FAQs on Youth Hostels
Youth Hostels are as international as their guests. But always shared rooms? No. Always rose hip tea? No. And strict housing regulations? No. But some respect. Yes, please!
Youth Hostels offer shared rooms. But there are also single or double rooms. If these are available, you can sleep alone in a room or share one with your partner, but a surcharge will apply. Families can book family rooms in advance, subject to availability. All Youth Hostels have common rooms, and many also offer function rooms for courses or conferences.
Classic category
The basic category includes standard functional buildings with a common bathroom on each floor. The “Classic” category is descriptive of the functional setup of the youth hostels, designed for simple needs.
Standard category
The buildings in this category have modern furnishings and simple technical standards, which offer several recreational possibilities in the youth hostel. Some of the rooms have their own showers and toilets.
Top category
This category has the ideal conditions for a youth hostel. The majority of rooms have their own shower and toilet. The building offers a lot of room for guests, including places to meet, modern equipment and several possibilities for communal experiences and events.
Generally speaking, Youth Hostels offer all types of meals. Breakfast is included in the overnight rate. Booking full board offers particularly good value for money.
Breakfast and the evening meal are often served as buffet meals. The Youth Hostel team will be able to give you more detailed information. Upon request, they will also prepare a packed lunch for you to take along.
Of course we will try to fulfil your wishes. We have no issues with people who avoid certain foods because of their ethnic background or religion. Or because they are vegetarian and don't eat meat. Or have other dietary habits. But please, remember to let us know in good time!
Families, individual travellers and small groups can book a bed immediately online at all 500 Youth Hostels in Germany. Reservations for over 1,400 Youth Hostels around the world can be made at hihostels.com or at one of the German Youth Hostel Association's reservation agencies.
If you are travelling alone, you can also make your reservation quickly and informally by telephone, e-mail, fax or even postcard or letter. However, we strongly recommend booking in advance particularly to those who would like to spend several nights in one place, are arriving with a larger group or are travelling during the main holiday season.
Different rates apply for junior members, families and 27plus members. In 2016, the prices for a night's stay including breakfast and bed linen ranged between € 14.90 and € 33.00. Children below the age of two are free of charge. From the age of 3 onwards, reduced rates apply for children; for more detailed information, please contact the respective Regional Association or Youth Hostel. Guests above the age of 27 pay a surcharge.
We have kept our basic rates for young people and families with children as low as possible. Older guests, on the other hand, pay a surcharge in almost all Hostels. However, there are special offers if you are travelling off season or planning a longer stay. The Regional Associations and Youth Hostels can provide you with more detail on these.
Reduced rates are available for holders of a youth group leader pass. In order to claim the reduced rates, you will be asked to produce your pass. This will give you a 10%-reduction on the costs of accommodation, bed linen and meals.
There's always a lot going on in Youth Hostels. But if one guest would like to sleep while the other wants to party, then it could be difficult for everyone to get along. That is why we have set up a couple of rules that apply to all our guests. These rules are binding. They tell you where the limits are and help avoid trouble. You will find them here.
Never. Youth Hostels are open to everyone, irrespective of age. But of course Youth Hostels are, as the name suggests, primarily an offer for young people. But also DJH members from 27 years are welcome.
Youngsters are not allowed to travel alone below the age of 14, and need their parents' consent up to the age of 18. Until then, they are still under their parents' legal supervision and parents will be made responsible if their children get into any kind of trouble or anything happens to them during their trip. This is why minors, besides their passport, should always carry their parents' written authorisation to travel alone.
Outside Germany, different rules and regulations apply. The Federal Foreign Office can provide information.
FAQ on DJH's information service
Our home page will provide you with a wealth of information on Youth Hostels. The "extra|tour" magazine for example appears four times a year.
Our home page will provide you with a wealth of information on Youth Hostels, membership in the German Youth Hostel Association, class trips, family holidays, holidays for children and teenagers, individual travel and offers for groups.
The websites of the different Regional Association's service centres will provide even more information.
Just order the newsletter online and all the latest news will be delivered to your virtual doorstep, free of charge.
Of course there is. DJH runs a job site which keeps you updated with the latest news and informs you about the right contact person for jobs, internships and voluntary or compulsory community services.
FAQ on German Youth Hostel Association
The Regional Associations are independent non-profit associations and fulfil all the tasks of the German Youth Hostel Association within their own area.
The German Youth Hostel Association - or Deutsches Jugendherbergswerk in German, DJH for short – is a non-profit organisation. It works predominantly for the benefit of young people from all over the world. It promotes mutual understanding and the peaceful co-existence, completely irrespective of a person's gender, race, religion, ideology or political party.
Youth Hostels are accommodation that is run by the German Youth Hostel Association. Meanwhile, the "Youth Hostel" brand has become so popular that others would like to call themselves Youth Hostels, too. You will recognise the original by the DJH logo, and you will only find original Youth Hostels on jugendherberge.de.
There are Youth Hostels all over Germany and many more all over the world. Different Hostels specialise in different areas. We call these specialised offers profiles. Profiles create space for learning and making experiences. Youth Hostels are family-friendly, run by professionals, and offer good value for money.
Yes! In 1909, Richard Schirrmann, a teacher, had the idea of providing cheap accommodation with the intention of granting school children from industrial cities an opportunity to discover nature. Today, the German Youth Hostel Association affords guests from all over the world an opportunity to meet and get to know each other. This way, it promotes mutual understanding among people and peoples, and peaceful co-existence. In 2009, the Youth Hostels celebrated their 100th anniversary.
Every member makes a contribution and supports our work with their membership fee. (The fee, by the way, is tax-deductable as a donation to a non-profit organisation). Of course we are always happy to receive donations above the membership fee: they help preserve Youth Hostels.
But many people in Germany also contribute by doing voluntary work for the Youth Hostel Association. They support the Youth Hostels in their region by working for local or district organisations. If you would like to know more about this: the Regional Associations will be happy to give you more information.
The Youth Hostel Association's data protection policy provides information on personal information and data.
What does the Youth Hostel Association do with my personal data? What are they allowed to use it for and what not? The Youth Hostel Association's data protection policy provides information on this and is binding for us.
