Just read the reviews and don't stay in party hostels. We stayed in them a lot in our 20s so one time in Cusco we stayed in one as a married couple in our 30s in a private room. It was right by their bar area and I had a hard time sleeping the whole night just from the noise of people talking.

Anonymous wrote:I stayed in hostels in France and England while traveling in my early 40s. It was a really mixed experience. I had a young woman point blank ask
Me if I was embarrassed to be staying at a hostel. I left a hostel and found a hotel because people were having sex in the room. I had 2 other hostel stays that were uneventful. Have a thick skin. Have emergency funds ready if you can’t take it. Go with hosteling association stays rather than random hostels. If you’re going place to place, mix in some hotel stays.

IME plenty of independent places are better than ones that are part of a network. Just pay attention to reviews and ratings.

I stayed in hostels in France and England while traveling in my early 40s. It was a really mixed experience. I had a young woman point blank ask
Me if I was embarrassed to be staying at a hostel. I left a hostel and found a hotel because people were having sex in the room. I had 2 other hostel stays that were uneventful. Have a thick skin. Have emergency funds ready if you can’t take it. Go with hosteling association stays rather than random hostels. If you’re going place to place, mix in some hotel stays.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I stayed at hostels from my late teens, up until a trip at 26. I too, remember some older folk at the time, and thought it was "cool,"

As a 40-something now, I just couldn't do it. I don't even want to share a room with my sister for more than 2 nights. I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour, wake up early to explore a city, and sleep well on vacation. I am in a season of life where I don't give a shit if I'm not cool.

I just want to travel again, even if it means sharing a room.

Also 40s here who backpacked a lot in my 20s. I get where both of you are coming from. I think I'd be able to sleep in a dorm for two nights, and then I'd REALLY need a private room with a private toilet, though maybe a shared shower would be okay. And then I could probably do another two nights on a strict budget. Rinse and repeat.

Would this be you, OP? It would still cut down a lot on room costs. And if you do the dorm rooms in expensive cities and travel to smaller places off the beaten track (that you'd want to see anyway) for a private room you'd save a lot of money.

Anonymous wrote:I stayed at hostels from my late teens, up until a trip at 26. I too, remember some older folk at the time, and thought it was "cool,"

As a 40-something now, I just couldn't do it. I don't even want to share a room with my sister for more than 2 nights. I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour, wake up early to explore a city, and sleep well on vacation. I am in a season of life where I don't give a shit if I'm not cool.

I just want to travel again, even if it means sharing a room.

I stayed at hostels from my late teens, up until a trip at 26. I too, remember some older folk at the time, and thought it was "cool,"

As a 40-something now, I just couldn't do it. I don't even want to share a room with my sister for more than 2 nights. I want to go to bed at a reasonable hour, wake up early to explore a city, and sleep well on vacation. I am in a season of life where I don't give a shit if I'm not cool.

In Vancouver we stayed in a ymca hostel that was really nice. Lived that it fit 5 of us in one big room and we had access to a kitchen. We had our own bathroom but it was great that some of us could go shower down the hall in a communal bathroom or use the bathroom if someone was showering.

Bring earplugs if you're in a shared room, to shield from snoring and also the sounds of young people coupling up. It happens a lot.

Anonymous wrote:My dad (late 70's) is 'that old guy' in the hostels of Europe. He loves the atmosphere and camraderie and tells stories about chatting over beers with younger people in the evenings. I remember 'that old guy' from my hostel days - usually sweet and fun to talk with. Go for it, OP!

Your dad sounds awesome.

Yes I have. It was fine. Even when there were groups more interested in drinking, they tended to keep quiet and have consideration in the dorm type rooms so people could sleep. (This was more than 10 years ago so ymmv, but in places as different as Greece, Ireland, and Alaska it was similar.)

My dad (late 70's) is 'that old guy' in the hostels of Europe. He loves the atmosphere and camraderie and tells stories about chatting over beers with younger people in the evenings. I remember 'that old guy' from my hostel days - usually sweet and fun to talk with. Go for it, OP!

Oh as for the ‘accepting you’ thing I wouldn’t be concerned at all. Hostels take all comers. Just don’t stay at a party hostel, like the Generator, although even those would be plenty accommodating to ‘old’ people. I remember all sorts when I stayed more regularly at hostels.

I mean, I’ve stayed in hostels as a young adult (28?) and it’s fine especially if you can get a private room, but those aren’t always budget friendly. I’m a sensitive sleeper, hate snoring, and would prefer my own space so if I’m really budgeting I do a private room in a well reviewed Airbnb but that’s just me. I think good hostels or cool rural hostels would be fine.

Stayed in a hostel in Barcelona. Had a private bathroom. It was fine!

When I was younger I traveled a lot and stayed in hostels, I remember there sometimes being really old people as well. Now I am a really old person (50) and want to get back to traveling more, but I am going to be on a budget. I wonder how accepting the young people are and how much sleep I would be able to get.