Your Membership Card
If you want to stay in a German Youth Hostel, you have to be a member of the German Youth Hostel Association or any other national Youth Hostel Association. All you need is a membership card. What does that mean?
Members only
Our Youth Hostels are open to everyone, with no age limit: school classes, individuals and families, sports clubs or youth groups. But for German Youth Hostels, there is one restriction: "members only". The German Youth Hostel Association is an organisation that is based on membership. To stay in a German Hostel, you need to be a member of a Youth Hostel Association.
Membership outside Germany
If you do not live in Germany, you can become a member of the Youth Hostel Association in your home country. To apply for membership, please contact the Youth Hostel Association in your country. You can find all the national Youth Hostel Associations in the world on hihostels.com under "Hostelling International" (www.hihostels.com).
DJH Membership
Germans and foreigners with a permanent residence in Germany can become members of the German Youth Hostel Association DJH. Regardless of when or how much you wish to travel: the membership fee is only due once a year.
- Junior (up to 26 years): € 7.00
- Families/27 plus: € 22.50
The DJH membership card is the key to hostels and budget accommodation in hostels across the globe. Your "ticket" is valid in more than 3.000 Youth Hostels in 75 countries, spread out over all continents. In Germany alone, there are more than 400 Youth Hostels.
International Guest Card
An international guest who does not hold a membership card can purchase an International Guest Card in place of membership. He is required to buy a Welcome Stamp for each night of his stay at the cost of € 3.50. When he or she has collected 6 Welcome Stamps, the Guest Card becomes valid in all Hostels worldwide or entitles the holder to reduced rates for his stay. Validity is 12 months from the date of issue.
Alternatively a Guest Card with immediate international validity can be obtained at € 18.00.
Advantages of your Membership
Membership of a national Youth Hostel Association is the prerequisite for your stay in German Youth Hostels and for that in hostels in most other countries. In countries where a membership is not mandatory, it entitles you to reduced rates.
Reduced prices are available for members of a Youth Hostel Association all over the world, and this is not limited to the Youth Hostels themselves: there are countless offers for travel, entertainment, museums, culture, shopping, and much more. Find a list of the reductions on www.hihostels.com.