HostelsClub,  in accordance with Hostellling International – Boston Downtown, HI-DC and HI-New York hostels, are proud to announce that Ellen Yoshie Sudo Lutif won the 2010 USA Winter Special Free Accommodation Giveaway!!

We appreciate her choosing HostelsClub.com when organizing her trips and as a way to say thank you, HostelsClub.com and Hostelling International – Boston Downtown are going to give her a free stay for up to two weeks amongst the three top American East Coast cities: New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston for up to two people in the dorm style bedrooms at those Hostelling International locations!!

HostelsClub wishes Ellen happy and safe travels!

Find out how to win and take advantage of more HostelsClub specials!

Staying at any of the Munich hostels, you can enjoy this vibrant city with room in your budget for beer. Don’t wait for Oktoberfest to visit the beer gardens at Englischer Garten, which houses the nude garden and is a charming natural oasis right in the city, or choose one of many smaller local beer gardens.

Munich is a historic city with plenty of palaces and ancient castles, including Cinderella’s castle in Neuschwanstein. See the Devil’s footprint at Frauenkirche, or remember more recent evil at Dachau memorial. Don’t forget to visit the Glockenspiel at Munich’s famous New Town Hall. Many of these sites are close to Munich hostels, and many hostels in Munich offer day tours to further-out attractions.

Meininger Hotel Munich City Center

With free city walking tours, friendly, bilingual, well-informed staff and a downtown location this is one Munich hostel you don’t want to miss. Get directions to nearby Marienplatz, the Viktualienmarkt, Englischer Garten and the Oktoberfest meadows, or enjoy traditional Bavarian food and beer across the street at Munich’s oldest beer hall.

This one of the larger hostels Munich offers, and has a great social atmosphere. Meet fellow travellers in the guest kitchen, on the terrace, in the games room (billiards, foosball, video games and karaoke) or in the hostel bar. Dorms and private rooms are available, as are a varied, inexpensive all you can eat breakfast buffet, free linen and WIFI, laundry, 24-hour reception, bike rentals, lockers and luggage storage. Dorms are clean, comfortable and spacious with en-suite bathrooms, the value is great and your stay at this fun Munich hostel starts with a free drink. 

Find out what all the talk is about and you can even bring your pet for an extra charge!

4 You Munich Hostel

Of the hostels in Munich, 4 You Munich is unique in offering excellent free breakfast, free walking tours and famous Munich beer, Hofbräu, at its in-house bar and canteen, the smallest beer garden in Munich. Located near Munich’s central train station, you can walk or ride anywhere in the city.

Stay in an en-suite or standard dorm with reading lights, individual lockers and super comfortable beds. Do laundry, check your e-mail, stay out all night, take the Beer Challenge tour or relax in the common room or courtyard. Linen is included, luggage storage is available and staff at this Munich hostel are multilingual and knowledgeable about the area. 4 You is also very inexpensive, especially if you have a VIP card.

Wombat’s City Hostel

This hostel in Munich’s centre is actually considered Bavarian, but they can ensure you have a rockin time. Between their cool lounge room with oversized pillows, computer room and game room which includes a pool table, you can enjoy your stay at Wombat’s in many ways. They were voted best hostel chain for three years in a row and also as the cleanest hostel for two years in a row.

That’s a pretty impressive record, but this hostel atmosphere is one that you can easily find the party despite it’s calm look. Parties are known to go on all night and you may be able to finish their standard “liter” size mugs of beer by the time you leave this place. They have comfy six bed dorm rooms and clean shared bathrooms. 

Central Hotel-Apart Munich

If you budget can handle it, this apartment-hotel might be worth the extra Euros since you can use their free WIFI and gym. They have fully equipped kitchenettes in each apartment and are just twelve minutes away from the city center. Sometimes time is money and with being practically a few minutes away from the action, you can take advantage of their bike rentals to get around the city for cheap.

This family-friendly environment is good for those families or groups of friends that like to cook at home, although the neighborhood is filled with great restaurants and supermarkets. This Munich hotel also offers a complimentary breakfast to ensure a healthy start to a long day of exploring what Munich has to offer.

Check out The Hostel Life! It’s a new web based travel show about hosteling. The host Medhy is travelling around the world on a limited budget, and reporting it all on his website. The coolest thing is you get a say in where he goes to next.

You can check out his site to see the latest episodes and get some first hand fresh intel on places you want to visit, then participate in deciding his next destination.

Informative and entertaining!

Many backpackers dream of trekking in new and exciting places – places where few have gone before – but this is a difficult goal with tourism opening all over the globe. No less exciting is the prospect of going where many have gone before. A long, long time before.

