hostels

I am planning on travelling Europe this august and on budget so, obviously, hostels are where I'm planning to stay. I'm wanting to start booking places now, but am not sure how it works with the cuurency exchange and credit cards. If I book now will they take the 10% + $ 2 in canadian funds? I will have euros when I'm in europe so how does that work with the 90% that I owe when I get there? Also, Every travel advice site says to be flexible so that makes booking hostels difficult - what if we change our plans a few times? do people just give up the night's stay and therefore the $ too? I'm not thinking I'll be too happy losing money if I'm on a budget anyway - any advice?

thanking any advice-givers in advance,
J.

Hello,

You could have a look on this website they have booking information for hostels in Europe :
backpackingeurope.com


When you make a reservation to a hostel, read all their policies because they are different between each other. Some will only charge your credit card once you are there but if you don't show up they will charge it for the first night or more. Some will ask to phone 24 hours before to cancel but for others it is more. So yes you can be flexible but you still have to plan a few days in advance to cancel or make other bookings.

Usually if they ask for a 10% deposit it will be in their local currency (euros or other) and not in your currency. So if the price is 50 euros at 10% you will have to pay 5 euros (so around $8.20 CAN will be charged to your credit card).

Also if you book online make sure the page where they ask you to enter your credit card information is secure. You can see this on the Address bar it will be "https" and NOT "http". If it is not secure it is better if you call them and give your number directly.

I hope this helps.
I live in England so I can help you if you need information on this country.

Joanne

Or you could do the exact same thing on THIS site and help support us

http://www.canuckabroad.com/hotelshoste ... tels.shtml

You can pay the hostel in Euro's most likely if you're in Europe. It doesn't matter what currency is charged to your credit card - They'll just ask you to pay the remaining balance.

I've booked hostels many time through CanuckAbroad.com for myself last summer when traveling through eastern europe and it was really a time saver. There's nothing worse than showing up in a city and having to scramble because the hostels are full or you can't find them. It's very re-assuring to book ahead.

That's a lot of help. Thanks so much for replying. I think I will book using the Canuck site - after all I am Canadian!

If you are planning on staying in Vienna, let me know -- I can help you out with info about this fantastic city.

Same goes if you come to Heidelberg.
We can help you here.