Hostels intro

Generally clean and a good deal cheaper than pensions, youth hostels are a great place to hang your rucksack, particularly if you’re travelling alone and not averse to sharing a room. Not everything labelled Jugend is actually a state-run DJH-hostel (Jugendherberge) though (and not always as cheap). There are Jugendhotels, Jugendgasthäuser (guest houses) and even a Jugendlager. To get into an official Bavarian Jugendherberge you need to be a member, under 26 (one place charitably admits under 27-year olds too), a group leader or part of a family with at least one child under 18.