Angkor, Cambodia (9^th c AD to 15^th c AD)

From your hostel in Siem Reap, central Cambodia, you can access about 40 ancient Khmer temples and monuments over 200 square km. Angkor itself was an ancient political city modeled on the temples and monuments of India, but the beautiful Cambodian landscape – including the impressive Mekong river, abundant jungle foliage, northern Kulen hills and Tonle Sap (Great Lake), a UNESCO biosphere reserve – give Angkor its own distinct majesty. Make sure to take a river tour!

Baalbek, Lebanon (30th c BC to 15th c AD

With levels dating back to the early Bronze Age, the temple complex of Baalbek holds more history than some geological formations. Set on a high point in the lush Bekaa Valley between the rolling, snow-capped Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, these ruins shed light on 5000 years of Prehistoric, Phoenecian, Seleucin, Roman and Islamic dynasties. Once thought of as “The City of the Sun” this former site of the Roman temple of Jupiter is only an hour out of Beirut – an awesome day trip for the adventurous.

Tikal, Guatemala (4^th c BC to 10^th c AD)

Not only is Tikal a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest excavated ruins of the Mayan civilization, it is also part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Hear the wild wails of howler monkeys, watch spider monkeys swing by overhead or catch glimpses of any of over 330 bird species as you explore this vast national park, part of the Peten Jungle. The ruins themselves are breathtaking but be sure to splurge on a walking tour – the mysteries behind the monuments are worth delving into.

Newgrange, Ireland (33rd c BC)

Newgrange is one of a number of passage tombs, or chambered cairns, to be found in Ireland’s County Meath. It is technically stone-aged, built in the Neolithic era, so its wide range of non-local building materials, startling preservation and architectural and cosmological sophistication (the central chamber receives natural light only at sunrise on solstice days) might surprise you. Newgrange is a great pit-stop while exploring castles, monasteries and gorgeous green countryside from your hostel in Drogheda (only a fifteen minute drive away).

There you have it – four exciting ancient destinations free from the crowds, expense and been-done aspect of the Pyramids, Parthenon and Machu Picchu. As the saying goes, “Everything old is new again!”

The concentration and extermination camp in Auschwitz is the most famous symbol of the Holocaust and Nazi cruelty in the world. It’s located in the town of Oświęcim near Krakow in Poland. Those territories were under the German control during World War II. This place shows us the amount of Nazi war crimes and made us find out the borders of humanity. Visiting Auschwitz is something that you’ll never forget.

The concentration camp in Auschwitz came into being in 1940. It was the first and the biggest Nazi camp in Poland. The camp was divided in a few parts, the main one was Auschwitz I – the camp of compulsory work and the administration centre, and Auschwitz II – Birkenau – the extermination camp, where people were kept in inhuman conditions and murdered in gas chambers. It’s very hard to estimate the real number of victims killed in Auschwitz. Different sources estimate that it was from 1,1 million to even 4 million people.

Two years after the end of the war, a part of camp was renovated and turned into a museum. Nowadays the Auschwitz extermination camp is almost completely reconstructed and changed into the most important exhibition regarding the Holocaust in the world. The camp is inscribed under the UNESCO list of global heritage.

The image leaving you with the greatest impression is by the Wall of Executions with exhibitions featuring clothes, shoes and even hair of prisoners, information about cruel, pseudo-medical experiments pursued on humans and the former cell of Maksymilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who sacrificed his life for another prisoner and finally starved to death. Also very touching, is the exhibition about the cultural life in the camp, which describes how prisoners were preserving their culture. They were composing music, writing poems and preparing performances to forget about sorrow and keep their humanity.

Visiting Auschwitz is very instructive, incredible and a touching experience. Sightseeing in the camp in respectful silence is a way to reflect on tolerance, human rights and the need to care about global peace. Visit the Memorial like thousands of people who visit this place every year along with Tour Operator Escape2Poland, to know the truth these days and the history of the Holocaust. Auschwitz is an obligatory part of every visit to Poland, so book your Auschwitz Tour today. There are also plenty of other tours in Poland which you can choose from to broaden your Polish experience! Luckily, Poland also has many beautiful sites to visit and learn about which are quite uplifting!

The HostelsClub philosophy this Valentine’s Day is that a romantic weekend does not have to be expensive or about how much you spend, but who and where you spend it at. Check out the Top 10 list:

1. Venice – No other city has more beautiful alleyways, foot bridges and scenery for couples in love. Picture this: narrow streets, small cafes and restaurants galore, canals and gondoliers singing just for you. The Venice Gondola Tour is the most romantic way to make declaration of love. Then in the evening you can go in the middle of St. Mark’s square and soak up the live classical concerts and the atmosphere of the city. While many consider Venice to be expensive, there are beds in Venice as low as 25€!

