Over the years I have had a few readers mailing me about their kids 16, wanting to backpack around Europe with their best friends who were 16 too. Sounds like a brilliant idea, except almost every hostel you find online has a strict 18+ policy. I’ve spent years researching family friendly hostels for BudgetTraveller and solo teen backpacker travel in Europe is complex but entirely possible.
The paperwork
Before you look at a single hostel, you need to take care of the paperwork and be prepared. Nearly every hostel that accepts 16 and 17-year-olds without an adult will ask for the same three things:
- Written parental consent, dated and naming the exact stay
- A copy of the parent or guardian’s ID
- Travel insurance in the teenager’s name
Without these, most reception desks will simply turn your daughter/son away at the door, whatever the website says. And she’ll almost always be booked into a private room, never a shared dorm. Dorms are off the table for unaccompanied under-18s at nearly every hostel I looked at.
Where it’s easier, and where it isn’t
Policy varies a lot by country, and this is worth knowing before you plan the trip.
- Germany and France: 16-year-olds can often check in alone, no adult needed
- UK: widely accepted from 16, though some hostels still want supervision for younger guests
- Spain: the default is 18, adult accompaniment required below that
- Nordic countries: some places hold a hard 18+ line, though it’s not universal
None of this is EU-wide law and the policy is down to each hostel, so the only real way to know is to ask.
Hostels worth checking that will host guests 16 or under
1. Amstel House, Berlin
Set inside a century-old Art Nouveau building in Moabit, this is a big, lively hostel with a 24-hour bar, a guest kitchen, a games room and an outdoor garden. It leans into its history as a former lodging house for young workers, now reworked into bright, budget rooms just a short hop from Berlin Central Station. As in most European hostels, teenagers coming alone must bring a written authorisation from their parents containing dates of arrival and departure, as well as a copy of the ID of the parent authorising it. They are also only allowed to stay in private rooms, never in shared dorms.
2. Hostel Vondelpark, Amsterdam
Run by Stayokay, this is one of the largest and most modern hostels in Europe, tucked into the edge of Vondelpark itself, a few minutes from the Van Gogh Museum and Leidseplein. It’s a sociable, well-run place that draws everyone from solo travellers to families, with a bar, a restaurant and it has the beautiful Vondelpark on its doorstep, not bad for a city centre hostel. Guests aged 16 or 17 may stay without an adult but must bring a completed consent form.
3. Meininger
Hybrid chain, part hotel, part hostel, with properties across Germany and beyond, each one built around a guest kitchen, a games zone and central locations, these are affordable, clean places to stay with not much atmosphere like a typical backpacker hostel but work equally well for backpackers, families and school groups under one roof. Teens aged 16 or 17 can stay in a private room with permission from a parent or legal guardian. You’ll need to submit the necessary documents to the hotel; without these, they can’t complete check-in. Meininger has an “Authorisation for Underage Person to Travel” form on their site, which should be accompanied by a copy of the legal guardian’s ID. Send it by email, through their contact form, or bring it to reception.
4. YHA Hostels, UK
Britain’s long-standing youth hostel network, with properties ranging from London to countryside properties like Ambleside and Castleton. It’s the classic budget option for UK legs of a trip, well used to hosting school groups, families and solo travellers alike. Without an adult, 16 and 17-year-olds can only stay in private rooms at select 24/7 staffed hostels, and it has to be booked directly on the YHA website, with a signed parental consent form and photo ID. With an adult, 12 to 18-year-olds can stay in shared dorms.
5. Clink Hostels
An independent group of backpacker hostels in Amsterdam, London and Dublin, each set in a distinctive old building, ClinkNOORD in a 1920s Art Deco block on the IJ river, Clink i Lár in the heart of Dublin. They’re known for strong social spaces, in-house bars and feel embedded in the community vs your run of mill chain hostel.At Clink NOORD Amsterdam and Clink i Lár Dublin, guests must be 15 or over between March and October, and 12 or over from November through February, so flag this at the time of booking. Under-18s must be accompanied by an adult at all properties. Children under 16 must book a whole dorm or private room.
6. Generator
If you are looking for a hostel with great locations and a very youthful social vibe, then the Generator is a solid pick thanks to their great locations in Paris’s hip Bellevue district where, from their cracking rooftop bar, the Khayma you can drink in the panoramic views of the Sacre-Coeur and Montmartre, or you can have a backstage pass to Amsterdam’s daily theatre in trendy Oosterpark with its bustling markets, elegant 19th century buildings and visit the nearby Wereldmuseum Amsterdam museum where guests can delve into the Netherlands’ complex colonial history
Private room bookings by unaccompanied minors are considered in Denmark, Ireland, and Germany for ages 16 to 18, and in the Netherlands for ages 17 to 18 only. A parental consent form, filled in and signed by parents or legal guardians, is required as well as a copy of the parents/legal guardian’s identification card is needed.
7. Ostello Bello
Independent, Italian, and full of character, from Como and Milan down to Palermo, the hostel are social, very popular with locals, a great energy thanks to the volunteers and also cool events that range from paint and sip to their legendary karaoke night and the legendary evening aperitivo , a spread of Italian food and snacks for the price of a drink, plus big shared kitchens with garden herbs and free pasta and vegetables-perfect if your son or daughter is on a tight budget!
8. Circus Hostel, Berlin
A proper independent, with a basement microbrewery, its own walking tours on 1920s architecture and Cold War history, and, memorably, the world’s only museum dedicated to David Hasselhoff.
9. Czech Inn, Prague
A private room or apartment in a 19th-century Art Deco building on Krymska Street. The basement bar runs live music and one of Prague’s best comedy nights, with breakfast for around €6. It sits in Vršovice, a proper local neighbourhood with independent galleries and even a working vineyard nearby.
What to look for, beyond the age policy
A few things I always check when I’m researching family friendly hostels apply just as much here:
- The availability of private or family rooms: Expect dorm-style bunk beds in many of them, which is no bad thing for a group of friends travelling together.
- Stay in a separate floor or wing away from the main dorms and bar area. It buys a bit of insulation from the late-night noise without losing the sociable bits of hostel life.
- A communal kitchen. Handy for keeping costs down over a backpacking trip stretch, and something worth checking for specifically since not every hostel with private rooms has one.
- Games rooms, common lounges, anything with a bit of life to it. The best hostels give teenagers somewhere to hang out together that isn’t just the bedroom.
There’s no single Europe wide age policy. Policies shift (YHA tightened theirs for 2026), and what a hostel’s website says isn’t always what the person at the desk enforces. Before you book anything, please email or call the hostel directly, get their current policy in writing, and only then hand over payment. It’s a five-minute email that saves a very awkward moment at check-in in a country you don’t know.
If your daughter or sons trip includes a night or two with the whole family before the friends peel off on their own leg, my guide to family friendly hostels in Europe has some good options.
