Swiss Youth Hostels

---

Dear Reader,

I know last time I promised to write about Zermatt. However, I feel that a word about Swiss youth hostels might be in order at this time. In my opinion the best choice for budget travel in Europe is hosteling. This is especially true in Switzerland.

Since I am an American, I had never stayed in a hostel before I arrived in Switzerland. I found that there are two types of youth hostels. Those run by individuals, commonly known as "backpackers hostels" and those run by an organization. In Switzerland that organization is the Schweizer Jugendherbergen (Swiss Youth Hostel Association). They can be reached on the web at www.youthhostel.ch The site starts in German but has an english language option.

I stayed exclusively in SYH locations. They have roughly 52 hostels spread throughout the country.
I was fortunate enough to stay in 25 different hostels. Each location is a bit different. But I appreciated that the SYH has standards that they uphold for their hostels. Each location is required to meet those standards. This gives the traveler an assurance of quality no matter which location they visit.

Every hostel is a bit different. But they do have some general points in common. Lets start with check in. Advanced reservations are a good idea, especially if you will be hosteling in the peak Summer and Winter seasons. Reservations can be made easily from the web. If for some reason you do not want to make a reservation, you can also use the website to check for room/bed availability.

Hostels vary widely in the type and number of rooms available. They may have room sizes from single bedrooms to 20+ bed dorm rooms. It is always a good idea to at least check to see if your preferred type of room is available.

Personally, I was on a budget so I preferred to stay in dorm rooms with 4 to 8 beds. I did stay in 20+ bed dorm rooms once or twice, but out of necessity, not preference. More beds in a room generally means less privacy.

I found that single foreign travelers are generally grouped together which is a good way to meet people from all over the world. Rooms may or may not be separated by gender. So, if that is important to you it is best to ask the staff about it at check in.

If you will be hosteling for more than a few nights, be sure to buy an IYH membership card. Otherwise, you will be charged a "non member" fee for each nights stay. A membership card pays for itself in about 6 nights and can be used worldwide.

Meals: Breakfast is almost always included in the price of your stay. It always consists of at least bread, cheese, coffee and orange juice. Often it includes meats and fruit as well. Dinner may or not be available. Some hostels require dinner be purchased from them. But, most make it an optional purchase.

It is important to know that in Switzerland there are no age limits for hosteling even though the word "youth" is in the title. Also, the enforced chores of yesteryear are a thing of the past. All that is required is common courtesy and a good attitude. Making your bed with the sheets provided and then bringing your bed sheets down at the end of your stay. Clearing your dishes and wiping your table after meals. These are the only "chores" required. Really they are just common courtesy.

Attitude is a very important part of hosteling. A positive attitude coupled with a bit of consideration for your roommates goes a long way to creating a very enjoyable experience.

I wish you happy travels! Until next time. Swiss Chris

---

Photos

YHI Sign
The sign of quality. All YHI member hostels display this sign.

Hostel Sign
This is the international sign identifying a hostel. Look for this picture and an arrow pointing you in the direction of a nearby hostel.

Direction Sign
Signs of this type are also used to point travelers in the direction of local hostels.

Hostel Etiquette
Keeping your area neat and clean is considered good hostel etiquette.

Schutzraum Protection Room
All hostels in Switzerland are required to have a protection room. Yes that is a 2 foot thick poured concrete door!

Protection Room
The Protection rooms, built to shield guests from nuclear attack, are now mostly used for storage. Often they house the table tennis table.

Davos The Palace of Youth
The hostel in Davos is known as the youth palace. It is
the site of a 19th century wellness hotel. Now renovated to a more modern use.

Youthpalace Lounge
This is the lounge inside the palace of Youth. Davos.

Engelberg Hostel
The hostel at Engelberg is built in the beautiful chalet style. Engelberg is German for Angel Mountain.

Bern Hostel Art
This is the end wall of one of the hostel buildings in Bern.

Brienz Hostel
The Brienz hostel doesn't look like much from the front. But, it does have the beautiful lake of Brienz in it's backyard. =)

Hostel at Klosters
Another beautiful chalet converted to a hostel.

Fiesch Hostel
The hostel at Fiesch doesn't look like much at first glance. But, it is located inside the swiss winter olympics training compound.