Book a bed in Venice

2. Paris – Also nearly tied with Venice, but in at number two, is this historic city of romance. It is a mecca for love and passion. Nice romantic ambience in every café, amazing architecture and sweet smells of croissaints and pastries filling the air. How about that for a nice backdrop for a romantic weekend? Spend a weekend in Paris and visit Montmartre Sacre Coeur, the Gardens of Luxembourg, dine in the Marais district and finally stroll along the Seine. You can find cheap hostels from as low as 20€ per person for a double room!

Book your hostel in Paris

3. Buenos Aires – The city where life and love are inseparable, much like the tango dancing which was born in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It is known as the ‘Paris of the South’. Just go to the first bar in Buenos Aires and feel the passion in every corner of the city. With a great steak dinner and a bottle of Malbec, you’ll be tango dancing in no time! A double room in Buenos Aires costs as low as € 15 per person!

Book your hostel in Buenos Aires

4. Vienna – Because of the famous Austrian romantic waltz dance, we have chosen Vienna to be our fourth most romantic city. With its lovely cafes, avenues and parks, Vienna has become a favorite of all lovers. Have some hot chocolate at a cozy cafe on the corner, go on horse-drawn carriage rides, and walk through their beautiful green parks to set the mood. The distinctive ambience of the capital of Austria makes this city so special for a romantic trip. A double room can be booked from as low as 22 € per person.

Book your room in Vienna

5. Istanbul – It may be a surprise to you, but Istanbul, with its oriental atmosphere, where everything is mysterious and passionate, is full of romance and love! The narrow streets of Istanbul, oriental spices and hot drinks for both day and night time makes Istanbul is perfect city for a getaway with your loved one! With just 13€ each a double room here is perfect for a budget-friendly couple.

Book hostels in Istanbul

6. Las Vegas – The city of sin is where your love can reach all levels. Everyone knows it’s a great place to get married on the run, but it is also one of the most enchanting and fascinating places in the world, a sparkling jewel in the desert – literally. Not to mention you can always pretend you are traveling while visiting casino’s like the Venetian which also has romantic gondola rides you can partake in or go to the casino where you can feel like you’re in the Wild West at one point and Egypt the next. Las Vegas is the perfect place for a vacation and honeymoon. There are private rooms from 23€ per person!

Book your room in Las Vegas

7. St. Petersburg – The most romantic city in Russia is without a doubt, Saint Petersburg, with all their stories of dramatic love. Not for nothing this city is called ‘Venice of the North’. There are small canals and waterways, romantic white nights, and dinners with caviar and vodka which is a great cocktail for love. One of the favorite places for lovers is the Potseluev Bridge (the Kissing Bridge) where legend says that everybody who kisses on that bridge will be together forever! Private rooms in St. Petersburg from 19€ per person.

Book your hostel in St. Petersburg

8. Prague – The pearl of the East, is a magical place, perfect for romantics and lovers and is eighth on our list! Enjoy every romantic minute in the evening, under the light of gas lamps in the narrow streets and the romantic flair of the city. Many couples choose romantic castles of Prague to get married, so why not start your romantic holiday there? You can stay in Prague for just 10€ each!

Book a hostel in Prague

9. Lisbon - The city of broken hearts and breathtaking passion. Lisbon has become more and more popular for lovers, and it owes this reputation to their traditional music – fado – played with a classical guitar usually with lyrics about missing a loved one. Plus with its historical palaces, colorful houses, the shimmering river and warm light reflecting in the windows, it is the city of romance. For Valentine’s Day Lisbon offers rooms from 15€ each!

Book a room in Lisbon

10. Miami - The American caribbean city streamed with palm trees and the blue ocean of South Beach. Walk along the promenade of Collins Avenue where you have a tons of restaurants of all cuisines to choose to dine in. Enjoy of nice Cuban mojito on an outside terrace or poolside followed with a walk down the sandy beach with sounds of the caribbean music in the background. Private rooms for 35€ each including your own kitchen if you want to cook up your own meal!

Book your room in Miami

Happy V-Day!

This year for the first time, Hostelsclub.com attended the Vakantiebeurs Travel Fair in Amsterdam, Holland for the week of January 12-17th. In total, more than 117,000 people visited the Holiday Fair!
During the Amsterdam fair, many visitors and future travelers were given tons of options on where to go next, but on top of that HostelsClub.com was giving away free weekend accommodation for two in Venice!! And 6 people were the winners!

