31Z")
I’m going to guess no, so I won’t elaborate too much, but I traveled a lot between 2004-2013 and have stayed in many hostels in Europe, Australia, Asia, and North America. Has anyone done this recently? I’ve tried to imagine it when they re-opened. I’d love to know anything you are willing to divulge. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/2 "2023-08-26T21:49:57Z")
Moved to IMHO, where i hope you get useful replies. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/3 "2023-08-26T21:56:42Z")
Yes, many, beginning in July '21 after Europe reopened to US tourists. It’s pretty back-to-normal these days and was mostly normal even in 2021, apart from a few sporadic attempts to enforce social distancing in the common rooms. Was there something else you wanted to know, specifically? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/4 "2023-08-28T00:07:44Z")
If by “during covid” you mean now, then yes, I did about a month ago. I was only in the hostel when I was sleeping, and I was in the only one in my room, though I see no reason to be particularly concerned even if that weren’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/5 "2023-08-28T02:07:09Z")
I have, and also a full hiking shelter. I have notices that some hostels have stepped up cleaning, cleaning procedures and some other precautions such as partitions. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/6 "2023-08-29T22:09:41Z")
Thank you ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/7 "2023-08-29T22:11:38Z")
I guess I’m curious about differences, but if it’s back to normal… The last time I spent the night in a hostel was about 5-10 years ago, and that was in the US. The one thing I could see is the lack of cultural exchange thanks to people staring at their phones like a religion… Much different in 2004 ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/8 "2023-08-30T03:05:16Z")
I stayed at a hostel in the Netherlands earlier this year. They were more or less back to their pre-pandemic routine, as far as I could tell. They kept windows open as much as possible, but I think that’s extremely normal for Europe in July. There were plenty of folks looking at their phones some of the time, but it wasn’t hard to find someone to have a conversation with. The kind of people who choose to stay in a hostel tend to be ones who want to talk to strangers, after all. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/9 "2023-08-30T03:30:26Z")
I didn’t, but many of the pilgrim hostels on the Spanish Caminos stayed open. The communal kitchens were closed, meals weren’t available, and half as many bunks were open. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-stayed-in-a-backpacking-hostel-during-covid/989155/10 "2023-09-01T01:17:44Z")
Very cool! The Netherlands is like my home away from home. Been there 6 times, all over. But it’s been 11 years.