Do you like to stay in backpacker hostels?

Hi Ellie. I have only stayed in a couple of hostels in the UK because in my younger days I was in a rush to go overseas. I am glad that your daughter enjoyed staying in hostels on her gap year. Where did she go? One of my friends told me that her son is backpacking for 5 months around South America. He is currently in Brazil. Maximax.

Hi Maxine, she travelled the whole of Australia and then went onto Fiji from there. An amazing experience for her where she slept on beaches in hostels, met amazing people who she is still in contact with and caught the travel bug she has already been to Spain, France and New York this year already oh and Tunisia too. I have encouraged her while she is young as she has been in a steady relationship since 16 and is 21 now and I didn't want her to resent not doing it before she totally settled if that makes sense and like you she can still travel if she has children. Ellie:D

Thanks for telling me about your daughter's wonderful travels. Australia is full of friendly backpackers and it is so great to make new international friends. Your daughter is lucky to have met someone special so young and stayed with him happily. One of my friends met a man when she was 16 and married him when she was 22. These days they are still happily married with a daughter. Yes, if your daughter has children I am sure that she will still travel Ellie.

It must have been funny seeing so many people in the dining room at the Bed & Breakfast. I was worried when I went to Northumberland that I wouldn't find anywhere to stay. One Bed & Breakfast lady told me about another Bed & Breakfast. It had such a very low price, was lovely, but didn't advertise. In the USA I stayed at the youth hostels in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Francisco. I stayed at a backpackers hostel in Santa Barbara, all were very good places to stay. I hope that go will go traveling and have a wonderful time.

Thank you... I'll have to try the places you've mentioned... I do have to admit, now that I have daughter & a girl friend that lives with me, it'd be little hard to take off but long time ago when I was single, I'd just pick up & go... I guess now that I have family of my own, I've got some planning to do if I wanna go on something like that, backpacking...

Perhaps when she is older your daughter will enjoy backpacking. In my home country the youth hostels allow guests of over 5 years old stay there. Some families do take their older children hosteling. Canada has some lovely youth hostels that my bother-in law told me about.

I am sorry to hear that you have trouble walking these days. Traveling with animals is a wonderful thing to do. Yes, you need a private room when you travel with your dog. I took my dog, Secret, camping to the Isle of Sark. I hope to take my baby son, Secret and Magic, my other dog, camping soon. Good luck.

It is great when youth hostels are suitable for disabled people. Yes, I think it must be a shame if some disabled people in other countries can't go hosteling because the hostels are inaccessible for them. My toddler son has to have catheters and one of his legs is very weak. He has spina bifida and is 14 months at the moment. At the moment we are not sure if he will be able to walk, possibly with calipers to help him. He might need a wheelchair but there great special needs pushchair that would last him until he is 10 once he outgrows his normal pushchair. Well done for changing people's minds about what it is like to have a disability.