[Marg]

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if some of you more travelled people maybe able to give me some info on hostels in San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago and thank you to the person who wrote on her stay at the Big Apple in NY. Which are the cleanest and safest?

I am 58 yrs old (a with-it nannie) and wondered about travel between Amtrak Station and the hostels (do they come pick you up like here in Australia?).

I would also like to know about the possibility of bedbugs...is there any insect repellent that you can use so they stay away??? Not really familiar with them but know they have a high occurance of them on the dive boats here out of Cairns Qld.

Many thanks guys and look forward to your answers to my many questions.

Cheers Marg

[Tim Uden]

Hostels in North America are very basic compared with hostels in Australia and it is VERY unusual for a hostel over there (especially a big city hostel) to offer a pick up service.

The subway in New York runs from Penn Station to all the New York hostels (it's safe during daytime). Boston, San Francisco and Washington DC also have very good public transport between the train station and hostels; other cities aren't so well connected but there is usually some sort of transport option such as a local bus.

Bed bugs are not as common in North America (they prefer warmer climates hence the proliferation of bed bugs in places like Airlie Beach and Cairns), however I have had reports of bed bugs in New York hostels so it is possible that you could get bitten.

Permethrin is considered the most effective insecticide against bed bugs. However permethrin is not a repellant that you can apply to your body and rather an insecticide that is used to treat bedding to prevent bed bugs from occuring. You can buy permethrin-treated sleeping bag liners, which are probably the best protection against bed bugs - although nothing is a 100% deterrent (how often have you covered yourself with insect repellent only to still be bitten by mosquitoes).

Here is more information on permethrin-treated sleeping bag liners: http://www.travelgear.com.au/mm5/mer...gory_Code=BBUG

Here is more information on bed bugs:
http://www.bug.co.uk/essentials/bedbug.html

[gweet4]

I've stayed at hostels in san fran and seattle, and the locations are great. The one night I was in San Fran, it was someone on staffs birthday, so they had a party in the common area, with free food, free cake, and free beer and wine. Good beer too, bottled imports, not natty lite from a keg. I believe it was the Green Tortuise for both cities. Best bet is to go to a hostel website and read reviews from that hostel specifically. But as a traveler, and a budget traveler, I recommend them HIGH-ly.

[Tim Uden]

You can find information on American hostels here: http://www.bug.co.uk/reviews/hostels..._asc/index.htm

[john77]

ohh man i really enjoy my hostel life when i was completing my graduation

pet portrait

[jennychic]

I've done hostels before, hopping from one state to another. Bed bugs? Don't think so, as for the pick-ups, you have to ask them yourself..

[ManFer]

Hey!
Hostels are not bad and about bugs I don't think so. I don't know if in big cities it is possible to have pick up service, just ask for it.

I work in Chapinortehostel in Bogota Colombia
If one day u come here just drop me aline
chapinortehostel@hotmail.com
direcciongeneral@cable.co.net