Congratulations to:

Will Katema
Badreddine el Mobarie
J. Nieuwenhuis
Lenny Poldervaart
Marco Haas
Layla Sala

They all won 2 free nights for 2 people in a lovely two star hotel in Venice, located just behind the famous San Marco Square!! And they won by just participating in a fun game at our booth!

Be sure to stay alert of the next travel fair HostelsClub.com will be attending so you too can win a chance at getting a free vacation package or other free giveaways!!

HostelsClub will be attending the ITB in Berlin on March 13-14th so be sure to pass by!!

Though New Years is over, the party is just beginning in the City of Sin. Las Vegas, home to the Pyramids, as well as Lady Liberty herself, has become a playground for the rich and famous as well as to those who simply want to get away. It is recommended one comes with a pocket full of change, but if one can turn a blind eye to the cries of the slots and keep their chips from the tables, there are still a multitude of sinful (or not so sinful) acts one can partake in.

For the young or young-at-heart, head on over to the M & M Factory as well as the Coca Cola Factory for a 3D show, and get your fill for every color m & m made or sodas from around the world- This is right around the entrance of the MGM Resort and Casino. Besides holding many ancient artifacts from ancient Egyptian royalty, Luxor also houses the Bodies Museum, in which one can get up close and personal with the many systems within us all. Intellectuals with weak stomachs could pop next door into the Titanic museum and buy themselves a piece of American history.

If a shot of adrenaline is more one’s fancy, Vegas is more than willing to accommodate. The off chance one doesn’t find themselves puking from the roller coaster at New York New York, they might want to take a pit stop at ESPN Zone for some sports related arcade games or watch the arousing, Zumanity, one of the many Cirque du Soleil shows all over the Strip. Though not for the faint of heart; anyone old enough to vote is welcome to take a dip with various fish, sawfish, and not to mention sharks in Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef Aquarium.

Is gluttony in the middle of the desert still a sin? Well if so; let it be. In order to keep up with the hustle and bustle of the city, a buffet will be more suitable for one’s schedule and budget. There are many free activities in Vegas so you don’t break the bank.

Vacation is a time to relax, and so it is possible after a hard night, and an even harder morning. Surely Qua’s Fountain of Youth spa treatment will quell any splitting headache once the various oils are massaged into one’s scalp – a treatment fit for a king, only at the Caesar’s Palace. Bellagio’s Aquastretch, allows one to relax in minimal gravity thanks to a licensed therapist and the private spa pool.There is a myriad of things to do in Vegas that it’s no wonder it’s considered the city that never sleeps.

Then of course the partying. What else did one come for, than to live out one’s fantasies in the one place where what happens there stays there? Venetian’s Asian inspired nightclub, Tao boasts a 40 foot ceiling, and plenty of room for temptation. Hit it hard again and again at Encore’s XS for luxe seating, bright lights, and the most talented DJs on the Strip.

Finally, the question is where to stay? Well, there are many hostels in Vegas to choose from such as Tod Hotel & Hostel located right on the Strip, USA Hostels Las Vegas voted #1 for fun, AAE Casino Wild West Hotel Las Vegas voted “Cheapest Rates”, and Bridger Inn Hotel Las Vegas which is highly rated and a short walk from the strip for the hotel lovers.

As a playground for big kids, it’s a party from sun up, and a place of desire after the sun goes down. There’s something for everyone here in the middle of the desert. Whatever happens in Vegas… hopefully one can remember.

*This article was provided & written by Frances Arville, Current Student at Loyola University in Chicago.

While the world is becoming smaller and smaller and traveling has become as easy as a few clicks, outer space is getting larger and larger. NASA is always a step ahead with the latest technologies and in July 2009 one of the world’s most powerful telescopes was launched to explore faint light from distant parts of the universe from a volcano top in Las Palmas of the Canary Islands. This took twelve years from the planning phase to the launch and involved a thousand people and 100 companies. Now there is a new larger, more potent one being planned for launch in 2014 called the James Webb Space Telescope which will be able to connect the Milky Way to our own solar system visually.

Insider’s Tips for an Itinerary at Las Palmas:

To stay on top of all the latest happenings there are many blogs and sites which can keep you informed such as:

• NASA’s Image of the Day

• NASA TV

• NASA’s Space Shuttle Missions (blog) and NASA’s Official Space Shuttle Missions

• News on Spaceflight : NASA

Now you ask what does that have to do with hostels?

