Guide to hostel etiquette

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The best thing about backpacking is that it's what you make of it. You want a quiet tour of Europe's art galleries, fine. An extended bar crawl around America's west coast? Do it. There is a condition to all this freedom though – hostel etiquette. While having fun is what it's all about; behaving like you're the only one checked in won't make you many friends.

Despite the name, youth hosels ain't just used by youths. People of all ages and all backgrounds are chucked together in rooms full of (squeaky) bunk beds and given one toilet to share between them. This can result in one of two things: a great learning experience or a room with an atmosphere chillier than a dinner date between Katie Price and Peter Andre. Pay attention to these rules though and you'll have a ball.

1. Don't leave your stuff everywhere
You might have been allowed to leave your underwear on the floor at home but no-one wants to come out of the bathroom at five in the morning and get tangled up with a pair of your dirty knickers. You don't have to keep your bunk in military fashion, just take a carrier bag to put your dirty washing in and tie it to your bed. 

2. Leave the bathroom as you'd like to find it
I needn't go into detail, if you make a mess clear it up. Your mother isn't around to do it for you and it's not very nice.

3. No love making with others in the room
We all love a bit of the other, but there is nothing worse than laying in bed having to pretend to be asleep as your bunk bed's rocking and squeaking and the matress above your head sags dangerously close to your nose. Expect to get a poke in the back from below. Find somewhere else.

4. Do your washing up
Hostels often have cooking facilities for you to use. The fact that so many people use them means that they will get dirty and if they aren't looked after they get tatty. The rule is simple: clean as you go. If you leave the place in a state you could find the mess in your bed.

5.  Respect when others are sleeping
At night, bedrooms are for sleeping. Most hostels have an area for sitting around and having those arguments about politics or which bar to go first. No-one begrudges you nights out on the beer but little things make big differences. Before you leave on your trip buy a small key ring torch and when you get back to the room at some ungodly hour use that instead of turning the light on. Any early risers will hopefully thank you by obeying the next rule.

6. Don't be an early morning rustler
There always seems to be one. If you know you have to leave at seven in morning pack the night before. Those thoughtful people who weren't in bed when you went to sleep didn't wake you up, so the least you can do is try to return the favour. There is nothing more annoying when you're hungover than someone rustling carrier bags for what seems like an eternity. 

When you're travelling be sympathetic to others. You will experience each one of these but without wanting to sound like a clichéd backpacker, remember one word… Karma.