Hostels are absolutely the way for you to stay, and there are options for rooms other than dorms: in fact, many joints have incredibly awesome private hostel rooms which completely rule. Take a look at a few photos from some of my fave private hostel rooms from the past few years and see for yourself if it's worth the extra expense (
2-3 times as much as a hostel dorm room) to you to book a private hostel room next time -- or, if this is your first time traveling alone, whether it's worth the bucks to jump into the hostel pool gradually -- if a
dorm room sleeping up to 18 is the deep end, then a private room is the paddling pool and just as easy as a hotel room, except you're in a hostel with
all that that entails.
Above: a fantastically fabulous private hostel room at Nomads Industry in Melbourne, Australia -- see more photos from Nomads Industry or read a review, or go back to the first page for more private hostel rooms photos and info.