Well, there is a Space Hostel – SEI located in Leipzip, Germany which is actually a Space Education Institute where international students, backpackers and aerospace specialists can all gather together to share different views and discuss the latest on space travel. This guest house has private single, twin, and double rooms as well as dorm rooms which can fit from two to seven guests. You can also choose to use their tent for outdoor camping or take advantage of their many amenities such as the space travel workshops, internet access, the beer garden or the lawn for barbecuing. The gracious owner, Ralf Heckel, is well versed in space travel and actively participates in moon car tournaments,so he can serve as a great reference point if you are interested in learning more. There are so many things to learn and do, so book your room at Space Hostel Leipzig today!

Interested in the Moonbuggy Race?

The Space Hostel is currently welcoming space student groups at a low rate of 43€ per person (groups more than 20 persons) including breakfast and the NASA-workshop.

If you are not sure where Leipzig is or what else it has to offer, find out more with articles such as “Top Ten Reasons to Visit Leipzig” or why Leipzig is considered the new Berlin. It was also voted #10 by New York Time’s Top 31 Places to Go in 2010. While we may not be able to get you to outer space in this lifetime, HostelsClub is proud to offer the possibility of getting you as close as possible and Space Hostel Leipzig is a great start!

Ready for Blastoff!!

Second City, deep dish pizza, and the Cubs can all call the Windy City their home… as well anyone who wants to visit. Of all the major cities in America, Chicago provides that home feeling, where everyone is welcome. Maybe it’s the range of diversity, the clarity in their newscaster accents, or the fact that everyone is genuinely nice.

Once exhausted the Magnificent Mile for a high end-shopping experience, take a ride on the El to one of the over 75 different villages that make up Chicago. Vintage stores, antique shops, and unique boutiques line the many streets for anyone’s budget. Quirky finds in Belmont, everyone’s go-to stores in Lincoln Park, and affordable antiques from around the world can be found at a Rogers Park original. Shopping is not only a hobby in this city of pizzazz but an opportunity to stumble upon items one realizes they couldn’t possibly go on without.

The Cloud… the Bean… the big silver construction where one can see their reflection in against the Chicago skyline right in the middle of Millennium Park, is a must for anyone who ventures to Chicago. It’s one of the many attractions that continue to draw people far and wide, providing hours of amusement and limitless perspectives. Afterward, one can grab their skates, or rent a pair and soak in the lights and sights Chicago offers while gliding across the ice. Thanks to the choreographed lighting emitted by the fountain itself, the French inspired Buckingham Fountain acts as a beautifully centrally located show in the heart of Grant Park. Surrounding the fountain, one can walk through the various festivals and bazaars showcased, all throughout the year.

If one can get bored in Chicago, it’s completely their own fault, for there are a million and a half things one could be doing – experiencing. As the second oldest clubhouse in Major League Baseball, Wrigley is home to the constantly heart breaking Chicago Cubs. There one can be part of the tradition, pain, drunken madness, and even take in a famous Chicago Dog. Over in Wrigley, amongst the many trendy bars and clubs, hide various Second City improvisational troupe spin-offs such as 1,2,3 Fag or even a Shakespearean based troupe. Theatre – a Chicago novelty, that can rival the very best of Broadway is the spectacle. Anyone can find something of interest from the grand and slightly crude Adams Family, to the small and intimate Death of a Salesman at the Raven Theatre. With several hours to spend, and not a penny more, the Lincoln Park Zoo invites all ages to visit the zebras, gorillas, polar bears, and other animals all for free.

And of course, the food. One cannot go to Chicago without trying Giordano’s deep-dish pizza. This is the only city where it’s necessary to eat pizza with a fork. If one slice isn’t enough, head on over to Little Sweden for a large helping of the best cinnamon rolls at Ann Sather’s to compliment your Eggs Benedict or equally large pancakes. As a city that sleeps a little later than most, heed those feelings of the munchies over in Belmont for a little “Pick Me Up,” a cutsie little hole in the wall that one would completely miss had they not been looking for it. Grab a themed table, whether it be “Where’s Waldo”, or “Sesame Street”, and chow down on a Vegan, or not-so Vegan bite of your choice.

As the place for the young and old, there’s no other city like it in all of the U.S. of A. Chicago is a mix of classic and vintage with the upbeat and new-age. If all else fails, trust Frank Sinatra because even this Jersey born believes that “My kind of town… Chicago is.”

Now all that’s left is to book your hostel in Chicago!

*This article was provided & written by Frances Arville, Current Student at Loyola University in Chicago.